In the summer of 2019, just months into my new job at Google, I was excited about the journey ahead. But that excitement quickly turned to fear when a sharp pain in my chest brought me to my knees on campus. What I feared was a heart attack turned out to be my first experience with severe acid reflux. After weeks of doctor visits, tests, and mounting anxiety, I was diagnosed with GERD—Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease—a chronic condition that occurs when stomach acid frequently flows back into the tube connecting your mouth and stomach, causing irritation.

Managing GERD requires significant lifestyle changes, especially in terms of diet. Certain foods can trigger acid reflux, leading to painful symptoms like heartburn, chest pain, and difficulty swallowing. But what I quickly learned was that GERD is a highly individual condition—what triggers symptoms for one person might not affect another at all. This realization highlighted a critical gap in the available solutions: the lack of personalized, tailored advice. The generic guidance I received was not enough, and I needed a solution that understood my unique needs. This diagnosis marked the beginning of a challenging journey—one that disrupted my career and left me searching for answers in a system that felt ill-equipped to help.