The Hidden Enemy

Each person must face their own weaknesses in life, which can be anything from nicotine, to alcohol, but I never thought of food as a weakness, until complications from food, was one of the causes of my moms death. It was then that I realized "The Hidden Enemy" that food can be and not just something tempting to set on the table to eat.

I think it's easy not understand another's weakness, if we do not share that weakness ourselves, but when it hits close to home and you come face to face with it, then that lack of understanding, becomes crystal clear for nothing I did changed the outcome for my mom and the sodium that she craved like an alcoholic craves alcohol, and all the trips to the hospital did not stop this addiction and in time she lost her eyesight, had several heart attacks, a stroke and eventually she lost her long fight with bad health and died.

A few years before moms death, I became fanatical in my efforts to fix healthier things, but when the flavor was bland, almost to the point of being cardboard, mom always lost interest.  Eventually mom became a "career patient" and I realized I was on borrowed time, it was then that I wanted nothing more than to make mom happy and as free from stress as possible, for she and I both knew there was nothing else I could do for her- at that point.

So the question is how do we eat better? There are so many things that can get us-food wise- there's the Avian Flu, Mad Cow disease to start, and vegetables that are sprayed with insecticide.  Then, we hear sugar is good, then not good.  Artificial sweeteners are the way to go, then they are the reason we gain weight. 

Of course, there are those that always say- portion control "it's the way to go".  But we each have different body types and what works for one may not work for another.  One diet says to eat all you want with this diet, the other says just avoid sugar and carbs.  Another says eat carbs we need them just avoid......well you get the picture.

In the end -for my mom- food had been the enemy, but genetic DNA had started her downfall long ago.  So what keeps each of us from falling victim to "The Hidden Enemy"?  Well I think each person must use their own common sense.  Watch the sodium, watch the intake, but also don't be hard on yourself, for each of us is never guaranteed a direct path, just a path with obstacles to overcome.