It's a very tough thing to lose touch with your own body. A little over a year ago, I started to feel under the weather. My joints swelled and ached, my stomach and guts were constantly cramping and gurgling, and my body was generally a wreck. My doctor brushed off these symptoms, chalking them up to things such as stress, allergies, and even gout. I began to lose weight, and suffer malnutrition as a side effect of my other gastronomical symptoms.