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“We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are. ” -Adelle Davis
From inception two hearts beat in one body when a baby is born into your world – empowered by the magnificence of life squared….every breath, heartbeat and nourishment shared. A beautiful life grows in uterus until the the awe-inspiring moment when a little life begins its own journey. But never alone.
Never before had I experienced such overwhelming fierceness to protect a life…to give of oneself for another – unselfish, unconditional and complete. And as baby grows…the echo of fierceness, love and protection does not quiet. After years of watching and suffering with my daughter, MB, with unrelenting stomach issues: acid reflux led to zantac medication, constipation to the point of visiting a gastric specialist and a prescription laxative for almost 2 years and stomach aches that led to urgent-care x-rays…..my confusion, despair and suffering manifested itself into questions, questions that began to open my mind. A clarity unfolded into a choice….a choice to ask more questions, a choice to move forward, a choice to take control and to protect my baby girl, and me.
So on the crooked road of food, I paused, and opened up. Answers came in the form of friends who had chosen a gluten-free diet, a bikram teacher who studied plant-based nutrition, a husband fascinated by the fruitarian diet, a friend going raw, triathletes choosing the paleo diet and another friend telling me about a book by Kris Carr called “Crazy Sexy Diet.”
I ordered “Crazy Sexy Diet” and to be honest with you, I read it with one eye shut. The chapters on sugar, caffeine, gluten, alcohol and dairy scared me….because that was ALL me. If I am what I eat – damn… no wonder I often felt like toxic distress most mornings. No wonder MB complained of constipation when most of what she ate comprised of chicken nuggets, mac ‘n cheese, milk and chips. I LOVED the chapter on your ph – called pHabulous….and decided I am waaay too acidic!!!! But more on all that in later blogs….right now I want to highlight a couple statements so that you can also start questioning your diet, your body, your life…
Here are some statements from Kris Carr’s book:
- “A long time ago, getting a good meal on the table wasn’t a multi-billion dollar industry driven by focus groups, slick advertisers, and government subsidiaries.”
- “The truth is that real foods and fake foods will always be different – even if hey have things in common on paper. Your body knows that a fresh tomato is better than corn syrup and red dye #40 ketchup.”
- “Smart labels are another ridiculous campaign…they mean absolutely nothing because there are no regulations or guidelines.”
- “As Michael Pollan IN DEFENSE OF FOOD states “the chronic diseases that now kill most of us can be traced directly to the industrialization of our food; in highly processed foods and refined grains; the use of chemicals to raise plants and animals in huge monocultures; the superabundance of cheap calories of sugar and fat produced in modern agriculture; and the narrowing of biological diversity of the human diet to a tiny handful of staple crops, lots of processed foods and meats, fat and sugar, lots of everything – except vegetables, fruits and whole grains.”
Children teach us SO much about ourselves, and about life. I am thankful to my little MB for pushing the boundaries of pain to let me see that we can be bold, adventurous and energetic! Never settling for the status quo, always questioning, always moving forward, always changing.
So this is my first week of no white sugar, no coffee, no wine (except on weekends – lol) and no gluten. MB has been eating veggie booty, fruit, and has become familiar with, and kinda likes gluten-free: pasta, bread & cookies. But as my bikram teacher says: ‘focus on what you CAN eat, not what you cannot…so here is a pic of my shopping cart…full of vegetables and fruit….stuff I could barley pronounce: shallot, fennel, onion, cucumber, watermelon, tomato, zucchini, red pepper, oranges, bananas, mint, basil, cilantro….lots of delicious rainbow colors. I navigated my way throughout the outer perimeter of the store where produce and fresh food abounds.
And so begins our journey….and I am taking you along for the ride. Prepare yourself for green smoothies, vegetable dishes, and ‘mocktails’ – as I find my niche in the world of food, deciphering the ‘diet’ lingo between raw, paleo, candida, vegan, detox, gluten-free….
And now off to make a green monster smoothie :)
Gotta Run,
Nikki