Totes lates, Cheez!

Yes. It's true.
I'm saying good-bye to dairy.

It isn't the first time in my life (and knowing me, probably not the last, either) that I've given up dairy, as my mom once believed I was allergic due to severe "growing pains" I would get as a child (more on that in a minute). I ate it without trouble in my teen years but more recently have decided I am lactose intolerant, so I either take lactaid or try to limit my intake. Until now. Because...well, things change.

Firstly, I have an autoimmune disorder and many people are beginning to believe that there is a connection between gut health, inflammation, and autoimmune diseases. So, for the sake of my Grave's Disease I have been on a journey to eliminate inflammatory foods from my diet one category at a time. I started with Gluten and, having been mostly successful for several months, am moving onto dairy.

Secondly, I recently learned about Joint Hypermobility, thanks to my super sister-in-law. You know those people who can hyper-extend their elbows and are flexible or "double" jointed? Some of those people might have Joint Hypermobility! For a lot of people with Hypermobility it's not a big deal, but for some people it can cause chronic pain, among other symptoms (and "growing pains" in children!). After a bit of research, I feel like the clouds have opened up and sun is shining in on so many things about my health that I didn't understand. And it is a connective tissue disorder, which holistic plebs believe can be affected by diet.

So, between my autoimmune disease and connective tissue disorder (two things that some people believe may actually be interconnected), I am even more inclined to eliminate inflammatory foods from my diet.

I actually don't miss dairy or gluten that much. I'm sure there will be days when I wish I could just run to Einstein's for a bagel and shmear, but I'm doing pretty okay. I know it will get more difficult as I move onto sugars and nightshades (POTATOES I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU) and...MAYBE...beef, but so far so good. Baby steps, right?

So. This is just a little update on my dietary drama, and also a bit of a ALERT about Joint Hypermobility because I've decided...what if? It's not one of those things that's very well known, but what if hearing and learning a bit about it could also help someone find answers to heavy questions about pain and health?

This has been kind of a boring post. Here are some fainting goats:

Hahaha. Oh goats.