Leaky gut sounds gross, but it seems to be a hot topic lately. As I read more about, I get grossed out even more. It refers to toxins leaking out of your small intestine and into the rest of your body. Apparently, it is the reason behind a lot of skin problems, autoimmune disorders and all sorts of other things that ail you. I wouldn’t be surprised if researchers found a way to link climate change and economic issues on leaky gut eventually.
So now we have gluten-free, eating clean, raw food, Swank diet, McDougall diet, sugar detox, Paleo, and now leaky gut to, ahem, help us to get healthier. I know I’ve forgotten a few, but I think you get my point. There are loads of opinions out there on how to eat right.
Then there’s my diet, the Stubborn Child Diet. Basically, it’s eating everything that experts pretty much agree are bad for us. At least it’s less confusing than trying to figure out whether beans are good or bad, grains are good or bad, coconut oil is good or bad. To supplement or not supplement, that is the question. It’s almost as tiring to figure out the rules as it would be to implement them.
These days, I find myself playing Would You Rather…
- Drink lots of water to get better hydrated or stop peeing on myself when I can’t make it to the bathroom on time?
- Waste money on healthy ingredients I throw out when I forget to use them or buy unhealthy items with long shelf-lives?
- Be tired because of all the time spent preparing healthy foods or be tired because I’m not eating healthy foods?
- Eat nonfat yogurt because it supposedly contains probiotics or avoid it because it’s a dairy product?
OK, I’ve officially jumped into the Thicket of Rules and gotten frightfully tangled. So, how to get out? If I try to cut myself free with a chainsaw, I might end up in the Bottomless Pit of Pity and not know how to get out. Or I could just passively stay where I am and throw Excuses at the Thicket, which just bounce off and don’t get through the tangle.
Well, while I try to sort out this mess, I’ll just take this elementary school scissors I have and see if I can maybe, just maybe, give myself a little breathing room. I won’t try to be Julia Child, I’ll just try to get a decent meal on the table with minimal angst and effort. I’ll start using that food diary app on my phone more often, instead of putting in breakfast and/or lunch and calling it a day. I’ll keep my water bottle and spare Poise pads at the ready. Then as I see more light, I may find some sharper knives to cut myself loose.
