Every time a patient tells me “I just luuuuve ice cream!” (or whatever), I answer “You shouldn’t love food - you should love your spouse!”
Usually that gets me a stare. Am I serious? Yes! Every time you find yourself saying you “luve” something edible, start re-examining your eating habits - and your life. A famous story about the former German President Gustav Heinemann (1899 to 1976) goes like this: A reporter asked the President if he loved Germany. “No,” said the President. “I love my wife.”
Nearly invariably I find that patients who “love” certain foods, have an allergy to them. One shouldn’t “love” cheese – and yet, so many people do. Very often, the beloved food is from the dairy group (my downfall is whipped cream!). There is but one solution: DON’T EAT IT!! I used to eat nuts daily (they are chock-full of mineral and vitamins and good fats), until I found out that they caused my extreme fatigue. No food should appear on your menu every single day. The more you rotate, the less likely it is that you get a food allergy.
Besides that you might suffer from a food allergy, it seems (to me, at least) that you don’t have your priorities right. Food should not be loved; food should sustain your life. Your life should be bigger than ice cream and pizza. The same goes with “hate” as in “I hate red beets”. Beets are tasty, and they are healthy. On should not “hate” anything.
Get a life! Ice cream is not a life. We have world hunger and fuel shortage and water scarcity and poverty and injustice to mend. Just start somewhere! Read More
Blog: On Health. On Writing. On Life. On Everything.
Back Pain - One Riddle Solved
April 17, 2010
My neighbor comes by yesterday, limping and moaning: Acute back pain. Knee jerk reaction: I send him to a Trager practitioner.
The neighbor returns later, with his son, to tell me about the miraculous treatment. The practitioner seems to think this is not a disc but a sacrum problem, somehow. I offer the son a piece of chocolate (dark, milk-free - of course); the boy declines politely because he just had chocolate - with nuts. The father brags that he is eating a lot of nuts, for health - especially cashew.
Cashew?? Cashew is in the poison ivy family (Anacardiaceae, or sumac family). It is well known for inducing inflammation in the body - especially in the back and joints.
So, this is the diagnosis: Cashew-induced sacroiliitis. Probably not helped by a recent flight from Europe and long hours of sitting at the computer. Not to mention a little bit of weight gain (when your belly grows, you bend backward and compress the area of your lower back - just watch a pregnant woman waddle by).
Besides Trager movement education, I recommend Zyflamend (an herbal concoction that is expensive but has anti-inflammatory action). And, needless to say: No more cashews. Oh, and no mangoes - same family. Read More
5 Comments