Lyme Life Monday ~Food

I have a love – hate relationship with food. I think a lot of Americans do. Life with Lyme Disease means we have to look at everything we do in life and think about how it will affect us in a day or three. Food is an important one.

Relationship with food

For those living in abject poverty, what would they think of amount and selection of food we set out for our birthday celebration yesterday. Photos and videos don’t tell the story. We are too removed, especially in our daily routines. This weekend, I read an article about how life during the Great Depression changed the way we, in the US, think about food. It was interesting to challenge the status quo about food choices, availability, and nutrition.

In my teens, I often went days without eating. There was always food around, though. Well, other people had some. There are places where food is literally not available. People are starving. A woman with her skin draped over her bones without enough milk in her breasts to feed her baby is in desperate need of nutritious food. It is a matter of immediate life and death there.

That thing our moms used to say to get us to eat is with us today, “Eat your dinner. Don’t you know there are starving children who would be happy to have that?” And we thought, Well give it to them, then! 

Lyme Disease and other chronic illnesses have symptoms that are often directly affected by food choices. It can have a negative affect on our relationship with food. We are told, “Eat organic, gluten-free, or grain free, dairy free, raw vegan, avoid night shades, alcohol, stimulants, never eat wheat, and always eat fresh food -no prepackaged or deep-fried frozen.” Then there are lists of which foods are more or less prone to carry pesticides and herbicides. …so many restrictions.

There are so many lists of what to eat and what not to eat. That is always the question.

Lymies and food

With the brain fog, it’s difficult to remember which food lists to work from sometimes. Having enough energy for preparation is a problem too. We are often so sick that food is the only enjoyment. Our bodies are racked with pain, so stiff or unsteady that regular activities are exhausting, limited by fatigue, and any sensory stimuli is overwhelming during a flare. But the cost of eating the wrong things (read, comfort foods) can be devastating.

We have such a crazy dichotomy going on. We live in the land of plenty. Between the excessive costs of eating well and the intolerances we have, many Lyme sufferers eat very little.

At the party yesterday, some food was wasted. We rarely waste anything. It is often a concerted effort to purchase only what we have a clear plan to eat and we eat what is on our plates. I really don’t know about other parts of the world in this regard. Often, I wonder as I cook or go to the grocery store what, people in certain parts of the world would think of my decisions.

I hate waste. Food is one of the worst things to waste, because there are so many people in need. We support a couple of feeding programs in impoverished areas, bu there is always room for more to be done.

I love to eat food. I hate that it is such a complex activity for so many. Eat well, my friends. Eat well.