Over a year ago I'd had this odd little tickle cough that refused to
leave. I ran across this article on the 'net about the "chronic
cough" that remained after a bout of the flu, and how to treat it
with food nutrients. Basically, the body's store of B-vitamins was
supposedly depleted. I tried their recommendations of liver (even
though I hate liver), yogurt, wheat germ, molasses, and even added
wheat pasta.
To my surprise, I gobbled up the liver as if it were chocolate, ended
up devouring the pasta - even the water it was cooked in! - and
became mildly addicted to molasses for a few weeks, stealing a gulp
here and there each day. Within a week, the tickly cough had
disappeared. I can't say I enjoy plain yogurt that much, but it was
somehow tolerable at the time, then my interest in it tapered off also.
Since then, I've noticed that as I start feeling tired, I also start
craving liver. I'd heard the stuff is excellent nutrient-wise; it's
FULL of iron for one thing. So I suppose I'm not surprised that my
body quickly recognized it as a necessary item when it needs to
regenerate its stores quickly. Well, last weekend I had just such a
craving. I was feeling rundown all week, cooked some liver, and
started up with the yogurt and molasses again. Then I had a craving
for spinach, tomatoes, and blue cheese, so I started making myself
salads again. And, a friend who recently moved had given me all this
darned tuna, so I made myself a few sandwiches this past week or so.
The past few days I've had oodles of nice, stable energy at work but
still felt like I was sliding somehow. I kept up the gulps of
molasses and yogurt and wheat germ and sure enough, I developed a
mild cold last night. Today was a half-day at work and I have to go
in tomorrow so I called in for today since there were enough people
to cover. (Better I'm out today and rest up for tomorrow!) Glad I
did, I've slept most of the day on only one benadryl!! The strange
thing is, though, that all day today I kept craving tuna fish
sandwiches on wheat bread with chocolate milk. I seldom want liquid
with a sore throat, but the milk is perfect somehow. I looked up
tuna on whfoods.org and wasn't surprised to find that it's a good
source of tryptophan and a few of the B-vitamins, as well as other
nutrients. Yet another testament to my food cravings. My nutrient
levels must have been really depleted lately. It amazes me how much
my body requires just for day-to-day operations at times. It seems,
too, that my brain requires the most; I can be physically active and
eat less than when I sit for hours figuring out problems on a
computer, yet I don't gain an ounce either way.
Anyway, patterns. Right. I'm becoming a strong believer in fresh,
non-chemically-altered foods.
I found out that the smaller and redder a vine tomato is, the riper
and better it is. As with many foods, I remember growing up thinking
tomatoes were sooooooo delish, and in recent years have been
thinking, "How did I ever eat these? They're so acidic!" Well, not
only are the store-bought ones irradiated, but most are also picked
too soon and end up getting ripened on the shelves. All the extra
prep work makes them inferior. I discovered this when someone at
work gave me a tomato from their garden. It was the most perfect,
lovely, yummy tomato I'd ever had, rounded rather than oddly-shaped.
Drool. So I bought some at the Farmer's Market and discovered those,
too, were awesome. I want to grow my own next year and allow them to
vine-ripen as long as they can stay on the vine. Things are just so
much better when picked... get this, wild blueberries don't make my
shoulders break out in those little itchy bumps. It's the cultivated
ones my body's sensitive to, which means it could be something put ON
the berries, since this year even those didn't do anything to me
(other than a mild headache, which I think might be from the
oxidizing effect they have on blood vessels). I forget who mentioned
the pest control idea, but it seems it could very well be that rather
than the berries themselves. The berries we picked last year could
have been sprayed with something many berry farmers use, and maybe
this year the dude used something different. Other than genetics,
this is the only real explanation as to why wild blueberries have no
negative effects on my shoulders.
Lancelot is peeking at me from over a leaf in his vivarium. How
cute. I caught him and looked over, and he just tilted his head to
one side and squeezed his eye shut at me. We may not interact like
Sinclair and I do, but I still enjoy his company on my desk and am
glad we've become reacquainted. He's such a curious little fellow.
I feel bad that Guin and I never really knew each other well, but at
least I won't regret having paid too little attention to Lance.
Heh. He's still doing it. I keep looking up at him to see him
watching me, then he squints at me again. Hehhehheh. He's also
watching me type. If people would simply observe creatures a bit
more rather than lumping them all into a big group of inferior
species, they might realize that animals are far smarter and more
interesting than they give them credit for! I still miss Gracie
terribly. I've been talking about her a lot lately to people who
will listen. When her and Mercy first came to live with me, a lot of
folks were like, "You have... RATS??" As if that's a horrible
thing!! Rats are some of the most intelligent beings on this
planet!! And Gracie was a particularly wonderful pet. I'll never
ever forget her. After her sister died of cancer, I figured that
maybe rats were not the best pets to have. They don't have really
long life spans, and are prone to cancers and other malicious
maladies. But even with these possibilities, I can't say I regret
having known either of them. Knowing Gracie even for one year would
have far outweighed her death in terms of emotion, and I was blessed
with over two wonderful years in addition to her age before she came
to live with me.
Definitely worth the time spent worrying about her as she slowly
lapsed into memory.
Well, I'm getting a bit hungry and tired again. I've been up a whole
hour and a half!! Time to feed the body again and do some more
rest. Hm. Sounds like Dale just got home, too. Just in time.
~nv
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