Being on the same eating plan, means being on the same wavelength.
I was feeling dizzy. My nerves were tingling, my heart was pounding, I was anxious or moody most of the time.
My body would tremble and I would start shaking. Sometimes the symptoms were so severe, that I would pass out.
I consulted my family doctor. He diagnosed me with low blood sugar, just a few days after I had found out I was pregnant with my son.
The excitement of a first-time pregnancy did not last long, because I stressed about my health and the health of my unborn child.
I was given a prescription for multivitamins and was told to avoid certain foods. My life changed drastically after my son was born. So did my diet.
I had to eat more healthily. For one thing, I had struggled for years with my coffee addition. Caffeine would trigger my symptoms, but I could never stop drinking coffee.
I reduced my intake, but only quit during the national lockdown last year. I’m proud to say I have not relapsed since then.
Comfort eating was also my way of staying sane in an often demanding and stressful world.
My son, who is now 18, has for most of his life never had health issues. He has visited our doctor on only three occasions. But last year he too started experiencing dizziness, fatigue, and mood swings.
I was concerned because he has always been energetic and on the go. I wasn’t sure if it was teenage hormones, or a lack of vitamins in his diet.
I took him to see our family doctor. He told me my son had low blood sugar as well. He had to start taking the same vitamins I was taking daily. He had to eat less carbs and more protein.
This was a challenge for us both because he is a basketball player, and his coach has put him on a high-carb diet to add weight. Body mass and height seem to be key attributes for basketball players.
We are both vegetarians. We eat a lot of carbs and no meat or fish, so the high protein intake was going to be difficult. How much beetroot juice can one really drink?
Our relationship was distant at the time because he was growing older and becoming more independent. We were drifting apart. I became less involved in watching what he ate and when he was eating.
Now I was given the task of watching over his diet. I was not sure he was going to appreciate the interference. I was scared it would anger him and tear us further apart.
But when my son learned that he would need more Vitamin B, less carbs, and a higher intake of protein, he was excited. Now he could help me eat better, he said, since we both have the same health issues. This was an unexpected reaction, but his enthusiasm made me happy.
We went shopping for food together. We decided he was going to eat fish, and he was going to help me prepare meals as often as he could.
We started living in our kitchen. The distance between us narrowed. We grew so close that we even started watching the same TV shows. I could chill with him in his room even when his friends came to visit.
Before, I had to knock on the door and wait to be given permission to enter. Now I can just knock and enter, without being giving the evil eye.
Whenever I cook a meal that has fish as an ingredient, he thanks me for making the effort. He knows it isn’t easy for me to cook fish, or even attempt to eat it.
I have looked at the fish, smelled the fish (pardon my manners, I like to smell my food) and fish does not have the best smell in the world. This might be why I have not taken that bite of fish yet.
It seems my son has no issues. He bites, chews, and swallows. Who would have thought that food would bring us closer together?
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