To give you a little bit of background, I have spent the past couple of years with a miserable belly and no specific reason why. Head back circa-1988/89 and I was diagnosed with egg and peanuts allergies; the eggs I grew out of (fantastic!) and the peanuts? Well, that became anaphylaxis. Dang.
During the latter part of my teen years, I had horrific eczema, to the point of it running through my eyes, scalp and all over my body. We sought out the assistance from specialists and dermatologists, who seemed to help with figuring out food was my issue. Cutting out dairy and being aware of preservatives seemed to help immensely; my eczema basically disappeared and I finally shed my Freddy Krueger image.
Fast forward about another seven or eight years and there I was, forever plagued with a bloated, sore belly and horrible cramps. After being investigated further by a gastroenterologist, I was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and advised to follow what is called a 'Low FODMAP Diet'. Basically I had a giant list of what not to eat, and a substantially smaller list of what I can eat.
And now? I'm currently going through a whole process of 're-jigging' my gut bacteria, hopefully getting it back to a stage where I can tolerate food a lot better. At the moment, this still means Low FODMAP and extra strict with gluten and dairy (and sugar too, to a degree). But hopefully long term, these will be ok in moderation!
By now you may be either super confused or just feeling bad for me. Don't - there are worse things in life. What I am doing now is looking at the positives of a diet change - a flat, painless belly, regularity (you know what I mean) and being all round happier from my new choices. And with this blog what I aim to do is continue to educate myself as well as those suffering similar or the same health problems. Hopefully by sharing my ideas, new information and creative recipes I can help provide another resource for those following Low FODMAP Diets around the world.
Enjoy!
