The Journey to Healing My Digestive System

At age 25, I went through an illness after which my digestive system became very sensitive, and almost everything caused various issues. The diets I adopted were extremely restrictive.

It took me 3 years to get out of the critical state and return to consuming fruits and flour (not wheat). The diets helped me avoid unpleasant symptoms but didn't heal me.

The Turning Point

What definitively healed me was releasing the idea that I had candida. First, I read, got tested, and consulted (I called a gastroenterology professor at his home without permission), which confirmed my hypothesis that the problem wasn't candida but an imbalance of bacteria.

But that wasn't the main thing—the key moment was when I visited a friend and kept saying "because of the candida this… and because of the candida that…" and she finally said, "How do you know? All you know is how your body reacts—maybe you should let go of this candida idea and just listen to your body?"

It was incredible—that very day, I let go of the idea that I had candida, and within that week, I felt my body behaving differently. Sensitivities and symptoms I'd had for years disappeared, simply because I released the idea that I had a problem and decided to just listen to my body.

The Body's Wisdom

This healing journey led me to the conclusion that the body knows. Today I'm 41, and for a decade I've been eating "what I want," meaning without going overboard, with attentiveness, but there's nothing I really deny myself.

Another ability that developed as a result is getting feedback from my body before I eat. In the past, I had to experiment to see how my body would react; today, it's enough for me to look at food or even think about it, and my body signals to me whether it's a yes or no. As long as I dedicate a few seconds of listening before I eat something, I'm "all set."

This post was inspired by Tinka Naama Atzitz's latest post.nToday I ate curry with vegetables, tofu, and tempeh, which I didn't photograph, but I did take a picture of Naomi with her fruits.

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Read more about my connection to myself and the healing process.

For more on digestive health and intuitive eating, see this resource.