…to be ill. Not “what’s in your meat” ill. But, like, seriously ill.
It’s a shame. There’s so much to talk about. There’s President Bush advising people to eat locally grown foods as a creative solution to the world food crisis. There’s Expat’s scathing response to his comments, which is basically “hello? That’d be nice, but thanks to our agricultural policy only 4% of the farms in the U.S. even grow fruits and vegetables and meanwhile you’re pushing to convert even more farmland to corn production to boost dubious ethanol production…” There’s the absurd Cookie Diet (thanks to the Ethicurean for the link). There are parts II and III to the food crisis posts — how we can save money on groceries without resorting to total crap — which I’d really like to return to.
I can’t talk about any of that, though. I just don’t want to think about food at all. I’m sick as a dog. Nausea, abdominal pain, dry heaves, all of it. Some funky bug? Who knows. Actually, they thought it might be my gallbladder — they wanted to yank that sucker out of me, and yesterday morning, I even had an IV stuck in my arm in preparation for surgery — but then the ultrasound showed no stones.
(My gallbladder??? But I eat vegetables! I’m the only one I know who can eat a bowl of beets happily! I don’t go on cookie diets!)
So it’s a mystery. And hopefully it’s just something that clears, miraculously, on its own. Like, today. Voila! Poof! Gone! Here’s hoping.
In the meantime, here I am, not eating food, not writing about food, not thinking about food. I got me some apple juice, and that’s as much as I can handle.
A brief haiku for my body parts on this retch-filled Wednesday:
I like my organs.
I’d prefer to keep them, ‘kay?
(gallbladder too. Please).
Feel better soon and here’s hoping you get to keep your gallbladder.
Oh my! Get well soon!!!!
Hope you feel better very soon.
BTW, gall bladder problems are very common in people who eat a diet low in fat most of the time. The bile salts stored in the bladder don’t get squirted out regularly, so they turn to sludge and then solidify into stones. Then when more fat than usual is eaten and a squirt of bile salts are needed, well, you get the picture.
I know of several people who developed gall bladder problems after years of low-fat diets or going on those low fat, calorie restricted physician-monitored diets. Two of the older women this happened to thought they were having heart attacks. Not good stuff. Dr. Mike Eades’ Protein Power blog has a post on this in the archives. I have run across this info in medical sources as well, too.
So, when you are all better and feel like eating again, have some butter or cream every day to keep the gall bladder surgeon away!
While you are laid up, if you are in a reading mood, here is something that might interest you.
portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/02/280191.shtml
The Oil We Eat by Richard Manning (originally published in Harpers)
Here’s hoping it’s just a nasty bug that decides to find a new and distant victim very soon.
Yikes! I hope you feel better soon.
Feel better soon! We missed you today and thanks for the fruit salad (yummy, yummy). I will make you a green smoothie when your tummy is all better-soon I hope.
I hope this mystery ailment is figured out soon.
I had stones in my gallbladder, and lemme tell ya, those attacks hurt. I hate to think of anyone in that kind of pain!
Very sorry to hear about it, what a drag. I do hope you don’t need surgery.
Arg. Abdominal pain sucks.
I had my gallbladder out at the beginning of 07 and curiously enough, I didn’t have stones either, but my gallbladder was chronically inflamed and only working at about 50%. A HIDA scan showed that it wasn’t working properly, even though I had no stones. They never did figure out why it started to fail. Go figure.
I do feel a lot better after having it removed though, so I wouldn’t discount having it taken out.
Thanks for all those links. I’m clicking on over.
Hi! I’m new to your blog, I plan on doing a lot of back reading today
I have a question that I cannot seem to find an answer to so maybe during your down time today (ha) you could help me: is there a particular label or term for people who follow Michael Pollan’s eating plan? Not that he has a diet plan or anything, but I’m talking about people who don’t eat HFCS and try to not eat items with 57 ingredients in them. People who eat mostly greens, veggies, fruits, meat, etc. and little processed food. People like me, essentially 
I am new to that way of eating too but I love it and I feel so much better since I started. I want to converse with other like minded people but I don’t know what the label is in order to find them. Any help? At least I found you!
ooh, reading more into your blog…is ethicurean the right word? I like that.
Whip1 - I don’t know if there is a name. I personally like the term Ethicurean, but I really only see it in the context of the Ethicurean web site. “Locavore” aka “localvore” are focused on eating locally - which by its nature means no processed junk, but of course you can ditch the processed junk without shopping the farmer’s market. There’s the whole “slow food” term - meaning the opposite of fast food, but also taking the time to appreciate where the food came from. Then there’s the term “foodie,” which I don’t especially like, mostly because it feels loaded somehow and more geared toward fancy take-out and restaurants.
Me? I just call it real food, in contrast to what Michael Pollan calls “edible food=like substances.”
There is much to find online on the subject, though. It’s awesome.
Everyone else, thank you for your kind words. I’m not dry heaving today. It’s either gallbladder or gastritis or “something else.” Anna and Andrea, I also appreciate your inside knowledge.
In the meantime, guess what? I’ve eaten some applesauce and kept everything down. Yay for me!
Seriously, thanks.
Here I came to check on you after a long absence and find you ailing. I feel guilty for my neglect. How can I ever forgive myself?
Feel better soon, my friend, and hold onto that gall bladder. It has to be good for something. BTW, the only person I know who has had their gall bladder removed had gastric bypass surgery. Gaining and/or losing weight too quickly causes gall bladder issues.
As a total aside, I wish they’d (you know they) figure out the purpose of the appendix (the body organ, not the book’s back pages). It’s got to be there for some reason, doncha think? Strange.
I just noticed I’m rambling, must be the guilt. Get well!
Hey…look into food allergies. I am actually allergic to corn, but was “mistreated” for IBS for many years. The pain, when I get off-kilter, is incredible. Incidentally, this means the HFCS is out of my diet for good, and I feel amazing.
It’s the cornstarch and cornflour that sneaks in too often and knocks me for a loop.
I’ve been worried about you. Hope you are feeling better.