The discussion with
my oriental medicine doctor at my appointment last night covered food and
balance for Colson and me. I am having some symptoms of depletion, although not
serious. My heart has been more fluttery than usual. I have had flutters since
puberty, about once a month for a few seconds, with the exception of the
serious post stress time after Ryan’s layoff when the flutters became constant
for a month (see http://movingstronglyforward.typepad.com/moving_strongly_forward/2008/12/she-who-has-health-has-hope.html)
. My energy has been a bit down, I have been cold, and my period has been
changing. It has been diminishing over the last two or three months. My doctor
does not think it is menopause (I am only 42), but it may be time to add some
food back into my diet. My family is going to add a couple of carbohydrates
back into our diet – a sourdough bread and a Volkorn bread from a German baker.
We had rice with dinner tonight, and I am looking to making black beans and rice
again. I do not feel that our diet has been that restrictive (no sweetener
except honey, no grain, no dairy except certain cheeses and fermented milk, and
no beans except lima, green and navy), but that is probably because I am used
to it. In addition, my doctor performed acupuncture, which immediately made me
feel great, and prescribed some herbs to bring me into balance.
As for Colson, who
is almost six years old, we discussed letting kids make some of their own
decisions. Colson does decide whether or not he will have birthday cake, for
example. Even though I know that the sugar and other fake ingredients in the
cake and frosting are terrible for him, I let him make the decision and we talk
about how he feels after he eats it. Luckily he is a pretty healthy kid and
seems to have no adverse effects. Our doctor emphasized that allowing him to
make some decisions is important, because he needs to understand what his
decisions mean as he finds his own way. According to my doctor, the kids that
make their own decisions tend to stay on a healthier and relatively non-rebellious
path compared to those who are not allowed every now and then to do what the
rest of the kids are doing.
The last piece of advice that my doctor gave to me
involved this analogy. An airplane has to correct its course throughout the
flight. It does not travel a straight line, and neither do we. Because my
family is pretty healthy and not overwhelmed by all the toxins and other junk
found in average grocery store food, our bodies clearly and quickly let us know
when we get off course.
The adventure continues…
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