From an early age when processed foods were really digging into families diets, I have preferred whole foods. In my early to late 20s even eating as an Ovo-lacto vegetarian as it was called in those days before Vegan was added and vegetarian described my diet. Hubby has a meat and starch preference to his diet, so meat was re-introduced to mine when we became a couple. I still don’t really care for meat and will prepare meat for him and not for me if it isn’t a stew, goulash, or casserole where the meat is part of the dish. I will eat it then and will eat vegetarian or shrimp when we eat dinner out generally.
I don’t buy mixes and canned goods (other than organic cream of soups for sauces and gravies), cooking from whole ingredients, produce that I grow or purchased from local farmers at the Farmers’ Market, even getting as much of my dairy from local farms as possible. We do like many international foods and use spices and herbs, but generally making spice mixes myself so that they don’t contain fillers and flavor enhancers. And I do like coffee and tea.
Beginning about 2 decades ago, certain foods produced unpleasant after effects including sending me to the Emergency Room thinking I was having a heart attack almost a decade ago. GERD and gas have been a bane with increasing frequency to the point that certain foods and most anything with peppers, sweet or hot, have been avoided. For a while I was purchasing low acid coffee, but really didn’t care for it and returned to drinking whatever was readily available.
After my return from last weekend’s trip, I quit on the coffee and have started my morning with a single cup of tea. I have reduced the amount of cold or hot tea during the day, have reduced portion sizes, and limited curcurbits, peppers, and heavy spices. I don’t want a life of bland boring food, but neither do I want to rely on antacids, PPI drugs or other unnatural solutions.
I have tried the raw apple cider vinegar trick, the eating a green apple a day trick, even trying aloe juice in small quantities, but avoidance seems to be the most effective relief. I remember my Dad complaining that he loved certain foods but they didn’t like him. Now I understand.