Restarting and Memories of Fruits and Vegetables

This first post is in line with my return to 811. I have known in my gut for years now that this is the best "diet" for me. As a type 2 diabetic I know without a shadow of a doubt that this what I need for healing.

My path to where I am now has been a rocky one. I've always loved food. All kinds. Twenty some years ago I went vegetarian for ethical reasons. I ate LOTS of pasta and cheese. Somehow I started to gain weight (sarcasm). I just didn't think I could give up dairy or grains. Little did I know at the time that I was addicted to them.

Then I married a beef farmers daughter and slowly I went back to eating meat. I justified it by knowing how well the cows on my in-law's farm were taken care of. Still, I knew it wasn't right.

About eight years ago I started to become interested in food as health. I was over-weight (230 lbs) and I was having trouble digesting, especially dairy which was giving me cramps and nausea. I saw Gary Null on PBS one day he made a lot of sense. But I still didn't make the switch. My diet had gotten worse and worse.

Then my father passed away from heart failure at the age of 62. He had had his first heart attack when he was in his early 50's. I knew I had to change my ways or I would end up like he did. Still I didn't change right away.

Then I was informed by my doctor that I had type 2 diabetes after a blood test. I took it serious. Very serious. I started to read as much as I could. In the book The Detox Miracle Sourcebook, the author Robert Morse explained why humans are fruitarians and how a diet of fruits and nuts could cure diabetes. That was enough for me and I made the decision to go raw. I started making banana and strawberry smoothies, salads, and lots, and lots, and lots of nuts. One night after a big bowl of cashews and my smoothie of choice I had the worst abdominal cramps ever. I thought I was going to die. It was the nuts I now know.

Still I had lost a ton of weight and my diabetes was under control.

Then my marriage broke apart and I went into a spiral of depression and despair. I started to eat to sooth those pains. My weight went up. I didn't care anymore.

About a year ago I went back to the raw food then back again. I was doing well until I went to Disney World over the holidays (a gift from my mom and sister) and all our meals were paid for. Try and be raw at Disney! I tried to eat as well as I could but it was tough. There was so much food! I was guilty and embarrassed by all the waste. I both admire Americans for their attitude of abundance but sickened by the waste. And all the salt! Everything tasted so salty. I was pretty dehydrated and by the end of our trip I was craving watermelon and dreaming of oranges. In fact as we were leaving Florida (we drove) we stopped at a place called Florida Orange Center and they had some different citrus samples. I sampled them all and was in heaven. I wanted to bring home bags and bags but the cars were packed full already. Sigh.

(And the 15 foot alligator they advertised was just the head, surrounded by about a hundred smaller gator heads. Disgusting.)

So I'm back home and eating pretty well. I've had some cravings and I've fallen for them a couple times. Nothing major though. I know that those cravings tend to be psychological rather than physical. Every time I've slipped the food never tastes any good. Not like my mind expects them to. So I try and let them go.

Over this last week memories from childhood have popped up. I was never a fussy eater but some of my favourite memories from childhood have to do with fruits and veggies. I remember sitting on a swing, one of those backyard ones that would tip over if you swung too hard, eating a tomato like it was an apple. Or sitting in a blueberry bush outside Thunder Bay, Ontario eating them until I was full watching over my shoulder for bears. There were also wild raspberries, blackberries and strawberries that were so sweet. The strawberries never got any bigger than the tip of my pinky but they were so good. And saskatoon trees with their purple berries.

I think now about how I never really liked the taste of meat. It was just filler. It was always the fruits and veggies I loved most. Especially raw.

It's something to remind my junk starved brain about.