Back in high school, I was dealing with the unpleasant side effects of an antibiotic I was taking for my hormonal cystic acne, and I wanted to find a better way to heal my skin. I was sick every spring for three years with strep throat or bronchitis during my tennis season. Aside from severely impacting my mental health, the medications led me to suffer from daily heartburn, nausea, stomach pain, and overall digestive discomfort when eating certain foods. I became determined to cut out both the medication and animal products to allow myself to really heal. After going vegan, I adopted a whole foods, plant-based diet, and this is when I started to see real results.
My skin became much more manageable even without the use of topical products from my dermatologist, and I was rarely seeing breakouts after giving my microbiome the chance to restore itself after years on a prescription. My heartburn and digestive issues slowly went away as well, and I was able to reintroduce gluten without experiencing any problems when consuming it. I never expected that changing my diet would impact my life in such a profound way; I no longer feel an afternoon slump, sleep 10x better, and have stable energy throughout the day/when working out. I remember my mood, immunity, and motivation being so poor when I wasn’t focusing on healing my conditions from the inside out, and I know I never want to go back to feeling that way. This is something I recommend to everyone, regardless of their age. It’s never too early to start seeing the benefits of this incredible way of eating.
