Here's To GOOD Health!

Being sick is awful!

24 hours of non-stop vomiting every 30 – 45 minutes followed by a hospital stay involving lots of needle sticks and intravenously fed sodium chloride laced with

anti biotics and anti nausea drugs were no picnic. Spending the next 6 days on nothing but clear juices, herbal teas and broths was no picnic either…Especially for a foodie like me! I craved pizza…but knew I had to settle for watermelon, since I knew my body couldn’t handle solid foods.

It was early Sunday morning when I just couldn’t take it any longer! I knew I had to get to a hospital, but needed desperately to be out by noon.  The NY Jets were playing The New Orleans Saints. Being a Giants fan, and a fellow New Yorker… I wanted the underdogs to win.  That poor team has to share a stadium with the Giants, and not to mention that ALL of Texas is rooting for the Mexican rookie quarterback to be the first to make it to a super bowl. 

Dr. Cooper made it very clear to me that I wasn’t going anywhere for a while.  I was severely dehydrated with a high fever, and if I wanted the vomiting to stop, I’d stay put so he could fix me up.  Since my emergency room suite was equipped with a pretty nice 42” flat screen hooked up to cable, he grabbed the master remote, turned it on, and handed it to me.  I smiled…BIG! And then I thanked him for saving my Sunday.  Then I asked if there was any way that he could get a nice porter (beer) and some wings into one of those IV drips.  We both laughed, as he swung the curtain behind him and closed my door.  I guess he thought I was joking.

As I laid there channel surfing until my game, I wondered what I could have eaten that would have made me so sick?  You see… I was 10 days into an all natural 14 day cleanse. I was eating well. Lots of protein. Lots of veggies.  No dairy, except for the chicken breast I stuffed with sun dried tomatoes, spinach and goat cheese…YUMMMM!!!  But I knew it could not have been the goat cheese. The goats were hormone free and grass fed.  That’s when it hit me…

Since the New Year began, I decided to make a conscience effort to watch my spending.  On more than a few occasions, I rationalized that driving 22 miles to the nearest Whole Foods would cause me to spend too much on both gas and food.  I could save a few dollars and be a bit more eco-friendly to our environment.  Walmart and my local grocery chain are 2-3 miles away.  Not usually a Walmart fan… I decided to give a second try. To my surprise, they carried a few organic options…not enough for my liking, but when in Rome…???  I couldn’t argue with my grocery bill either…as it was a good $20-$30 less than what I would have spent at my Whole Foods.  I had the same reaction at my local grocery chain…although I still didn’t care for it very much.

So now goes the quandry… is it possible that I picked up this viral bacteria form a conventional food source???  I think that’s a reasonable question, but it is also entirely possible that my own hand in food prep could have played a part. Possible… but highly unlikely.    The truth is… I may never know the truth. But what I do know is that I will have to revise my rationale, and make the 22 mile journey to my Whole Food and Central Market Grocery Stores.  I will start getting up on Saturday mornings to purchase from my local Texas farmers at the Pearl Farmers Market.

Either I spend my money up front, and make a conscience effort to know where my food is coming from and how it is grown… or I spend it later in the form of higher medical costs, medications, and doctor visits. 

I know I am only one person.  I realize that it is easy for me to make that choice, since I only have one mouth to feed.  I wish healthier, organic, hormone-free foods were more affordable and more accessible. I know that it’s tough for families…hell, its tough for me! But we’ve gotta start somewhere???  Maybe it’s starting with hormone free, grass fed meats and chicken.  Maybe it’s starting with dairy not containing rBGH hormone. A small  change has to be better than no change at all!

All I know is that…like the mind, good health is a terrible thing to waste!  When you’ve got good health… you’ve really got all you need.

So here’s to GOOD HEALTH!

CHEERS!