Body & Soul
Needless to say, for a food lover like me, not only does food poisoning physically knock me out for a good 24 hours but it also takes a jab at my soul. Escpecially after a whole semester learning and working with Food Safety Policies, and having it as a daily concern whenever I prepare food in my own kitchen or in a professional setting – no body likes to get sick from what they eat.
But sometimes, when all else has been done as a precaution, all you can really do is
acknowledge the fact that your body is resilient in knowing exactly when
to throw it all,
up in the air.
precisely.
graffic,
disgusting,
and so real.
how incredible and intricate of a system that is our digestive tract. When does it know what’s good and what’s bad after it’s done all that it’s could working on what it was given? So selfless, so smart, and so hilarious when it goes “GET THIS SHIT OUT OF MY BODY!!! BLEHHHHHHRRRGHHHHH!!”
Perhaps it was also telling my body to slow down a tad. I was being so gluttonous, so excessively happy and over feeding myself the moment I got to california. I was such a little piggy the entire first week here, eating till my heart’s content, and not minding how my stomach could handle it. I’m sorry tummy, i took advantage of you. and boy did you telllllll me.
I guess my body seriously just needed a good 24 hours of rest. And at 1am, I heard the message loud and clear — “Slow down killa!” your system needs time to relax even if you’re feeding it all the right stuff!
Yes folks, there’s a thing as too much good food. Something I am still learning to balance. This is definitely something I heard a lot while growing up, since my Daddy would always try to explain that “too much of anything is not good” and I would always smart assingly respond with my 4 year old voice asking “even ice cream??!?”
so imagine his reaction when I called him to tell him that I was making it to the bathroom literally every two hours in the last 24 hours, and the sheer sight or thought of food just made me want to hurl. Ughhh so sad. I believe my Dad just giggled and said, “you got too excited with all the good food in cali, take it easy!”
And I’m almost embarrassed to report that as a dire last resort, I believe around hour 16, I decided to sip one ounce of gatorade. For most people, this just seems logical — I needed the sugar, the liquid, and the eletrolytes again, but for me, it was soul sucking, my ego had to take a hit, while i fed what my body really needed that I could not muster up enough strength at the middle of the night to provide an alternative to. It was my last resort since I felt like I was dying, and that was the only excuse I gave in order to break two of my food rules –
a) I don’t eat neon food. anything artificially coloured, that is bright, and made to look like it’s been glowing since the late 80’s, is clearly not ‘natural’ and
b) I don’t endorse or consume high fructose corn syrup when I have a choice. It is listed as the second ingredient on a gatorade bottle.
Thirdly, I had to brush my teeth right after I sipped half that glass warmer (yea, if I was going to drink gatorade, it was going to be in style like I was sipping on brandy, hahaha) that shit coated my teeth quicker than it entered my pores with neon droplets of sugar just like the commercials where the athletes are in such good shape that they perspire that shit straight out of their system. hahaha…
But yes, theoretically, I knew what my body needed, and I fed it. I was a little numb from drinking just plain water all day anyway, so it did help settle my dizziness and lack of nutrients at that point.
Plain congee, rice green tea, bread, and yogurt followed a few hours later, which totally helped, and then it was tea and honey the morning after the 24hr hell period. Oh delirrriuuum. I’m so glad my system slowly was able to handle food again, and I’ve been feeding it nothing but GUUD stuff since — salads, veg, pure protein, soups, avocados, oranges, bananas, yogurt (need to replenish the good bateria in my tummy)
and funny enough, I got my waist back! haha…Now I understand eating disorders, and am even more saddened by them. But shit, my six pack cam back from hurling all night. haha, dang. My poor poor body was in such shock. It’s like i t went through boot camp for the past 48 hours. But it’s good to know that now I’m more resilient to california cuisine than ever! Booya grandma! Bring it! It’s time to eat again! wahooo!!! and I only have three more days of deliciousness, ohhh how I miss amazing and affordable ethnic food in cali. new york is good for american food, but cali is good for all that in between, I mean, you can taste the difference in the ingredients that don’t have to travel so far…
I’m so grateful for the small things in life. as simple as eating normally and pooping normally again. HAHA.
And all the small things are just so damn tasty ;) Feed my body and feed my soul! :)
so Cheers! to a fully revived digestive system again, to healthy poop, and to happy conscious and healthy eating again! :)
xoxox J xoxo
