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Why is healthy eating so hard to do?

Donna — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 08:31:30 +0000

Health has been on my mind a lot lately, especially since it seems to be so elusive the past month or so. My allergies and asthma have kicked up a notch and I’ve been a sneezing, coughing, runny mess for the better part of March and April. My March episode lasted a good 3 weeks and my current bout hit the 2-week mark today – although I am definitely on the mend after receiving a prescription for Prednisone (4-day dose) and Advair in addition to the Allegra and Flonase nose spray already in my arsenal. After two days, I am seeing a marked improvement since before I got on the new meds. I admit, as effective as they are, I really hate being on so many medications. I am looking forward to the day that I can breathe clearly and not worry about triggering a coughing fit by laughing too heartily.

Lately, I have been pondering the connection between diet and health. Having reconnected with my friend Jeri Taira via Facebook and in-person by a chance run-in at Macy’s, I discovered that she has embarked on a total lifestyle change as a vegan and has seen dramatic improvement in her health and well-being. I also attended a class on Macrobiotic cooking taught by the awesome Leslie Ashburn about two years ago (while Baby Champuru was still in utero). She explained how the foods that we eat make a direct impact on our health and how we feel. I am totally convinced that this is true. So why am I not cooking the macrobiotic way or motivated to become a vegetarian/vegan?

In short, it comes down to economics and convenience. And more than likely, those are probably the same reasons why our nation is facing problems with obesity and poor health. The sad truth is that a drive-thru run at McDonald’s is much cheaper and faster than finding a healthy vegetarian or macrobiotic meal on the go.

In my defense, our family does not subsist on Big Macs and Happy Meals. I cook most of our meals at home, but the same rules apply. Locally-grown, organic vegetables and ingredients are not as readily available at your neighborhood grocery store. I can’t always make it to the Farmer’s Market, and even then, most of the vendors are not selling organically-grown produce. Organic ingredients are becoming more accessible at most grocery stores, but they are always sold at a premium price. Shopping at health food stores just kills me because I end up spending so much more than if I had bought the comparable (non-organic) items at the supermarket.

I never realized just how invaluable the vegetable garden in the backyard of my youth was until I recently. My dad with his famed green thumb grew the most beautiful organic vegetables ever: carrots, daikon (turnip), corn, soy beans, radishes, zucchini, and togan squash — but his Manoa lettuce was the stuff of legend. I have fond memories of helping Dad in the garden, watering the beds of vegetables with the muddy garden hose in the late afternoon and being so excited to see the plants grow from tiny seeds into big, beautiful vegetables! There were also fruit trees: avocado, tangerines, papayas, bananas, and star fruit. We literally had a produce section growing right outside our house. You have no idea how much I miss that now. It makes me wonder how much money my parents saved on groceries by having that garden and how much healthier we were back then. (Well, we were also much younger, too.)

When I was making homemade baby food for Baby Champuru, I always made sure it was organic, no matter the cost — even driving 25 miles to Whole Paycheck Foods to find it. But since she has started eating table food, she has been eating mostly non-organic meals with the rest of the family. This troubles me somewhat. I want to give her the best start on life with good nutrition, but at the same time, sometimes it just doesn’t seem realistic.

I know the argument that buying healthy food is more expensive up front, but saves money on potential medical bills in the future. But I guess it’s similar to the idea behind investing in one’s retirement account: sacrifice now to enjoy later. But when you’re a single-income family living in Hawaii already sacrificing to make ends meet, being frugal at the grocery store is very important if you want to have enough money to keep the lights on and the mortgage paid.

I try to make sure we eat a balanced diet. I buy most of our fruits and some of our vegetables from Costco. I also frequent our neighborhood Times supermarket or Safeway for the rest of the ingredients — and opt for locally-grown produce whenever available. Admittedly, I do cook for convenience since I don’t always have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen, which means I use chicken broth in a box (organic free-range chicken broth from Costco!), canned tomato soup for my chili recipe, minced garlic in a jar, and pre-cut broccoli florets.

Isn’t it enough to eat a “balanced” diet? (What about that famous Food Pyramid they keep harping about?) How much of an impact does eating organic really make? And if it is that substantial, why on earth does the FDA allow this harmful practice to go on while it’s endangering the health of our citizens?

Speaking of organic, here’s a link to a helpful MSNBC article entitled, “Organic food: is it worth the money?” It lists the “dirty dozen” must-buy organic fruit and vegetables, which are most likely to harbor pesticide residue than others. I need to have this list permanently tattooed on my forehead so I can steer clear of them when shopping. Or maybe I’ll just copy the list into my iPhone and be less conspicuous.

This entry provides more questions than answers, so I’m seeking your feedback. Are these issues important to you? What are your food purchasing practices? Any tips to share? Weigh in with a comment or send me an e-mail via my Contact Form. Thanks!

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Sick of being sick

Donna — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:41:12 +0000

I am so sick of being sick.

Baby Champuru developed a fever on February 22, nearly two weeks ago, which turned into croup, and now she just has a persistent mucousy cough and a runny nose. Not long after, I got sick — then, Hubby. Now my parents are sick. Be warned: those baby germies are potent and latch on to anyone who has contact with them!

Being mostly sequestered indoors for two weeks is not good for my mental health. Yesterday, we hit the mall for a few hours, which was therapeutic for me, but perhaps resulted in us overexerting ourselves. Today, we’re all lazing around the house recuperating.

I called the pediatrician’s office this morning and talked to the nurse about Baby Champuru’s progress. Since she’s still coughing, the nurse prescribed Albuterol and advised to keep her on it for another week. If the cough doesn’t improve within a week, we will need to bring her in for a follow-up visit.

In this milieu of sickness, it feels like a long, dark tunnel and I still can’t see the light at the end.

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Croup

Donna — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 09:13:11 +0000

On Monday, February 22, I wrote that Baby Champuru had developed a fever. Her fever peaked during the wee hours of Thursday morning at 103.5º F and did not break until Friday. This is our first experience with such high fevers and I was constantly worried about the chance of febrile seizures. During this past week, I was on the phone with the pediatrician’s office about half a dozen times and brought her in-office twice. At both visits, the doctor checked for signs of infection or wheezing, and assured us that it was just a cold and we just needed to ride it out.

Although her fever had gone by Friday, she started coughing — or more like “barking,” which started during the wee hours of this morning. It was frightening to hear her barking like a seal, laboring to breathe and obviously upset by it. The more she cried, the worse the coughing became. Thankfully, I’m still nursing her and was able to calm her with the Great Mommy Pacifier and she fell asleep. She woke several times throughout the night and each time I nursed her back to sleep.

All of this in between the excitement of news flooding my Twitterstream of an imminent tsunami to hit Hawaii in the morning. Needless to say, it was an anxious night for me and I got little sleep.

After the tsunami warning was canceled today, Hubby went out to buy a room humidifier. I never thought I would be buying a humidifier in Hawaii. After all, this isn’t Nevada. Isn’t Hawaii humid enough already? But advice from numerous sources and experienced parents poured in, all of them suggesting bringing Baby Champuru into the bathroom while running a hot shower — or using a humidifier. We did both and she seems to be doing better so far.

I’m hoping for a markedly less exciting night. I could use the rest — especially since now I’m the one that’s sick, too.

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Clean Bill of Health

Donna — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:30:38 +0000

Wednesday marked my last doctor’s appointment for a while. I wrote an entry back in January entitled, Doesn’t this thing come with a warranty? lamenting about the numerous doctor’s appointments and tests I had scheduled for the months of January and February.

I have one more test scheduled for next month, an ultrasound to check on an ovarian cyst that they found on a recent CT scan. If there’s anything that I learned after enduring two years of fertility treatments is that I am prone to all kinds of weirdness in my girl parts, thanks to endometriosis. Endometriosis is also what necessitated fertility treatments to begin with. If you’re interested in reading the whole story about my struggles with infertility, complete with its ups and downs, emotional rollercoasters, and a subsequent happy ending, you can read the conception/pregnancy archive starting here.

The doctor suspects that the “cyst” they saw really is just a benign endometrioma, so they’ll do the ultrasound to be sure. I hate those ultrasounds, since it requires a full bladder. Since childbirth, I don’t do well with a full bladder so I’m not looking forward to a morning of squeezing my legs together while waiting to be called.

What started this flurry of appointments was the previously mentioned CT scan. Most troubling was that the scan detected mild sclerosis in the bilateral sacroiliac joints and could be caused by a number of different issues all of them not good. Differential diagnoses: Ankylosing Spondylitis, Sacroiliitis associated with inflammatory bowel disease, or degenerative joint disease. Whoa. Scary stuff, eh? I thought so, too.

I was referred to a rheumatologist for follow up. After reviewing my scan and ordering a battery of blood tests, the doctor did not seem concerned and believes that the radiologist simply “over read” my scan. In my opinion, it’s better to be safe than sorry and I’m actually glad the radiologist raised the red flag on it — even if it caused some moments of anxiety over pondering the what-if’s. I would guess that it’s probably standard operating procedure to note even the smallest anomalies, because what if there was indeed something wrong? In this highly litigious society, it’s better to disclose every little thing than to be sued for malpractice.

I will return to the rheumatologist in six months to do another x-ray to see what’s going on with those sacroiliac joints of mine. I’m praying that the sclerosis will be gone by that time. The doctor gave me some back strengthening exercises to do since I also complained of some lower back pain which is not related to the sclerosis they found, but completely due to my poor posture, weak abs, and lack of stretching and activity.

I feel like I’ve been given a new lease on life. After being given the differential diagnoses last month (when I wrote this entry) I was really starting to feel my mortality — and I’m not even out of my 30′s yet. It did serve as a wake up call to take better care of my health, however. Not just for my sake, but for the sake of my family.

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Don’t push the envelope because it’s prone to push back

Donna — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 09:06:45 +0000

Day #4 of the Evil Stomach Virus of 2010. The first two days were torturous, but day #3 was starting to look up. The trips to the restroom were not as frequent and the fever and fatigue had lifted. Although the symptoms were not completely gone, I was feeling somewhat better. Today, I got a tad bit too ambitious. Or maybe I was just sick and tired of eating soda crackers and chazuke (tea rice).

Okay, I admit. I got cocky. I decided to push the envelope. I was jonesing for something with FLAVOR! Something tasty-delicious on my tongue. I asked Hubby to bring me home an M&M McFlurry from McDonald’s on his way home from work. Against his better judgement, he obliged. After I devoured it, Hubby kept asking me how I felt. Never better! I thought I had kicked the tummy bug out on its nasty, virulent ear.

So, for dinner I finished off the last of my chicken soup and ventured to have a teeny-tiny piece of meatloaf. That was when my stomach decided that enough was enough and promptly put me in a headlock and made me cry “uncle!”

That little piece of meatloaf kicked me back to day #2 in terms of symptoms, just minus the fever. My poor stomach is so alarmingly bloated that it looks like I’m about 6 months pregnant. (For the record, I’m NOT.) Oh, and the abdominal cramps. The cramps! It almost puts labor pains to shame. I said, “almost.”

And by the way, this illness has totally put a kink into my NaBloPoMo and Project 365 plans. Yes, it was THAT bad. When order returns to my bowels, we will return to our regularly scheduled programming.

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Mommies aren’t invincible?

Donna — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:12:53 +0000

Apparently, I forgot to take my Mommy Invincibility Vitamins the other day because I succumbed to this awful stomach virus. This is the worst case of gastroenteritis I’ve suffered and it’s literally flattened me to a useless pulp the past few days. Thankfully, Hubby was able to take sick leave the past two days to care for Baby Champuru while I’ve been convalescing. Now it seems that Baby Champuru may be coming down with a cold: sneezing, coughing and runny nose. I am praying that she doesn’t catch my tummy bug because it can be very serious (even fatal) for children under 5 years of age. Hubby, too, has developed a stubborn headache that refuses to be banished by Tylenol and we’re hoping that he’s not falling victim to illness as well.

Prayers for health in the Champuru household are appreciated!

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Doesn’t this thing come with a warranty?

Donna — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 04:00:55 +0000

I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but it seems like my body started falling apart shortly after childbirth. Or maybe I’m just getting old. I have seven doctors’ appointments scheduled in January and February for a variety of ailments and my calendar is starting to look like it belongs to a geriatric. Granted, a few of those appointments are for routine annual check-ups, but it’s still more than I like to see on my docket.

Yesterday, I had two appointments to follow up with a recent CT scan I did for a condition that ended up being much ado about nothing. I had a cystometry done which entailed inserting a catheter into the urethra to fill the bladder with water as they took different measurements. It’s about as pleasant as it sounds, but thankfully everything was within a normal range. On the other hand, the CT scan revealed a couple of issues unrelated to my initial complaint and provided some unsettling differential diagnoses. I have an appointment with a specialist to follow-up. I’m trying not to worry since nothing is confirmed, but it took me by surprise and the fear of the unknown is always a little unnerving.

Never be afraid to entrust the unknown future to the all-knowing God.
(From the Our Daily Bread devotional, 1/8/2010)

Last night, I started feeling sorry for myself but had the presence of mind to realize that I had to get my head and my heart back on straight again. I read the online devotional from Our Daily Bread and it was no coincidence that the title of the reading was Fear of the Unknown. Although the lesson pertained more to stepping out in faith and allowing God to lead you into uncharted territory, it told me that although I may not know what may lie in my future in regards to my health (or anything else) — God knows. This omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent God also loves me and promises never to forsake me. He holds my hand, as well as my future.

Many things about tomorrow
I don’t seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.
—Stanphill

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5 pounds plus

Donna — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:39:07 +0000

I gained 12 pounds while pregnant, but quickly lost it thanks to magnificent calorie-burning power of breastfeeding. Within a couple of months after giving birth, I found myself 5 pounds less than my pre-pregnancy weight. I could eat like a linebacker and still maintain my weight. For a foodie like myself, that was pure bliss.

That was short-lived, however, as the nursing slowed down when Baby Champuru turned 6 months old and the weight returned. I was still eating like a linebacker and starting to resemble one, too. (Okay, slight use of hyperbole there, but you get the idea.)

When I weighed myself yesterday, I was aghast to see that I was 5 pounds OVER my pre-pregnancy weight. Shari’s wedding is coming up in late October and I’m her matron of honor. Although the dress that Shari selected for me is quite forgiving, I would prefer to be about 10 pounds lighter than I am now. So that’s my goal: lose 10 pounds by Shari’s wedding. Ambitious, I know.

How do I intend to do that? Diet and exercise. I’m reducing my carb intake and increasing my exercise. I am hoping to go for a brisk 40-minute walk at least once a day, 5 out of 7 days a week. Hopefully that won’t be too little, too late for my October 24 goal. I have exactly 2 months to accomplish this. Can I do it? We’ll find out.

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Mommy Fitness

Donna — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:01:05 +0000

I’ve been enjoying Nordic Walking with Baby Champuru in her Beco Baby Carrier. Baby Champuru seems quite content riding on my back and is quiet for the duration of the walk, enjoying the sights or taking a short nap. She actually seems to enjoy being in the carrier more than riding in her stroller.

The walking poles and the additional weight of baby (15 lbs. or so) turn a brisk walk into a great workout. Not to mention the fresh air and endorphins does wonders for my disposition. I’m hoping to make a 30-45 minute walk a regular part of my day at least 5 times a week. I hope the side effect will be some weight loss and muscle toning.

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Nordic Walking

Donna — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:37:57 +0000

I gained 12 pounds during pregnancy and quickly lost 18 pounds shortly after I gave birth thanks to a rigorous nursing schedule when Baby Champuru was a newborn. When she hit six months, the nursing slowed down and I began to supplement feedings with formula. Due to a lack of exercise and overly enthusiastic eating, the scale is starting to tip in the wrong direction again. I’m hoping to stop this trend before it gets out of hand, but as a new mom, finding time for exercise isn’t always easy.

Hubby’s new hobby is biking, and although I don’t share the same ardor for the activity, he managed to find something for me during his recent trip to the bike shop: a pair of FitTrek Nordic Walking Poles. When he brought them home, I was less than excited. To be honest, I’ve seen people walking around the neighborhood with those poles and thought it actually looked quite comical. After all, it looks like cross-country skiing without the benefit of snow and a fabulous cold-weather outfit. Seeing the price tag still hanging from the poles ($89.95), I thought I better give them a chance.

So, that afternoon, we put Baby Champuru in the stroller and I wielded my new Nordic walking poles. It took a little getting used to, but after a while, I got into a good stride and they actually felt great! The poles help you get a better full-body workout during your walk, without increasing your pace.

Here’s a description of the benefits of Nordic walking from Wikipedia:

Nordic walking can be done year round in any climate and anywhere a person of any age or ability might otherwise walk without poles. It combines simplicity and accessibility of walking with simultaneous core and upper body conditioning similar to Nordic skiing. The result is a full-body walking workout that can burn significantly more calories without a change in perceived exertion or having to walk faster, due to the incorporation of many large core and other upper-body muscles which comprise more than 90% of the body’s total muscle mass and do work against resistance with each stride. “Normal walking” utilizes only 70% of muscle mass with full impact on the joints of the legs and feet.

Nordic walking produces up to a 46% increase in energy consumption compared to walking without poles.[2] It can also increase upper body muscle endurance by 38% in just twelve weeks.

My plan is to be able to take baby with me in the Beco Baby Carrier while Nordic walking. The poles should also offer the benefit of increased stability while I walk. So, if you see me backpacking Baby Champuru with my Nordic walking poles, please try not to point and laugh. I’m doing it for my health.

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