Thanks to an online video, Gina is happier and healthier than ever
“If you’re sensitive to lectins, removing them can improve digestive health, and reduce pain!” — Steven Gundry, M.D.
For nearly two decades, Gina Hill battled severe food sensitivities that caused burning in her nose and throat and excessive mucus that made it difficult to breathe. Numerous doctors and countless tests were unable to explain her symptoms, and the mom of two began to slip into a state of depression. Then she stumbled upon an online video that unlocked the secret to her suffering…and led her to the cure that changed her life!
As she sat down to have lunch with friends, Gina Hill’s heart filled with dread. Here come the confused looks and judging, she thought, preparing to place her usual order of plain lettuce. As she stressed the importance of not having any dressing or toppings on her “salad” to the server, the mom of two couldn’t help but feel despair. This has to change, she thought. But Gina didn’t know what to change, or who could actually help her.
For nearly 20 years, she’d suffered with severe food sensitivities. About an hour after
eating, her nose would run as though she was experiencing a severe hay fever attack. She’d get a burning sensation in her nose and throat, and her lungs and sinuses would fill with mucus, making it difficult to breathe. A few hours later, she’d get a migraine, and the next day, her skin would breakout.
Thinking most of the symptoms were caused by acid reflux, her doctor prescribed heartburn medicine. It had helped reduce a few of the symptoms, but Gina didn’t want to just mask them. She wanted… needed… to find a way to end them.
Over the years, Gina had kept food journals and undergone dozens of tests, including multiple colonoscopies, an endoscopy, allergy testing and pulmonary testing, but doctors still couldn’t pinpoint a cause of her suffering.
To sidestep discomfort, Gina consumed mostly green smoothies. But the minute she tried to bulk up her diet by eating meats, vegetables, legumes, fruit and grains, her symptoms flared up.
By 2017, Gina was at the end of her rope. Why can’t anyone fix me? she sighed.
Relief at last
Refusing to give up, Gina frequently searched the internet for possible causes of her symptoms. One day in February 2018, she clicked on a video of Dr. Steven Gundry speaking about lectins and how they affect your health. Gina had never heard of lectins, so she listened with interest as Dr. Gundry explained they were a type of protein that binds to sugar and can reduce the body’s ability to absorb nutrients.
“In people with sensitivities to them, lectins can alter gut bacteria, causing a host of physical symptoms,” Gina told her husband, Dan. “The exact kind of symptoms I have!”
Hopeful, Gina ordered Dr. Gundry’s book The Plant Paradox and read it in two days. This is me! she realized, and immediately adopted a lectin-free diet. That meant no foods cooked in, or with, sunflower, canola or safflower oil— only olive oil was okay. And she had to replace white sugar with substitutes, like sorghum syrup. She also had to avoid wheat and grains, but found that eating pizza with a cauliflower crust and breads with cassava and sweet potato flour were just as delicious. All legumes (beans, peanuts, lentils, etc.), white potatoes, peppers and eggplant had to be cut out.
Changing her diet brought Gina near-instantaneous benefits. And as weeks passed, and she stuck to the eating plan, all her symptoms abated. “I feel better, stronger and happier than ever,” Gina beams. “The key to my healing was eating the right foods for me, and now I can really enjoy food again!”