At the height of her illness, Bailey Kreinbrink slept for as many as 17 hours a day. The pain was so intense that even one bite of food could leave her crying out in agony.
The Georgia student had experienced unexplained health problems since her teenage years, including joint pain, migraines and severe bloating.
By her early twenties, almost anything she ate — from chicken and vegetables to bread and smoothies — could trigger excruciating pain. At times, she felt unable to move for up to two hours.
Her heart occasionally raced to 200 beats per minute, and even mild exercise could leave her confined to bed for several days.
‘I would eat any food and it would feel like you poured acid down my spine. I just wanted to rip my skin off,’ Bailey, now 28, told the Daily Mail. ‘My body was shutting down.’
Although she was barely able to eat, Bailey had gained 50lb, while doctors struggled to determine the cause of her symptoms.
Food sensitivity testing indicated that she reacted to about 30 different foods, but eliminating them from her diet did little to help.
Then, during a family trip to Italy in 2022, Bailey made an unexpected discovery.
Bailey Kreinbrink (right, with her parents) could barely eat or get out of bed when her family went on a cruise to Italy that inspired an unlikely experiment
She had long noticed that she felt better whenever she visited Italy, so she decided to find out whether she could eat foods there that caused problems back home.
To her surprise, she says she was able to eat all 30 foods without experiencing a reaction. Her energy began returning, too.
But after returning to Georgia, she tried the same foods again — and each one brought her symptoms back.
‘How could you have the same potato here and there or a tomato here and there, but only be able to eat one and not the other?’ she said.
Keen to understand what was happening, Bailey went back to Italy in May 2023. This time, she spent six weeks on the Amalfi Coast as part of her master’s program.
Her approach was straightforward: she would eat the foods she believed were making her sick in the US and see whether she continued to improve.
She also decided not to limit the experiment to vegetables or other foods generally considered healthy.
Breakfast often meant coffee, biscotti and cereal. Later, she ate Nutella sandwiches and pizza topped with burrata, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Pasta appeared on the menu almost every evening, usually accompanied by gelato at some point during the day.
‘It’s the type of food that around here we think of as indulgent, carb-heavy and unhealthy to an extent,’ she said.
Yet within weeks, Bailey says, the symptoms that had controlled her life for five years had vanished.
‘All of my symptoms went completely away,’ she said.
During the final week of her stay, she even completed a 5K race — a remarkable change for someone who had previously struggled to walk around the block.
When she called her mother with the news, her mother burst into tears and said: ‘Oh my gosh, we finally have our answer.’
Bailey also says she eventually lost the 50lb she had gained during her illness. She believes much of that weight may have been linked to inflammation and fluid retention.
Convinced that something about Italian food had made the difference, she returned to the US with a suitcase filled with pasta and pesto.
Despite not being able to eat much, Bailey had gained 50lbs (pictured left). She told the Daily Mail that after adopting an Italian diet, the weight quickly fell off (right)
‘I decided I am not going to eat American food again,’ she said. ‘I have my life back – why would I want to do that again?’
So what, exactly, could explain the difference?
Bailey’s story echoes a claim frequently shared online: that some Americans with digestive problems can eat bread, pasta and cheese in Europe without developing the symptoms they normally experience at home.
In one Reddit discussion, a woman with irritable bowel syndrome and lactose intolerance said she ate pizza, pasta and gelato during a trip to Italy without becoming bloated.
Another person claimed that spending two weeks in Italy improved their digestion, skin and mood.
Stories like these have strengthened the popular belief that European food is healthier or easier to digest than comparable products in the US.
There are, in fact, differences between the American and European food systems.
The European Union regulates food additives and pesticides differently from the US, and certain ingredients allowed in American products are restricted or banned in Europe.
‘In my practice, I often see how highly processed foods, additives and individual food sensitivities can contribute to digestive symptoms and inflammation, and simpler meals made with fewer ingredients may be better tolerated by some individuals,’ Kristen White, a registered dietitian nutritionist in private practice, told the Daily Mail.
She said pesticide exposure ‘is another factor worth considering.’
‘The United States and European Union have different pesticide approval processes and regulatory standards, with the EU taking a more precautionary approach and prohibiting or restricting certain pesticides still permitted in the US,’ she said.
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‘However, this does not mean all European produce is pesticide-free or that European farming practices are universally safer.’
Bailey told the Daily Mail that pasta and pizza became staples in her diet while living on the Amalfi Coast and in Florence. She now eats out for almost every meal while she’s in Italy
Cooking methods, recipes and portion sizes can also differ from one country to another.
‘Traditional Italian eating habits, including fresh seasonal ingredients, smaller portions, slower meals and a greater emphasis on whole foods, may also support digestive health and weight management,’ White said.
Some research also suggests that foods often labeled unhealthy may have unexpected effects.
A 2023 Italian study of 365 patients with rheumatoid arthritis — an autoimmune disease that causes painful joint inflammation — found that participants who ate more than half a pizza each week had significantly lower disease activity.
The researchers reported an association with up to 70 percent lower odds of more severe disease, although the study did not prove that pizza itself was responsible.
Meanwhile, a 2022 study published in The Journal of Nutrition found that pasta’s structure can slow carbohydrate digestion, producing a more gradual rise in blood sugar than foods such as bread.
Still, none of these findings shows that American food caused Bailey’s illness or that Italian food cured it.
The foods she describes eating in Italy — including pizza, pastries, chocolate spread and gelato — do not necessarily reflect the traditional Mediterranean diet associated with better long-term health.
That eating pattern generally emphasizes vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, nuts and olive oil, with dairy and meat consumed more moderately.
Research suggests that a Mediterranean-style diet may help reduce inflammation and improve certain health markers.
But that is very different from proving that traveling to another country can resolve a serious illness whose cause remains unknown.
Several other factors could have contributed to Bailey’s improvement.
Travel can alter stress levels, sleep, physical activity, meal schedules and eating routines — all of which may affect digestion and overall wellbeing.
Even foods that appear identical can contain different ingredients or be prepared in different ways.
When Bailey first moved to Italy, she focused on meeting local farmers and business owners to learn what it was about the food that made her feel so different compared to in the US
Most importantly, doctors never determined what was causing Bailey’s symptoms, so it is impossible to establish whether dietary changes were responsible for her recovery.
At various points, doctors suggested she could have rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition that causes painful inflammation in the joints, or a sleep disorder that might explain her extreme fatigue.
Neither possibility became a formal diagnosis.
‘It is possible that changes in food quality, ingredients, food preparation and overall eating habits contributed to her improvement, although we cannot assume that Italian food itself treated an autoimmune condition,’ White said.
‘My advice to Americans is to look beyond the country of origin and focus on food quality, minimally processed ingredients, identifying individual food sensitivities, and finding an eating pattern that helps them feel their best.’
That uncertainty makes it especially difficult to draw firm conclusions about the effect of Bailey’s diet.
Undeterred, Bailey returned to Italy in February 2024 and spent three months meeting farmers and food producers. She asked about growing methods, pesticide use, livestock standards and wheat processing.
She became convinced that differences in food production played a central role in her recovery.
Today, Bailey splits her time between Italy and the US, spending several months at a time in Florence.
While in Italy, she continues to follow a notably unrestricted diet.
Bailey told the Daily Mail she usually eats multiple scoops of gelato a day while she’s in Florence
A typical day might begin with a cinnamon roll and cappuccino, followed a few hours later by gelato. Lunch is often pizza, pasta or a sandwich, while dinner could be pasta with ragù or Florentine steak served with vegetables and potatoes.
‘I do not limit myself with food at all,’ she said. ‘I eat anything I see. If I want it and I can eat it, I’m eating it.’
When she is back in Georgia, Bailey depends heavily on food she brings back from Italy or sources there.
She has also built a business around her experience. Through Health Journey Through Food, she sells Italian food products and recommends others on her website.
Bailey says she no longer needs medication or supplements and now sees doctors only for routine check-ups.
She acknowledges that other people may not experience the same results.
Although the exact reason for her dramatic improvement remains unclear, Bailey says the change has transformed her life.
‘I do think that food is medicine because food has been medicine to my body when medicine couldn’t do anything,’ she said.