Perhaps it would be a good time to put down in writing what I hope to gain by adopting this foodstyle. My youngest daughter has multiple food allergies, including milk protein, almonds, rice, oats, soy, and some other item we can’t quite identify. Her allergies express themselves in the most vicious, angry eczema I’ve ever seen across her legs, stomach and especially neck. She also has several environmental allergies, mainly molds and mites, but nothing like my oldest girl who has violent skin reactions to the chemicals used in cleaning products. Hubby is overweight with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, rheumatoid arthritis and sinus problems, and allergies to mushrooms, beef and most notably, corn. I am also overweight but am blessed with low BP and cholesterol. I have osteoarthritis resulting from failed knee surgeries numbering in the double digits and rheumatoid arthritis which onset at the ripe old age of 8. My only allergies are to shellfish, although those are expressed by instant and life-threatening swelling of the face, tongue and throat. I have been experiencing acid reflux of constantly increasing frequency, duration and intensity and am probably borderline bipolar.  Any improvement to these health conditions would be an amazing blessing, especially since we are without health insurance right now.

How I found the Nourishing Traditions cookbook was by way of another book I was reading called “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration” by Weston A. Price. My youngest boy has “porous enamel” on his teeth and is plagued with multiple and constant cavities. I was reading an article that this Price guy found a nutritional basis (beyond brush, floss, fluoride and restricting sugar) to healthy teeth and that piqued my interest. After all, my son, before age 15, had more than 20 cavities and two root canals. I confess his nutrition is not what it should be, not by a long shot. He seems to have a problem tasting things, and seeks out familiar foods that are high in sugar and very low in nutrients. He can’t stand the sight of food in the morning and relies on the public school lunch program midday. That’s why it is so vitally important I feed him at least one meal of exceptional quality per day. I was doing okay, pushing meats, veggies and low-sugar foods, but became very excited at the prospect of foods that could help his body begin to repair itself.

So, there you have it. A beginning laundry list of why I seek to actively participate in improving my family’s health. The thought of my sweet hubby having a cardiac event (like his father did at his age) or me experiencing cancer (like my mother did at my age) or my children not becoming all it is possible for them to become is unacceptable to me.

Advertisement