In my family, we face conditions that do not care for ideals or dietary dogma. Crohn’s disease and celiac disease—these are not minor inconveniences but relentless realities that rob the body of its ability to absorb essential nutrients. In a life shackled by these limitations, the nutrient density and bioavailability of animal products become indispensable. The body, compromised in its ability to extract sustenance from plants, demands the concentrated, potent nourishment that only animal sources can provide: protein, iron, B12—essentials that are neither negotiable nor replaceable.
Choline deficiency is another reality we contend with. This nutrient, so crucial for brain function, for the very integrity of our nervous system, is not sufficiently present in plant foods. The richest sources—eggs, liver, meat—are not indulgences for us; they are vital sustenance. Without them, the body begins to falter, denied the raw materials it needs to sustain itself.
And then there is the matter of omega-3s. Like others in my family, I cannot convert ALA—the plant-based precursor—into EPA and DHA, the critical omega-3s that support cognitive function and heart health. This biological limitation renders plant sources inadequate. For us, only direct sources like fish can meet the body’s requirements, as nature intended.
To ignore this need would be to ignore reality, to sacrifice health on the altar of ideology.
In my family, we do not have the luxury of abstract principles.
Our dietary choices are driven by the irrefutable facts of biology, not by ideals that disregard the body’s demands. This is not a rejection of plant-based living out of preference but out of necessity. We choose life as it is—not as some would like it to be.
My mother, bound by these unforgiving conditions, often finds herself in the hospital because of foods she should not touch but craves nonetheless. There is a cruel irony in it. She enjoys the taste of plant-based products, but her body revolts against them. Each time she gives in, thinking perhaps this time will be different, her health exacts its toll.
Her condition leaves no room for indulgence, no margin for error, and yet she is drawn to these foods that betray her.
For her, a single misstep—a meal based on grains or certain vegetables—can set off a cascade of reactions that her body cannot handle. Plant-based foods, touted as wholesome and natural, become dangerous for her, like poison wrapped in a benign guise. Her immune system, her digestion, even her very ability to function, teeters on the edge with each bite of something that others consume without thought.
The doctors have told her repeatedly: her body does not tolerate these foods, and yet the allure remains. It’s a trap, a cycle she struggles to break, but one she cannot afford to ignore. In her case, health demands a strict adherence to the essentials she truly needs—animal products, foods her body can handle, without compromise. Ideals and taste must take a backseat to reality, and in her reality, only the sustenance her body can tolerate will allow her to keep going.
S. Tominaga AKA CSW
Nov 5, 2024
https://x.com/CsTominaga/status/1853739321146363951?t=YsWUTyM9EtUKc62Ew7io0w&s=19
https://t.me/S_Tominaga/1835
Choline deficiency is another reality we contend with. This nutrient, so crucial for brain function, for the very integrity of our nervous system, is not sufficiently present in plant foods. The richest sources—eggs, liver, meat—are not indulgences for us; they are vital sustenance. Without them, the body begins to falter, denied the raw materials it needs to sustain itself.
And then there is the matter of omega-3s. Like others in my family, I cannot convert ALA—the plant-based precursor—into EPA and DHA, the critical omega-3s that support cognitive function and heart health. This biological limitation renders plant sources inadequate. For us, only direct sources like fish can meet the body’s requirements, as nature intended.
To ignore this need would be to ignore reality, to sacrifice health on the altar of ideology.
In my family, we do not have the luxury of abstract principles.
Our dietary choices are driven by the irrefutable facts of biology, not by ideals that disregard the body’s demands. This is not a rejection of plant-based living out of preference but out of necessity. We choose life as it is—not as some would like it to be.
My mother, bound by these unforgiving conditions, often finds herself in the hospital because of foods she should not touch but craves nonetheless. There is a cruel irony in it. She enjoys the taste of plant-based products, but her body revolts against them. Each time she gives in, thinking perhaps this time will be different, her health exacts its toll.
Her condition leaves no room for indulgence, no margin for error, and yet she is drawn to these foods that betray her.
For her, a single misstep—a meal based on grains or certain vegetables—can set off a cascade of reactions that her body cannot handle. Plant-based foods, touted as wholesome and natural, become dangerous for her, like poison wrapped in a benign guise. Her immune system, her digestion, even her very ability to function, teeters on the edge with each bite of something that others consume without thought.
The doctors have told her repeatedly: her body does not tolerate these foods, and yet the allure remains. It’s a trap, a cycle she struggles to break, but one she cannot afford to ignore. In her case, health demands a strict adherence to the essentials she truly needs—animal products, foods her body can handle, without compromise. Ideals and taste must take a backseat to reality, and in her reality, only the sustenance her body can tolerate will allow her to keep going.
S. Tominaga AKA CSW
Nov 5, 2024
https://x.com/CsTominaga/status/1853739321146363951?t=YsWUTyM9EtUKc62Ew7io0w&s=19
https://t.me/S_Tominaga/1835
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