My Food Journey – From Diagnosis to Discovery
Hi, I’m Rita—a foodie, cook, baker, and lifelong lover of treats. Hence the name TritaEats. My love affair with food started early, but my journey with food has been a long and winding road—one filled with a few unexpected speed bumps along the way.
The first major speed bump came on my 40th birthday when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune disease I had never even heard of. I was shocked to learn that my own immune system was attacking my joints, causing pain and inflammation. My doctor told me I would need to be on medication for the rest of my life. I left the office in tears. I started taking Humira, and while my symptoms improved, the pain never truly disappeared.
Just three years later, at 43, I hit my second speed bump: a breast cancer diagnosis. I had just returned from a dream trip to Australia when I got the call—my routine mammogram needed further testing. That led to biopsies, a lumpectomy, and ultimately a diagnosis of Stage 1A breast cancer. I was one of the lucky ones—my treatment plan only required radiation, no chemotherapy.
There’s nothing quite like hearing the words “You have cancer” to make you re-evaluate everything. Suddenly, I wasn’t just focused on beating cancer—I wanted to do everything I could to prevent it from coming back. At the same time, I was still searching for ways to manage my RA beyond medication.
That’s when a friend, who was also going through breast cancer treatment, recommended a book that would change my life: The Immune System Recovery Plan by Dr. Susan Blum. While the book focused on autoimmune diseases, its core message was simple and powerful: FOOD IS MEDICINE.
I dove in, learning about things I had never heard of—leaky gut syndrome, liver health, adrenal fatigue, toxic metals, and more. While I didn’t fully understand everything yet, I decided to try the book’s recommended 21-day elimination diet.
What happened next was nothing short of eye-opening.
Next up: How Changing My Diet Changed My Life
