Trying times

It has been a trying week for Nathan. Last semester he had strep throat 3 times and was put on antibiotics. Then in December he got a canker sore that grew into something hideous. Several times he bit it and it filled with blood. We took him to urgent care one night and they tried to lance it, but it was solid. Not good. They wanted him to go on antibiotics again. Well, enough was enough. We needed to get at the core issue. So, on Tuesday, we went to Dr. Hampton, the most amazing naturopathic doctor. Right away he knew that Nathan had an ulcer in his mouth and that it was caused by a food allergy. Add in all the antibiotics and you also get one messed up digestive system. Poor guy.



So, in many cases when you need to find out what you have been eating that caused all this, you go on the 21 day diet. Here are the foods you avoid:

wheat
oats
barley
rye
corn

sugar (refined and raw)
caffeine
soymilk
soda
pork
cold cuts
tomatoes(unless fresh and raw)
dairy
hydrogenated oils
chicken
chocolate
nuts

So, what can he eat?

fish
beef
turkey
beans
fruit
veggies
water
100% juice

Add to this that another doctor said to even further aid the digestion, avoid eating any starches with proteins and eat fruit alone. Plus he is taking lots of natural stuff to clean out his system. It has been very hard and stressful to do this for a 17 year old boy. He is doing amazing but can't wait to go get a pizza.

Now to my point of sharing this story (which was shared without his permission and I hope he never finds out).
I am amazed at the level of guilt I feel for having to force my child to eat in such a healthy manner. What?! we live in a time where bad food abounds and it has become the norm. It is just expected that during December you will eat lots of crap and gain weight. Why? I know Nathan loves the sweets. We all love the sweets. But, what is the cost?

The past 15 years of my life has been the price I have paid for eating unhealthy. I am the example that my kids have to follow. As I look through the grocery, I feel bad that I can't pick up some oreos. Just yesterday I bought cheetos and Megan was downing them. Something that stains you fingers for that amount of time cannot be good inside your body. I don't want to be a fanatic, but this is the life and health of my family. I have no doubt that if I had continued down the road I was on, there would have been massive health problems, and possibly an early death. How can I not want to save my family from all the heartache that is associated with unhealthy living? They may not appreciate it now, but they will later. (I wish my thoughts were more succinct. I hope you are following my brain process).

So, the lesson I hope Nathan learns is that his body can't handle the amount of junk it was being fed. He can have pizza when this is over, but there might be consequences, and he may need to eat that very rarely. When he serves a mission, I will not be there to take care of his medical needs, and he will need to eat as well as he can. When I am finished with my weight loss I know I will eat bad things occasionally. But, only if I am prepared for the consequences. My mind has made such a shift. The other night we went to the movies and Orson had popcorn and had them put extra butter in the middle of the bag, and aside from being grossed out, I was truly worried about that gunk coursing through his veins. I hope I can continue to be vigilant about this because I feel like I have missed out on blessings because of my disobedience of taking care of my body.

Okay, I'm done for now. I hope everyone makes great choices for their health today.