The Truth is, Our Consumable Goods are Killing Us

I’m not the first to say this, and won’t be the last anytime soon.

I began developing digestive issues around six years ago when my appendix was removed.

To my own detriment, I was too stubborn to seek more help.

I thought I could get it under control and suffered in silence for years.

I did figure out ways to subside the symptoms I was dealing with by changing my diet, but it wasn’t until recently I decided it was time to seek professional help.

At the same time, I did a lot of research. Learning about diseases and conditions affecting the digestive system.

During this research, I encountered doctors, practitioners, and holistic health advocates who believe food is the first source of medicine.

Social media has been one of my biggest aids — I’ve found several people who share research on additives, preservatives, and food ingredients.

I found they also struggled with their digestive and overall health and decided to take control, starting with what they were consuming.

Their journey inspired me to look further into holistic and preventative methods to improve my health.

I did further research and learned more about our foods’ and other consumable products’ ingredients and how those have changed over the years.

I learned that, unfortunately, many processed and packaged foods and products have additives, preservatives, and other ingredients that wreak havoc in our bodies, leading to digestive problems and an array of other health complications.

Today, as I’ve dealt with worsening digestive problems, I’ve made the commitment to take my health very seriously.

I’ve also made the commitment to be much more careful with what I consume most of the time.

Because unfortunately, much of the food we consume, and household products that we use, are killing us.

Now more than ever, we need to pay attention to what we’re being sold on the grocery shelves because it could literally be the thing that causes irreversible damage to our health.

Detergents, soaps, lotions, skincare, makeup, the list goes on. These products can contain ingredients that mess with our hormones, digestive health, reproductive health, etc.

Unfortunately, our government does not strictly regulate ingredients that are known to be harmful.

This is a bold claim, I know. But the fact the European Union has banned over 1,600 substances and the United States hasn’t taken similar steps speaks volumes.

I decided to write about this topic because now that I’ve made some dietary changes, like removing dairy and gluten and making sure I am consuming non-toxic ingredients, I feel a difference.

As I mentioned, I was dealing with worsening digestive issues. I went to a gastroenterologist to try and figure out what was affecting me, and he was able to identify two things.

One, I had become lactose intolerant. This was surprising because I grew up drinking milk and eating cheese.

As an adult, I no longer consumed milk but regularly consumed cheese. But I wasn’t experiencing symptoms that I related to lactose intolerance.

Side note — I firmly believe the products I was consuming back then created this newfound intolerance. I wasn’t looking at the ingredients, additives, and preservatives in food then.

Two, I was diagnosed with H-pylori stomach bacteria. Pretty gross, I know. I underwent a ten-day antibiotic regimen to clear it out.

The funny thing, I’m not the only person in my family diagnosed with this. My aunt got her diagnosis a few weeks before.

It’s a possibility I might have caught it from her a while back.

Regardless, the doctor identified the issues I was having, and we began working towards treating them.

Lactose intolerance is, of course, straightforward. Avoid dairy products, period.

However, with the H-pylori bacteria, I’ve had to do some playing around with foods to see what makes me feel light and energized and what doesn’t.

Since cutting out most dairy and recently gluten, I feel better, less weighed down, and lethargic within a week of making these changes.

My goal is to further educate myself about foods, ingredients, household products, and any other product that is harmful to my health or can cause problems if used regularly.

I also want to share what I learn to educate and inspire others to take better care of their health.

I want to live a long, functional, joyful life, and it all starts with prioritizing my health.

Tell me, do you pay attention to the ingredients in the food you consume and the products that you use?