Coming from someone who used to want to fit their way of eating in a box and tie it up with a fluffy bow, I now realize that as humans, we are always evolving and changing. With that, there is a good chance our eating will too. I have been vegan, pescatarian, paleo, and things in between. While I have come to the conclusion that my body thrives best off of primarily plants (as the majority of human bodies do), instead of trying to attach a label, I simply become curious and work with my body to figure out the best way to fuel it on a given day. There are foods that don’t agree with me (looking at you dairy), but going without feels far from restrictive, and rather comes from a place of self-care (I care about myself enough to not want to hurt my stomach or cause my face to break out).
So back in 2019, when I was struggling with extreme fatigue and some stomach issues, I decided to get curious once again and determine whether my diet was to blame. Health is holistic, so I believe many facets of one’s lifestyle can contribute to the cause (especially sleep and stress), but what you are eating plays a big role in how you feel, both mentally and physically. I had my hand heavily in the paleo world at the time, thinking I needed a source of animal protein at each meal. A food sensitivity test I took confirmed I was experience inflammation in response to eating chicken, poultry, red meat and pork, all foods I was consuming at the time.
Simultaneously I read The Empowered Empath by Judy Dyer after learning that I was a what one calls a highly sensitive person. This may sound very “woo-woo,” but bear with me. In the book, Dyer discusses meat consumption, and how many empaths choose not to eat meat as they tend to take on the vibration of the animal, which often can be negative and toxic, especially if the animal suffered. That the energy of the animal passes through to the consumer, and gets integrated into their vibration. I will admit I was not conscious that this was taking place at the time, but giving up animal meat proved to be beneficial for my energy. I can’t ignore the fact that animal protein is one of the toughest foods for us to digest, so again, there could be more than one phenomenon at play. But that is the best thing about bio-individuality and taking control of your own health from a place of curiosity: you create a tool box to pull from in order to get back to a better feeling place!
