Coffee Free, Moved to Tea
For over a year, spanning from 2018 to 2019, I was very sick. Nothing life threatening in the slightest, but I had a cough with phylum that wouldn’t stop. I chalked it up to the long hours I was putting in at work, moving from London to Texas, and all the in between traveling.
I was put on antibiotics three different times in the span for 7 months. And even after several chest x-rays doctors couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t healing. Even after I gained over 25 lbs. out of nowhere, I had my thyroids tested, but all came out clear there too!
Finally at the end of 2019, I went into an urgent care facility sicker than I had ever been. The doctor told me that she was 99% certain it was allergies. I said that was impossible because I had spent the last year ranging in climates from deep Eastern Europe forests to 150 degree deserts in the Middle East, and I was sick the entire time. She then swore it was a food related allergy and there is something I was putting into your body causing my issues.
I had never considered what I was eating could cause such a reaction. I was still skeptical but I was out of options. I took an environmental allergy test just to count that out, and all those tests came back clear. I had zero environmental allergies. So I was onto the food.
For some reason finding a reasonably prices food allergen test in Austin was hard to come by so I ordered Food Sensitivity Test from Everlywell. A couple friends had used it, and even though it’s not 100% accurate (they don’t claim to be by the way) my friends were on their way to discover what was disagreeing with their bodies.
My test results came back and I was shocked. Again, through a food eliminate diet, I discovered the test wasn’t 100% accurate for me either, but it put me in a motion to self-discovery.
I soon discovered I was poisoning myself every day. My body was highly reactive to any poultry – chicken, duck, eggs – as well as COFFEE! And guess how I started every day….. yup, eggs and/or coffee (several glasses).
The reaction I had to coffee as I started to re-introduce items into my system was brutal. I started coughing to the point of choking, and turned red immediately.
These were all things I swore I could never give up. Breakfast and brunch were my most favorite meals, and I had a morning ritual with coffee that I swore by. Especially when traveling… get to that airport, have a coffee. Get into the office have 3 coffees. Sometimes I felt it had an adverse effect on me – making me more tired than awake but that didn’t stop me from having another. Obviously, I needed more because I was working such long hours (I would think to myself).
Nonetheless, I stuck with the road to recovery by keeping these items out of my diet. I eliminated what made me feel bad, and I found my new savior of morning rituals with matcha green tea. I’ve also learned things like egg replacer actually work, so I can get the vegan pancakes that taste delicious for Sunday brunch. And now that I’m healthier and not coughing after every meal, I’m not even tempted by those things. Why did I put up with feeling so shitty for so long?
I don’t know when my body decided ‘no more’ on these items. It must had been a gradual thing, but I wasn’t paying attention. My body was telling me something and was literally too busy to listen. As a result, I suffered for a long time. Not only did it affect me but also my co-workers, my friends ,and most of all my poor husband who didn’t know how to fix me.
Why am I sharing this story with you…
Since this experience I’ve ran into several people who are currently going through the same thing. They are making themselves sick and miserable because they aren’t slowing down to check in. Strangely, it is easier to brush it off by taking the antibiotics, ibuprofen or Zyrtec. It’s easier to mask poison with poison then to take the time to look into your own self-care. I thought this too, and I suffered. I do not want that for you.
I encourage you to notice what you’re putting into your body. What’s agreeing with you, what’s not. How does your body react after you eat? Some of you are just fine! You’ve been through this already ,or maybe you’re the best at eating and can have it all (like my husband). Take time to discover you, and therefore making you the strong and healthy being you were created to be.
Much love and gratitude,
Namaste.