Mommy Brain

When Katy at Fallible announced that she now had an agent to help guide her literary career, I was so very happy for her. I also started reading her agent’s blog. She gives great writing advice (like this), and she’s also hosting The Yo-Dawg-Show-Me-What-You-Got Double Decker CHALLENGE. There are two parts to the competition: submit the first line of a novel - a first line that will make her want to keep reading; second, after she chooses the winning first line, submit the first 300 words to go with the winning first line. If you’re a writer, the prize is something all unpublished writers pine after, so please click over and check out all the details. The deadline for the first phase is Saturday at midnight her time, so don’t wait.

Now, onto a totally different and completely unrelated topic: colonoscopies. Yes, I know, not what you expect from my blog. However, I read this funny and important column by Dave Barry about hist first colonoscopy - and why, after avoiding it for 10 years, he finally had it done.

OK. You turned 50. You know you’re supposed to get a colonoscopy. But you haven’t. Here are your reasons:

1. You’ve been busy.

2. You don’t have a history of cancer in your family.

3. You haven’t noticed any problems.

4. You don’t want a doctor to stick a tube 17,000 feet up your butt.

Let’s examine these reasons one at a time. No, wait, let’s not. Because you and I both know that the only real reason is No. 4. This is natural. The idea of having another human, even a medical human, becoming deeply involved in what is technically known as your ”behindular zone” gives you the creeping willies.

Now that I’ve shown you how humorous even this topic can be, click over and read the column. And, if you’re over fifty and have yet to be screened (yes, Dad, I mean you), make an appointment.

And, since it’s Good Friday, I leave you with this:

I read of Christ crucified,
the only begotten Son
sacrificed to flesh and time
and all our woe. He died
and rose, but who does not tremble
for His pain, His loneliness,
and the darkness of the sixth hour?
Unless we grieve like Mary
at His grave, giving Him up
as lost, no Easter morning comes.

~from The Way of Pain, by Wendell Berry

Is it possible to catch two strains of the flu during the same flu season? Cause two weeks ago I had the extremely sore throat, achy body, head-in-a-vice headache, mild fever kind. And now, I have the chest congestion, nasty cough, body aches so bad you want to cry like a baby, head-in-a-vice headache, mild fever kind. Or could this just be round two of the same flu? I don’t know, but I do know that I am very sick of being sick, and I sure hope this is short-lived. Ugh.

I have taken digestive enzymes off and on for the past 10 years. More off than on, I have to admit. I’m sure I’ve never taken them for a long enough time to get the full health benefits. After reading Enzymes and Your Health by Dr. Howard W. Fisher, I’m determined to start taking them again – and keep taking them.

Dr. Fisher starts his book with a chapter that gives a very detailed, yet concise, description of the digestion process. He also includes an explanation of enzymes’ role in digestion.

He then goes on to explain exactly what enzymes are, and why a person needs to supplement their body’s own enzymes.

“One of the problems that we continuously face is that not only does our current food supply contain diminished amounts of enzymes, but we have traded off enzyme content for processing and increased shelf life.” –p. 8.

“Past the age of thirty-years-old there is a decrease in the amount of digestive enzymes produced in the pancreas, stomach and small intestine. Furthermore, shipping, food processing and preservatives all deplete the enzyme content of foods…

…How many of us eat raw food diets? According to Gabriel Cousens, M.D., poor mineral content in the soil, pesticides and fertilizers have decreased the enzyme content of raw foods to the point that supplemental enzymes are necessary always!” –p. 22.

Dr. Fisher also explains why an insufficiency of digestive enzymes results in problems in other systems of the body that are seemingly unrelated to digestion. The list of conditions that have been proven to benefit from enzyme supplementation is surprising: fatigue, yeast overgrowth, headaches, heartburn, food allergies, decreased immunity, and many more.

I was especially interested in learning how enzyme deficiency can lead to overeating and obesity, two areas in which I have struggled for years.

“If the body is deficient in enzymes there is the predisposition to eat more in order to get the necessary nutrition. This leads to a vicious cycle, since no matter how much food is ingested the inability to break it down will result in potential malnutrition and the neurologically directed desire to eat more. Continuously compounding this cycle can lead to obesity.” –p. 49.

Dr. Fisher has included many charts and tables that illustrate the role of each enzyme and how they relate to each system of the body. He also cites many studies that collaborate his findings.

He has convinced me about how essential enzyme supplementation is to overall health. I encourage you to read the book and be convinced as well.

In the interest of full disclosure, my husband works for the company that is selling this book, and we do receive a small commission on any books bought from the above link. That said, I do believe everything I wrote in the book review. I am continuing to take enzymes, and I will post any health changes I see as a result.