My Story
~ Kristen White, RDN, LDN, CLT
Let me tell you about my food sensitivity story. At the young age of 19, I was in my second semester of college and whole heartedly decided that I was declaring my major in dietetics (nursing was OUT because blood is yuck!). I had a yearning to help people and felt a medical career calling my name.
A year later, I was knee deep in lab science classes carrying 15+ hours of college courses, working my tail off over 20 hours per week, training for my first full marathon, working on my private pilot license, and grieving over the loss of both my maternal and fraternal grandmothers.
Cue….STRESS!
Hindsight is 20/20, right? Looking back my body was STRESSED! During this year of stress, I developed a large open, oozy sore on the top of my foot. I tried all the “natural” things to help it, which included topical creams, hydrogen peroxide, keeping it dry, open to air, bandaged, etc. My parents bought me a dehumidifier for the dorm. A close family friend suspected I had mold in my dorm, so I switched door rooms (and left living with my sweet friends). I saw a family doctor in the college town that recommended I needed an inhaler despite never having any breathing issues.
I was at odds over using a steroid for life.
During the next few years, I saw more doctors. An allergist who did a skin prick test (learned I am VERY allergic to ragweed). The rash was now on my hands. The sides of my fingers would crack and bleed. Aquafor was the only ointment that remotely helped. I found white cotton gloves that I would wear sometimes to protect the open wounds. My friends would call me “Michael Jackson” when I wore one white glove. My skin was a mess.
A dermatologist determined I had dyshydrotic eczema and prescribed a steroid cream that finally worked. My skin cleared up, but I was at odds over using a steroid for life. I kept using it sparingly when breakouts would occur, but deep down I would wonder what was the root cause? No one could tell me.
Fast forward a couple years. I was newly married, moved to a new area, and started a new job which included live TV segments, working in the community, and being a friendly dietitian face to many. I gave a grocery store tour to a gal with an extensive food sensitivity list from a blood test. I was intrigued and eager to learn more. Several months later, I woke up with a half swollen face covered in eczema and was at my breaking point with my skin issues. I tracked down the blood test site from the gal and made an appointment despite the $900+ price tag. My skin was desperate.
The Culprit? Yeast, gluten, some dairy proteins, cranberry, lobster and a few other lower reactive foods.
The results came back, but not soon enough. The culprit? Yeast, gluten, some dairy proteins, cranberry, lobster and a few other lower reactive foods. I cut out those foods and bam, my achy, cracked skin cleared up. After four years of appointments, co-pays, uneducated doctors, tests, and no answers, I finally found the root of my problems and I haven’t looked back since!
Yes, once in awhile I live on the edge (like a good slice of regular pizza…YUM!) and my skin cries out, but I go right back to normal-for-me eating and my skin sings a sweet song again.
I’d love to know your story.
