At the weekend I ate out with my family twice as there was a big family gathering due to death in the family, unfortunately.
On Saturday night it was a Chinese restaurant and I brought my own food, under the advice of my granny who goes there regularly. To be honest I don't know much about Chinese food and wasn't sure if they would be able to provide anything. I rang them and asked if it was OK. The were very nice about it and said yes. I gave them my box of salad on the way in and they brought it out on a plate to me. My German relatives were intrigued. 'You must do it under the advice of your doctor' said one. Fair enough. 'It's fine for a while, but of course, not for ever', said another. I said of course it will be forever! She said that one day I would realise it was the wrong thing.
Since I am feeling a bit unhealthy at the moment, this made me begin to have doubts about the diet and it was a horrible feeling. I also felt really embarrassed when the lady handed me back my plastic container when I was still sitting at the table with everyone.
Then the next night I took some coleslaw round for a buffet at my granny's house. Everyone loved it and I was showered with compliments and requests for the recipe. This made me feel a whole lot better.
I also spoke to my cousin and her husband who asked me why I changed to this diet. It was hard to explain as I was trying to talk in German and so did not get all of my reasons across. He said, but surely when you cut plants they become dead too, like the animals. True, I said. But no diet will be perfect. They agreed. It was interesting because he has was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer and has been extremely ill for the past 2 years. He also have a lung transplant, which his body wants to reject, so his immune system is being kept deliberately low with drugs so his body will stop trying to reject the lung. So he has been told that everything has to be as sterile as possible so he does not get ill. This means that he can not eat ANY raw food! EVERYTHING must be throroughly, thoroughly cooked. And they acknowledged that raw food is good for your immune system which is even more reason not to have it. So they could sympathise with eating out in public with special dietary requirements and how it was so time-consuming getting used to a new way of eating.
I find this hard to get my head around...
Hi Amy!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry your cousin has been struggling with both bone marrow cancer AND a lung transplant... I wonder if his rules are a little more strict because of both issues and the immunosuppression?
Many transplant centers have different rules/guidelines for their patients regarding diet and sanitation -- and sometimes those rules get a little more flexible as we are farther post transplant and our immune systems are not as compromised as they were in the year or so immediately post transplant...
At our center, in the Chicago, Illinois, USA area -- we can eat raw fruits and vegetables... But, we take measures to see that they are as cleen as possible... We rinse them or soak them in a lemon juice or vinegar solution (an acidic solution) that tends to address most of the bugs that cause us problem...
We steer clear of raw or undercooked meats -- but that's not an issue with you anyways...
For some of us -- it's a little easier to deal with cooking EVERYTHING, rather than worrying whether we've wiped out all of the bugs (and by bugs, I'm talking bacteria, germs, etc...) With our new parts, and the value of these gifts, many of us are a little justifiably paranoid... One problem with cooking the living heck out of everything is that you often lose some flavor -- and I believe you sometimes lose nutrients as well...
The point / possibility that some foods have a tendency to boost your immune system, and the purpose of taking immune suppressants is to avoid exactly that, may seem valid -- but in most instances, they provide nutrients similar to the multivitamins we're supposed to be taking... I've been exposed to a number of U.S. centers and I've never been warned about issues surrounding eating healthy boosting your immune system too much...
I've been eating well-washed raw fruits & vegetables since the week after my double-lung transplant, and that was almost 10 years ago...
So -- don't go to far to try to get your head around this... Love, Steve
Steve Ferkau
Chicago, IL USA