I just returned home from my two
week vacation visiting the Positano village off the Almalfi coast in Italy and I
am already having major withdrawals from the fresh sea food and breath taking
hiking trails. No doubt that John
Steinbeck had it right when he said “Positano bites deep. It is a dream place
that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you
have gone.” Our villa overlooking the Mediterranean
was surrounded by Italian houses and restaurants stacked like building blocks
on the steep inclining mountains running alongside the sea.
The center of the village, a mere 10 minute
walk from our villa was overflowing with art galleries, luxurious hotels, and
stores carrying fashion items one would imagine Julie Roberts to wear. Italian
school boys playing soccer without shoes kicked balls with each other outside
churches and old ladies hung brightly colored garments on hanging lines above
the narrow, winding steps. I liked how the city managed to preserve a certain
sense of authenticity that set it apart from the cookie cutter nature of the
tourism industry. I had a deep sense of
gratitude for the refreshing absence of Holiday Inns, fast food chain
restaurants, and vendors selling cheap goods, which are unfortunately an integral
part of other tourist towns.
Aside from the overwhelming beauty of
Positano, my two week excursion marked the beginning of my summer quest to live
healthy. Mornings tasting fruit from the
tree, afternoons hiking up endless stairs along the coast, and dinners eating
exotic sea food and homemade pasta reminded me that healthy living doesn’t have
to be a chore.
In retrospect, I realize my last
month in France was filled with a sense of urgency, an unsettling feeling that
I needed to experience ever taste of the city before I left for good. The day of my flight I ate two pain aux chocolates, a giant baguette, and a box of cookies to savor the taste of a city
that I never wanted to forget. However
once the bread was gone and just the crumbs remained, I realized that you can’t
preserve the taste of food or experience by consuming it in excess. Eating the extra food did not make me have a
greater appreciation for France. It did give me a stomach ache and left me with a
reminder that any behavior used without moderation throws our sense of health
and well being out of balance.
Shortly after I left France I realized I needed to start making
some major changes in my diet. After
weeks of indulging in carbs and sugar, my digestive system was in
shambles. I did some research which
indicated that I might have IBS causing my digestive system to digest certain
foods inefficiently. My stomach problems
I experienced were most likely caused from an access of dairy, gluten, and
processed foods.
To get started on the
right track again I began taking probiotics designed to increase the healthy
bacteria in my stomach to decrease bloating and stomach pains and regulate my
digestion. By the end of my trip in
Italy I was a new woman: my skin cleared, my stomach felt normal, and my
fatigue dissipated. I returned to the
United States feeling capable and confident in my ability to create new healthy
habits.
