Healing with Food Newsletter
My Dad and Cake
Accompanying recipe: Mango Sorbet
I've been in Utah with my parents for a few weeks. My 88 year old Dad is on hospice support and although he is stable, he is declining. He typically manages only a few bites of food a day, but occasionally eats a slice of rich cake. Then, like clockwork, he suffers from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), pain and insomnia.
He doesn't get the connection; neither do other family members who love to offer his favorite desserts. For the past 40 years, I've failed in my attempts to help my folks see the correlation between well being and diet. I often felt self righteous about my food choices and inwardly disparaged theirs.
Today, I see it a little differently. Yes, today it is easy and enjoyable for me to purchase and prepare only the foods that serve me, but that was not always the case. And, in social situations it can still be hard to make healthy choices. Though I've various strategies for avoiding allergens when away from home, they're not fool proof. While I may be a few steps ahead of my dad and some other people in food awareness and discipline; we are all, however, in the same soup. Despite all the food information we know, nothing in our culture supports eating well.
I salute you, my readers, in your important work of bringing your eating well aspirations in sync with tonight's dinner. To accomplish this, I offer the following support:
May you be well nourished!
Rebecca Wood