There are a lot of things in life that I like. They typically make it on my "things I like" list. Examples would be....nah. Who am I kidding? I LOVE a lot more things than I just like.
Anyway.
Milk.
Yeah. I'm talking about the white stuff you pour over your cereal, the stuff you dunk your cookies in, the drink of childhood (well, maybe CapriSun takes that position, but you know what I mean).
Ever since I can remember, I've been a huge milk drinker. Soda has never had a huge place in my life, and I hated orange juice as a child; I'm still not too fond of it now. I think it has something to do with the acidity of it that just doesn't settle well with me. Breaking bones is a foreign concept with me, probably due to all the milk that I gulped down.
Needless to say, it's basically my go-to comfort drink. And I've decided to kick the habit.
I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when I was 18. There's a whole long story about the whole process of getting diagnosed, but I'll save that for a later day. I have my share of flare-up stories, days where I had to crawl out of bed, and joints so swollen that they felt like they were going to explode, but I think I'll save you the pain--at least for now.
One of my worst flare-ups happened in the MTC where I was getting ready head out to Florida on a mission. My branch president thankfully had a sister with RA and he understood what I was going through. He mentioned some research that said dairy products tend to increase inflammation and said maybe I should think about trying going off dairy.
Heck no! I loved my milk, cheese, and yogurt! Asking that was like asking me to sell my soul. It just wasn't possible.
Fast forward to now, five years later and I'm finally ready to give it some thought. I'm not going through any major flare-ups, but I'm curious. I think I can give it up, and I want to see what happens to my body. For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to try my hardest to eat clean and nix all dairy from my diet. Wish me luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment