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My Personal Journey Through Diet

Eating my way back to my optimal health

By Sarah BraniganPublished 7 years ago 2 min read
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It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a diet really helps you in the long run. Like the catchphrase says, "you are what you eat." My journey began when I had a health scare a couple of months ago. I was diagnosed with a 26 cm tumor in my abdomen, almost obliterating my health. The signs were there, and the abnormalities were beginning to take place back in June of 2016. The tumor was taken out April 2017. I had lost 20lbs, weighing in at 85 lbs. Luckily, it wasn't cancer, but I had to lose an ovary due to the surgery. That prompted me to rethink my diet and my lifestyle choices. What we do to our bodies will have a great effect in our old age.

My situation was an estrogen-related tumor, and there are so many hormone-mimickers in the food we consume. Switching over to mainly organic vegetables and fruits was the best action I ever did because pesticides that are used on non-organic fruit are known for hormone mimicry. I cut out a lot of dairies and have decided to not eat red meat or pig. I feel better than ever after I did this. I only eat poultry which is not treated with hormones. However, striving for organic poultry is a little bit better. If you are going to eat dairy as such, it must be organic, and if you have estrogen-related problems as I did, broccoli will be your best friend.

You also know the phrase, "Ramen is a college student's best meal"? Well, I had a really crappy diet beginning my Freshman and Sophomore year of college. All I ate was chips throughout the day and PB and J sandwiches due to wanting to save money. It was the worst mistake of my life. I was beginning to feel all these health problems in Fall of 2016. Urinating often and constant bloating made me feel like I was doing something wrong. My body was telling me something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out what it was. From bogus health issues to diagnoses I made myself. Going to the doctor was one of the best decisions I had made, but I shook off the condition for small things.

It was my fault for that tumor though. Let me explain. I was diagnosed with an ovarian teratoma. Shitty nutrition will do a lot to your body, but that was a wake-up call to me. I was NEVER sick as a kid or had any health problems that major until I began college and stopped eating like I did. Then, all of these health problems come up out of nowhere, and I could never figure out why. I had colds, the flu, and drastic mood changes. I went through so many trials of thought and error. Then, I figured it out. My diet was my health. My actions were my health. I wasn't getting the vitamins necessary that my body needed to defend itself from mutations of cells. I had to pay the price for my careless actions. If I had waited another month, my kidneys would have given out because the tumor was crushing them. I was given surgery 3 days after I went to an oncologist because it was so bad. After surgery, I changed my diet. That is when I began to heal.

Getting my daily doses of vitamins and vegetables really helped out my health. I feel great. Eating organically was one of the best choices I ever made.

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About the Creator

Sarah Branigan

A striving college student who just wants to make an impact on the world.

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