Would you believe me if I told you that gut health affects more than you think? I mean, sure, you would believe, because why not? But what if I told you that my own gut health led to months of doctor’s appointments, and so many vials of blood that I actually lost count? And you might be curious as to what led to this moment, because I can tell you it wasn’t just as simple as my stomach hurting. Actually, at first, I didn’t even know my stomach was part of the equation, so let me tell you the story of how my life changed completely at 20 years old. This is the story about the heart behind FoodFriend.
The start of it all
In early 2024, I began noticing that I would randomly transform into Rudolph, but the phenomenon would eventually subside after around 15 minutes. But, it wasn’t just the tip of my nose that would turn red; it was the entirety of my nose and would lead down towards my cheeks. I thought it was weird, but I wasn’t worried about it because I didn’t even know it was happening unless I looked in the mirror during it. However, it wasn’t a one-time occurrence. It continued for about a month before I sent this picture to my mom, who is a physician assistant. 
This is the picture that started what would become a life-consuming medical mystery, which I still really don’t understand. My mom sent the photo to one of her classmates who was on national guard duty at the time with a rheumatologist. The rheumatologist recommended that I talk with a physician as soon as I could because what I just called my Rudolph nose was actually a butterfly rash, which is a symptom of lupus. So, of course, I started spiraling, because as a “healthy” 20-year-old, I really, really didn’t want to be diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. Because, duh, who would ever want that?
The inevitable spiral
My spiraling became absolutely consuming, because I couldn’t learn enough about something that can be such a mystery. I spent numerous hours listening to every podcast imaginable. Reading every book I could find. And watching every YouTube video available on all things lupus and autoimmune diseases. This is what I spent the entire summer of 2024 doing. I just couldn’t get enough. Because, after making my appointment with my primary care physician, all of my bloodwork came back normal. Lupus was negative, and both antibodies for lupus and autoimmune disease were negative. It was all negative, and I’ve never been more frustrated in my life. And this frustration wasn’t just because I would look like Rudolph on occasion, but because, through all of my research, I learned that I was experiencing more symptoms than I even realized. However, this all lead to the heart behind FoodFriend.
There is a lot more going on than I thought
One of my most concerning symptoms was being diagnosed with vasovagal responses. I’ll spare you the rest of all the details, but just know all signs led to lupus. I mean, you can see it in my face how sick my body was without me even knowing. 
Yet, I was still negative, so it was back to the drawing board. Thanks to my mom, I met with a functional medicine Physician Assistant. She quickly offered me additional tests to learn more about my body and get to the bottom of what was going on. This gave me the heart to aspire to be better for myself and create something that would help others as well, hence FoodFriend.
Long story short, I learned that my gut was causing these symptoms to be on level 100 all the time. My body was in fight or flight with itself, all because of my stomach. But that’s when another vial of blood was drawn and tested to introduce me to the world of food sensitivities. And, let me tell you, I have a lot of them.
The big change
So, at 20 years old, I learned that because of my food sensitivities, my body was attacking itself. The external result was lupus symptoms. And for those who don’t know, the average lupus diagnosis takes an average of 6 years after the onset of symptoms. So, now after 20 years of living, I am supposed to live my life without five major things. I cannot eat gluten, dairy, eggs, peanuts, and almonds. All because 5 years from now it might become a positive lupus diagnosis.
Changing your diet completely at 20 is a challenge. This change led to so much more anxiety than I ever could’ve imagined. And, following a strict diet of not eating five things I’ve loved eating my whole life was all I could ever think about. I had to relearn how to cook for myself. I had to do something as silly as buy all new seasonings that didn’t include gluten as a binding ingredient. And the most stressful of them all was having to coordinate meals outside my own home. I mean, this journey has been beyond anything I could’ve ever imagined and so consuming.
So, now there is FoodFriend, a way to not only make my own life easier, but hopefully yours too. My heart is in this more than ever, and more than anyone understands. Therefore, there will always be a heart behind FoodFriend.