Elsa RisbyCondition: Ulcerative ColitisDiagnosed Year: 2002Foods I Love:Bananas Avocados Ginger Cinnamon Berries Sweet Potatoes Beets Leafy Greens Nuts Seeds Buckwheat Peanut ButterFoods I Avoid:Meat Gluten Pasta Bread Pastries Beer Refined Sugars Caffeine Processed Foods Rye BarleyMy Recipes & ArticlesNo recipes yet.My StoryWhen I was about six I started showing symptoms of ulcerative colitis. It took over a year of medical visits (and a really good doctor) to get diagnosed. I spent nine years on different medications, but each had horrible side effects, and I wasn’t getting that much better. Finally, the only option left was cytotoxins (chemo). I decided that I was definitely not sick enough for as a drastic a treatment as chemo. But, what I was sick of for sure were the side effects of all the medications! So, I made a radical decision: cut medications out entirely.After a year and a half on a vegetarian diet and off medications my inflammation went down by a measured 50%! I still had some health issues, like fatigue and a poor immune system, so I started making more changes to my diet, like eliminating gluten. In doing so, I got so much more energy (and my immune system got stronger, too). After testing loads of different foods, I am now fully on a plant-based and naturally gluten-free diet, and it’s been working!
