People who get to know me now find it difficult to imagine that I was not always joyfully dancing West African dance and singing rhythm and blues, but only two years ago I ended a decade of perplexing and debilitating physical and mental symptoms that turned out to be Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. I cured myself by changing what I ate.Nutritionist Linda Clark, founder of Universal Wellness Associates, had successfully traversed her own journey with Hashimoto’s years before me, so I jumped with both feet into her autoimmune recovery diet. On paper this may sound easy. Let me assure you it is not! I chose to eliminate wheat and all grains, all dairy products, eggs, soy, all legumes, and all sweeteners except stevia. I did it because I wanted my life back. And I succeeded! Osteoarthritis gone. Body aches and fibromyalgia gone. Adrenal fatigue gone. Hypoglycemia gone. A hypersensitivity that I referred to as “adult onset autism” gone. Mental brain fog and emotional mood swings gone. For my partner and me to stay together, he had to join my diet—because even a soy kiss would start my heart racing in the wrong way …