My Own Private Epiphany

As I previously mentioned in my "Shop Like a Caveman" article, I am working with a heavy duty nutrition doctor. Despite being an avowed vegetarian since the age of 8, I have always known something is wrong with my diet. I've taken out dairy, sugar, Aspartame, caffeine and preservatives over the years, but nothing seemed to work. I always had headaches.

I added more protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin B-12, whole grains. Nothing helped.

And I could just tell for some reason that the headaches were chemically-induced, but nothing I was doing was helping.

Until this past weekend. When I happened to Google "wheat intolerance."

My symptoms were all there!

- Canker sores (which I've struggled with for most of my life)
- Joint pain
- Headaches
- Acid reflux
- Generally feeling unwell

It's hard to diagnose because the symptoms usually manifest 2-3 days after eating wheat products.

Turns out whole grain products are one of the worst things I could eat.

Then I revisited Eat Right 4 Your Type, a book that was massively popular about 12 years ago. When I read it, I recall discovering that as a Type O, I should be eating meat, meat and more meat. As a serious veg, my answer was "no way!"

Then people started coming out saying it was junk science, so I completely disregarded it.

Of course, that's when I thought I was invincible.

Whenever I don't feel well, unless I'm dying, I just get on with things. I don't stop to dwell on every little headache or body pain.

But recently it has become rather annoying, and I just knew something wasn't right.

It's the wheat.

So now it's out of my diet and I am starting to feel better.

Unfortunately, it took me 30+ years to figure this out!

Also, Eat Right 4 Your Type mentions that Type O's have the strongest stomach acid of all the blood types. That may explain why I have acid reflux which is so bad that I don't even feel it - but it is wreaking havoc in my esophagus.

Ugh.