I Gave Up Dairy A Month Ago: Here's What Happened

Y'all know by now that I love a quote or mantra.  One of my all-time favorites is this:

Food is the fastest healer and the slowest killer.  

The backstory: for 20+ years, I've had this random rash on my chest and the insides of my elbows.  It would come and go - literally changing by the day.  I just thought it was part of my fabulous style and charm and never overthought it.  Until 4 months ago when the rash on my chest went wild - awful every day - and I started to get the rash on my back.  Awesome.  I went to the dermatologist and was put on a greasy cream to try to fix it.  Didn't work.  As someone who values good skincare, this was a bummer.  I put up with the rash for months - thank goodness it was sweater season and I could cover it up.

Fast forward to a month ago: I kept reading and hearing about the effects of dairy on the body and decided to try taking dairy out of my diet for a week and see what happened.

2 days after eliminating dairy, my rash was almost completely gone.  Chest, arms, back, everything.  And it's been a little over a month and it hasn't come back. EXCEPT one day I forgot about the dairy thing and inhaled an awkward amount of froyo.  Woke up the next day with a rash all over my neck.  Wow. 

Bonus: my overall body's inflammation went down.  I didn't even realize I was inflamed until I took out dairy and almost overnight felt lighter and leaner.  

Which brings me to today's nugget: treat your body like a testing ground.  If something feels off - skin, headaches, energy, stomach, mood, you name it: take something out of your diet for a week or two and see what happens.  Do your research and see what food(s) might be connected to your issue.  You can always add them back in. 

The top offenders:

- Dairy

- Alcohol

- Caffeine

- Sugar

There's also this really cool company that does testing for food sensitivities.  I haven't tried it yet, but I'm planning on getting it and seeing what else my body is trying to tell me.