My Healing Journey Part 2 | Let thy food be thy medicine

16 hours ago
4 min read

At first, the idea that I could turn my health around, was just that. An idea. A hope. I didn't really have a plan.

My mother did something quite revolutionary. I was diagnosed with rheumatic fever at age 9, three doctors all said I'd be on penicillin (antibiotics) and 6 adult strength aspirin daily: until age 18, or age 33, or indefinitely, depending on the doctor. After 3 years of this medical regimen at age 12, one day my mother announced: "I don't think this is good for your health. We are stopping the drugs. We're going to start eating health food."

Most people unwaveringly trust their doctor's advice, and would never question or go against their recommendations. To go ahead without consulting our doctor was a radical idea.

But we did.

Mom had been devouring books on nutrition that were popular in 1971. Dr Adele Davis's: Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit, and Let's Get Well. Consulting these books on a daily basis, she would spontaneously share facts as she discovered them, "It says here that if you eat __ vitamin it will improve your __" or "if you don't have enough of __ nutrient it can cause __"

It was not macrobiotic, or even whole foods. But a vast improvement over white bread and white sugar, which we replaced with whole wheat bread, brown sugar, molasses or honey. Mom made porridge from scratch for breakfast, and eliminated sugary cereals and pop tarts. We stopped junk food, TV dinners, spam, and A&W (McDonald's and Harvey's didn't arrive in our neighborhood until I was in high school in the mid-70's), and consumed a line up of vitamins. Though we still consumed meat, eggs and dairy, we focused on eating healthy, relatively speaking.

I started to feel stronger, more alert, vibrant, resilient.

Three years later, at age 15, we went back to the doc. I had all the blood and heart tests, and the results were: "you no longer have rheumatic fever." We then confessed what we had done, and he replied "That has nothing to do with it. It's spontaneous remission."

Through my late teens and early twenties I went off track with my health. Eating burgers and fries with my high school friends became a common occurrence. We frequented bars and dance clubs on weekends. In my early 20's after a series of emotionally challenging incidents, things escalated. I'll spare the sad and scandalous details, but to get the gist, social recreation drugs turned into daily hash and cocaine. At the point of rock bottom, I was drinking hard alcohol in large quantities daily. Some days almost a bottle before noon. I was hardly eating, and living on about a dozen daily coffees with cream and sugar. I chain-smoked two and a half packs a day of the longer cigarettes, Benson & Hedges 100's, and literally lit one from the other.

The alcohol was burning through my organs. To the extent that I started peeing large chunks of black blood. No urine was coming out. I went to the doctor, who prescribed 10 days of antibiotics, which took it away the next day. The day after the 10-day prescription, the chunks of black blood instead of urine returned. I realized that to continue on this path would be ruinous.

Remembering back to when my mom took my health, and our family's health into our own hands. Also remembering how healthy and happy I felt back then, in drastically stark contrast to how I felt at the time, I pulled out my mom's books. No plan was unfolding into action.

For about a year, I tried to follow the advice in the books, but found it confusing. Some recommended meat for the iron and protein, some not. Some said yes to dairy for the calcium and protein, some said not. Other books touted supplements, some not.

With the conflicting advice in the books, I had decided to stop eating red meat, but still ate chicken and eggs, and dairy. I was taking lots of supplements. I still drank alcohol and did recreational drugs a few nights a week, but far less than previously. I'd also quit smoking, going from 70 cigarettes a day to zero, cold turkey. The first few days, to keep my hand busy I drew a portrait of my ex. Coffee always went with cigarettes, so I quit coffee at the same time.

My mom had recently discovered a health food store near our family's business. She started going because, as she said wholeheartedly, "I really like their bread." One day I accompanied her on our way home from work, and discovered a very different kind of "health food store."

Instead of aisles of supplements, walking into Teva, was like stepping into the 1800's. Rough wooden wide-plank floors, rows of large bins filled with whole grains and beans. The fridge in back was abundant with organic vegetables and sprouts. The owner wore a long flowing flower-print dress, and had a bandana pulling her hair back. She wore no makeup, and walked like a swan on water.

Sue Anne greeted us at the front counter and asked if we needed help. At the time, I had really bad facial acne. I asked her if she could recommend a supplement or something to get rid of the acne. As the words left my mouth, and I looked around and it dawned on me there were no supplements to be seen. She responded: Do you eat dairy? I was following the books, so I proudly said, "Oh yes, for the calcium." She said: Try going off dairy and see if this helps. It could be the lactose.

I was desperate, so I followed her suggestion immediately and implicitly. Zero dairy. After a few days I noticed my skin was clearing up, and within 10 days the acne was gone.

The next visit, I started asking questions. "If you don't eat meat or dairy, what do you eat?" She replied simply: "Grains, beans and vegetables." After a few visits and many more questions, Sue Ann said one day, "We are offering a cooking class next Friday, if you'd like to learn more."