The irony is not lost on me that I, a person who has loved eating and cooking for her whole life, has also struggled with digesting that food I love so much for the same amount of time. Often eating causes me great physical pain, something that I have chosen to ignore and push through for years. While I can sometimes slip by with only a few side effects, it has gotten harder and harder for me to eat without getting some sort of terrible stomach ache.
Today, I had a meeting with my very kind doctor who delicately told me that when I eat, very little of it is absorbed into my body due to chronic inflammation. After lots of blood tests, it has been discovered that I have a very high intolerance to dairy and a mild one to chestnuts somewhat randomly. My omega three and B-12 is also incredibly low.
She recommended that I start eating more bitter greens, fatty fish, and goat milk to help with my digestion. While this does not heavily impact my project I thought that I would post about it because my diet and focus is going to shift a bit now that I know there are foods I should eat more of and others to stay away from.
For me, eating is an experience defined by pleasure, choosing not to limit myself through diets and other harmful restrictive eating habits. This project in particular is one defined by the senses, exploring flavors both of my childhood and of Hazan’s. If what I am eating now brings me suffering over pleasure, then it is my duty as an eater and cook to give my body things that bring only joy. For the rest of this project I will try and steer towards the foods that will help me on my journey towards healing.
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