Saying grace.

Food gratitude (back in my raw food days)

Last week I did the math and realized I've been on a Sibo-Safe Diet for 3 months and counting. My main food during this time has been Chicken Soup. You might as well start calling me the Queen of Chicken Soup, because that's the way I feel. Like the Queen.

"Off with their heads!"

It's not just chickens, either. I'm also eating other kinds and parts of animals. Fish bodies, cow muscles...even (once or twice, ahem) parts of pigs, as in BACON. 

The weird thing is, I used to be a vegetarian. Not only that, but a high raw vegan. It's kind of freaking me out. WTH happened to me?

The answer is, of course: SIBO happened. It happens to a lot of people, including a lot of people who 'used to be' vegetarian.

I don't BLAME my vegetarian diet for SIBO. But I can see how over the years, in the absence of sufficient bowel motility to keep things moving along at a respectable clip, all those plant-based foods—rich in fiber, natural sugars and starches—contributed to the bacterial overgrowth situation.

It still feels weird to be consuming animal flesh. It's important for me to acknowledge that. Along with the guilt and shame I can't help but feel around it sometimes. At my core, I still believe in the ethical and evolutionary superiority of a flesh-free diet.

It was a tough coming to terms, allowing my paradigm to shift. But here's the thing: I got sick. And I want to feel better. I want to regain my vitality and zest, which was the promise of raw foods in the first place. Big raw salads, dried fruits & nuts, 16-ounce green juices, multi-ingredient superfood smoothies—they simply aren't right for me at this time. Just thinking about them makes me bloat.

Going forward, I want to figure out a way to include more living, fresh plant foods in my diet. I really do. But right now is a healing time. Cooked food is easier to digest. Fiber-free animal protein and pure fats don't feed microbes. That's just the way it is.

The best I can do is to feel gratitude for all the animals that gave, and will be giving, their bodies and bones for my healing.

It doesn't seem fair that any creature must die for another to live. Especially not a "higher" level, developed sentient being. But perhaps it is not a question of fair. It is just part of the Planet Earth paradigm. Eat or be eaten. Adapt or perish. Evolve or die.

For me, right now, eating to evolve involves bringing animal's bodies into my body. I will do my best to honor the sacrifice of these creatures by remaining conscious of the truth that they were once aware and breathing, just like me. I will do my best to choose only flesh foods from wholesome origins (even though organic/pastured/grass-fed meat and eggs are more expensive) as a sign of respect for the value of animal lives. And I will do my best to pause and say grace, to remember its life and bless the being whose body I am consuming... before, during and after my meals.

Blessed are all creatures of the earth. I humble myself and give thanks for each gift of sacrifice, taken so that I may be healthy. May all beings be happy.