Inspirational Story by: Deloris Del Rio
“I am a 40 year-old single mother to 3 (my oldest is 5) who has had serious digestive problems my entire life. As a child, I was (literally) force-fed bologna and cheez whiz on white bread with ketchup even though it made me physically ill. In my 20’s, I became so ill that I lost 50 lbs! I had it to lose, but at 100lbs I did not look healthy, or feel good. I didn’t know what to do. All medical tests came back as “normal”, although I couldn’t digest anything and was dealing constantly with diarrhea, vomiting, severe pain and my skin and hair were not good either. At 28, I stopped eating the typical North American diet and became known as a bit of a “whacko” in my circle of friends and colleagues because of that.
I became quasi-vegetarian at that point (still eating fish), as that is when I realized, after omitting many processed items from my diet, that processed foods and meats made me very ill. I kept cheese for a few years, despite the pain, and 4 years ago I went vegan. I have been vegan through my last pregnancy (a high risk twin) and was able to keep the pregnancy and carry to term! (I have had 6 miscarriages and SEVERE menstrual pains all my life). Since I cleaned up my diet, I do not have the same menstrual pains, they are much lighter and in fact are quite bearable…before, I would have to take a day off work and be in bed with a hot water bottle and bottle of Tylenol. I have more energy than I did before, I am more motivated to move through the day, I have more patience with everyone, including my children, and I feel better. I am at a healthy weight, and I don’t even have time to work out as I would like to but I don’t gain weight. I’ve stayed at the same weight since the twins were 6 months old: 115 lbs on a 5’2” frame. I am no longer a vegan, but eat very close to that.
And food tastes better. Real food tastes good to me; chemically-processed food does not taste good anymore, at all. This is for sure a bonus!
I also have a thyroid problem, and by simply omitting the foods that cause problems with hormone upload in the thyroid, I am able to keep this condition at bay, and do not need to take medication – another amazing example of how important our food really is to us!
Cheers to our collective health, one and all!”
