From Brazil to the Netherlands — and the first cracks
Growing up in Brazil, I had a fairly healthy upbringing. Real food, cooked at home, a culture that still knows what fresh produce tastes like. It was only later, in my 30s and living in the Netherlands, that a shift in what I ate started to catch up with me. Constant indigestion, bloating, and a level of fatigue I couldn't shake — small signs that something in my nutrition wasn't right.
Fertility, twins, and a body pushed to its limit
At 37, I was trying to get pregnant without success and I went deeper into nutrition for fertility. After a new diet, targeted supplements and three IUIs, I was finally pregnant — with twins.
But my health challenges were just starting. The broken nights of twin motherhood broke my sleep, and with it, my metabolism. I'd wake up with blood sugar already sky-high — I had become pre-diabetic (many new mothers are and never find out until they measure). Over time, on top of that, I developed an autoimmune disease: Graves', which causes hyperthyroidism. It made everything harder — sleep, digestion, blood sugar, energy.
A doctor who wouldn't listen, and an AI that did
My GP didn't take my symptoms seriously. The offer was antidepressants. Long, patient conversations with AI finally pointed me at a possible diagnosis. I pushed hard for the blood test, which came back positive — and even then, my doctor didn't want to help me act on it.
AI didn't stop there. It connected my autoimmunity to the gut, to dysbiosis, and to a likely SIFO (small intestinal fungal overgrowth) — things almost no GP in the Netherlands is trained to look for. It helped me understand why a diet full of complex carbs was the wrong prescription for me, even when a nutritionist who called herself a microbiome specialist recommended exactly that after seeing my lab results. Individual humans are limited — even the good ones. AI, when guided well, combines what tens of thousands of studies and practitioners have published, filters it against your specific case, and gives you the full picture.
AI isn't perfect — and that's fine
AI makes mistakes too. Early on it suggested I take oregano oil to knock back the overgrowth, but didn't remind me to replace the good bacteria with a probiotic at night. Small omissions like that matter. So EatWisely is built with that humility baked in: AI is the fastest, broadest reader of the science, but you're still the one living in your body — and a doctor still has a role when things escalate.
What AI does better than any single professional is connect the dots. It doesn't have an agenda, a specialty it needs to defend, or 15 minutes on the clock. It listens to everything, cross-references it against modern research, and doesn't dismiss you.
Food as the missing prescription
The truth is: there is so much food can do to keep you from ever needing medication — or to support you if you're already on it. Truly healthy eating, tailored to your body and your conditions, gives you a real chance to heal or dramatically improve your quality of life.
My autoimmunity has been well-controlled and in remission for a long time now. It's not something that "heals forever" — but I have quality of life, I sleep well, and I have energy again. Enough energy that I train CrossFit and build muscle, on a diet that fuels me instead of draining me.
Why EatWisely
My wish is simple: that more people discover the power of healthy eating, and that they get there faster than I did. EatWisely packages what AI already does well — listening, connecting, prescribing food-first — into a daily companion that helps you figure out what's going on, eat around it, and track how your body responds.
Want to see more of my day-to-day and how I live this now? Come find me on Instagram: @brazilianinholland.