Tame Tummy Troubles









Apparently, there are just some goodies that don't make my tummy so very happy hehe



JING SAYS...
I've always thought that I have an iron-clad tummy. I can eat oysters any time, and not get queasy. I can gobble up all sorts of street food, and not get sick. And I've gone to many food tours, tasting events, and degustacions on account of my job, and always, I come out smiling, not gasping.

I can only recall one eating incident, which sent my system on crash mode. We were in Singapore on a food tour, and our guide brought us to an authentic Indian restaurant, where they scoop out the food from big pots onto a table covered with banana leaves. Not wanting to disappoint our host, I ate and ate even though the food tasted absolutely foreign to me. By the time day turned into night, I was running a mild fever, and just hid under the covers.

A couple of weeks ago, though, I developed some nasty rashes on my neck, which would appear one day and disappear the next. I thought maybe it was something that I was eating, and so when Lifescience Center for Wellness and Preventive Medicine invited me to take their Food Detective test, I readily agreed. It's a quick test to check whether you're intolerable to certain food items. Nadia, their bubbly medical technologist, pricked my finger, extracting just a bit of blood. She then placed it in a vial for testing.

A few days later, I was back with Eka to get my results.

ERIKA SAYS...
I was like, what a cool office! It looks so nice here! I just started taking a lot of photos. You can spot me on the first photo! Hehe

JING SAYS...
We were led to a consultation room, which was equally cool. When Arian Tuazon, one of their resident nutritionists, gave me my results, I was kind of surprised. Though I wasn't outright intolerant to any specific food item, my tummy is apparently not too happy with cow's milk, eggs, ginger, and gluten! Goodness, I don't even know what gluten is! Mwahahahaha

Arian said I exhibited a weak positive reaction to these four food items, and advised me to take them only once a week for three to six months; this will give my tummy time to heal from the any sort of stress which eating these goodies might have caused.

And I was like, what? But milk is my breakfast. I drink a glass every morning. It's the one thing that gets me going in the mornings, and I don't know what gluten is, and how could I not eat eggs?! Don't worry, I voiced my concerns in a calm manner.

Gluten may be found in wheat, rye, and barley, she says, and it's best that I started reading food labels, Arian suggests. As for cow's milk, well, there's always soya. I shouldn't worry too much, she adds.

ERIKA SAYS...
We remembered that Sophie's pediatrician said she had a bad reaction to carrots, and for some time, we were advised to steer her clear of it. We asked Arian whether it was true that by feeding carrots to Sophie, she'll eventually develop a positive reaction to it. Of course, it wasn't. Arian says that the immune systems of children are not fully developed yet, so it's best not to feed her carrots. Her suggestion: give her probiotics as it is good for her digestive system. So, I thought, I was right in giving Sophie Yakult!

JING SAYS...
Oh, about the rashes, well, they eventually went away. I think they were more because of the oppressive weather than anything I ate. But I'm just guessing, of course! Mwahahahaa


8/F ACCRA Law Tower, 2nd Avenue corner 30th Sreet
Bonifacio Global City
828-LIFE (6433); 0917-573 LIFE



0 comments:

Post a Comment

 

Instagram

Facebook


Erika & Jing

Erika is a budding entrepreneur, who dreams of having her own fashion label one day. She's the mommy of Sophie and the daughter of Jing, a fortysomething single mom of four, who's a writer, editor, and craft enthusiast. Click here to read more.