This might be a short summary. I grew up in the 70's and 80's. My whole life I remember having horrible stomach aches, gas, bloating and fatigue. My mother was a self described health food nut of her time. Which meant she loved baking bran muffins and we ate lots of "healthy whole grains." I tried to like her bran muffins sweetened with honey and raisins, but always came the severe stomach cramps, gas, and painful bloating. Later on in my life we took trips to San Francisco and ate sour dough bread - lot's of it. I so remember as a kid thinking this bread makes me feel sick.
My mother and father are from Arkansas. So that meant lots of white bread deep south cooking. I love me some fried green tomatoes, eggplant, okra, chicken - oh, heck fried anything. I used to love fried chicken hearts. I remember my grandmother's cakes and cobblers and how I looked forward to her Sunday dinners. She always made me feel loved and gave us kids the bowls and beaters to lick clean. When my mother said no more strawberries for these kids or we won't have enough - granny always gave me a couple more. Sunday dinners were all about love, family, and rest. But I was always left doubled over after a meal of chicken n' dumplings and cobbler.
I remember whining, and complaining to my mother about my stomach. Sometimes I asked for the Pepto Bismol, of which she didn't always what me to use "every time I had a stomach ache." I think her way was to just let it pass, you'll feel better. I remember being out all day eating sour dough bread in San Francisco and having horrible constipation. My mother would come looking for me in the restaurant bathroom. We just didn't go to the doctor for this kind of thing in the 70's and 80's. So I suffered. And ate the standard American diet of the times.
Later, I went to college and became so skinny and anorexic looking because I was not absorbing nutrition from the foods I was eating. Not to mention the food was so gross in the dormitory I lived in. Blah! The Midwest is such a meat and potatoes flavorless food desert at that time. Although, nothing beats St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake (the kind you can only buy in St. Louis!). I was so skinny at this time that when I joined the Army after two years of college, the drill sergeants made me eat everything on my plate. I had to show them my empty plate at every meal. They were trying to get me to gain some weight. I was slightly under weight. During basic training I was happy to eat - dang I was hungry! But it was still the standard American diet I was eating and I only really gained 2 or 3 pounds. I always loved KP duty in basic training because those old women cooks would leave the chocolate frosting out for us to lick the bowl clean. Licking a bowl clean with your finger is a time honored tradition!
I'll never forget standing in formation after a dinner meal in the chow hall. I was doubled over in stomach pain and the drill sergeant walked over to me and asked, "what's wrong with you soldier?" to which I replied, "my stomach hurts." It was so embarrassing! The drill sergeant said, "just fart like my father always told me to do when my stomach was hurting." I just though well, I gotta tough this out. I couldn't just fart in front of all those women! Sheese! So, I just toughed it out like I always had in my life. I always wondered what was wrong with me and my stomach!
While I was stationed in South Korea my stomach problems got better because I would go for long periods not eating in the mess hall. I ate local foods which included very little grains other than rice. Kimche is a wonder food for the healing of the gut. I always had the same stomach problems when I would resume eating in the mess hall or when we were given the Army's happy meals aka: MRE, meals ready to eat.
