Musings: Food To Die For… Almost.
“Let the stoics say what they please, we do not eat for the good of living, but because the meat is savory and the appetite is keen.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Musings: Food To Die For... Almost... Clam Chowder is no longer on my menu...
Is there a food you used to like but no longer eat? What changed? Food is like medicine, it aids health and gives us sustenance… Yet, food can also be poisonous if we eat contaminated products or are allergic to certain foods. Eating poisonous food can be like eating food to die for… When I was in college, we had a meal plan that allowed us to eat in several cafeterias on campus. I preferred the cafeteria in my dorm because it was both convenient and cozy; plus the salad bar was always fresh and not as messy as the one in the main cafeteria in John Jay Hall. Occasionally, I would eat with my friends in the main cafeteria because it was larger, and we could occupy a long table and speak loudly; a common practice in the cafeteria which was always teeming with students rushing in and out, gathering to celebrate some sports win, a birthday or other special events.
As usual, on one winter day, I met my friends for dinner at John Jay Dining Hall. We quickly found a table and set off to choose our meals. I went to the soup stop to check out the choices and my eyes glanced in the direction of a pot of clam chowder. I love soups and eat a ton of soup in the cold season. The clam chowder looked really delicious and I decided to have some. As I grabbed a bowl and reached for the ladle to serve myself some soup, I suddenly had an odd feeling and then a knot in my stomach.
I paused, but then went right back to stir the soup, look at it, sniff it and then ladle some creamy clam chowder into the white porcelain bowl I was holding in my left hand. I tasted it and it was delicious and hot. I sat down at the table we had selected, and had a great time eating and catching up on each other’s day at school.
“If there were only turnips and potatoes in the world, someone would complain that plants grow the wrong way.” Georg C. Lichtenberg
Musings: Food To Die For... Almost. ... Fresh clams...
After the meal, we headed out to our dorms to get ready for study time. When I reached my dorm, I felt a bit tired, and decided to lie down and take a nap before going to the library to study for an upcoming test. I must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing I remember was suddenly waking up to unbelievable stabbing pains in my stomach. I was also having difficulty breathing and feeling quite nauseous.
I got out of bed and staggered out of my room to knock on a dorm mate’s door. I felt as if I had swallowed a bucket of nails and I could feel my body getting hot as I broke out in a cold sweat. By the time my dorm mate opened her door, I had started to breakout in huge, angry hives and had to be rushed to the hospital which, thankfully, was nearby.
“Edible. Good to eat and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm.” Ambrose Bierce
Musings: Food To Die For... Almost. Poisoning of Queen Bona ... Jan Matejko
I was in such incredible pain combined with the fiery itch of the hives that they had to give me an immediate shot of something to sooth the itch and pain. I barfed all over the hospital floor and had to spend the night in the hospital overnight. I threw up more times and had to take electrolyte fluids to replace all the nutrients I had lost. I was diagnosed with having a severe case of an allergic reaction to clams and a dash of food poisoning to boot.
As I lay there feeling sorry for myself, I remembered the subtle warning I got when I first reached for the clam chowder… I had ignored it. My intuition was trying to warn me to stay away from that pot of soup but I was hungry and distracted and chose to ignore it. The price I paid was a huge lesson in becoming more attuned to my intuition. I was fortunate… Naturally, I still love and eat soups but I no longer eat clams in any shape or form. This story was included in another post on intuition and I have modified it for this prompt on what we no longer eat. What are your thoughts? Can you recall something you ate and got sick? What did you do? Do you still eat that food? Do share! Thank you. 🙂
This post was inspired by a prompt from WP Daily Post: Name a food you used to like, but now avoid – what changed?
Positive Motivation Tip: Food is medicine, aids health and sustenance… food can also be poison. Be attentive and choose your meals with care.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos Clam Chowder soup, clams, Jan Matejko’s Poisoning of Queen Bona, via Wikipedia
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
I have to smile about the circle talk of Ambrose Bierce:
Good to eat
as a worm to a toad,
a toad to a snake,
a snake to a pig,
a pig to a man,
and a man to a worm.
Yes, he is looking at the food chain and how we fit on it… I love his poetry too. 🙂
Did you look with that bitter smile after your soup like Queen Bona?
Fortunately, I survived… It was not direct poisoning;but more indirect contamination. TY! 🙂
Eating food has many kinds of meaning such as happinnes, love and friendship.I hope that every one can eat enough food.
It sure does and then on the flip side, it is hunger, poison, famines and politics… TY! 🙂
Food poisoning is a real whanker! I’m happy you’re okay now. I Loved it!
TY! and to think that it is now World Food Day… One man’s food is another man’s poison. We need food for all but also food that is not contaminated. TY!
You just never know…
Listening to what our hearts are saying is such good advice. Whether it’s the Holy Spirit within us, or hunches or intuition, we are wired with this weird and amazing ability to be warned and guided. Thanks for your really great post!
TY for stopping by… It is key to pay attention to those inner promptings… Our intuition never lies… 🙂
I decided to lose weight a few years ago. Imagine my joy when I discovered no-fat alternatives to a lot of my favorite foods, like chips, cream, even milk! Unfortunately, I slowly but surely developed painful stomach cramps and gas, which eventually made me so sick that I lost about ten pounds more than I should have. I also began breaking out in weird rashes that only covered the upper part of my body and faded as the day went on. About this time, I went in for allergy testing and they tested for food allergies. I have only two: pork and…..soy. I tested positive for soy for contact allergies as well. I quit eating anything with soy, including (sob) sushi (even if the piece does not have soy in it, it is made in a kitchen permeated with it). Shampoos and conditioners with soy in them accounted for the upper body rash. I also have to screen all my cosmetics, soaps, shower gels, etc. ad nauseum. Sometimes, allergies extend beyond just food….
Allergies are a serious matter and I’m glad you were fortunate with what happened… We have to treat food like medicine; appreciate it, eat it in moderation and give to others so they can benefit too. TY!
I got food poisoning at the Getty in LA while visiting my sister-in-law. It kept me tied to the house for 2 days. Not fun anytime or anyplace, but an allergic reaction sounds worse.
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It is the worst feeling… You feel your entire body rebel… Make us appreciate the fact that we eat well prepared food and that our waters are not contaminated and we had a system of checks and balances here. TY!
Thank goodness you got help in time!
TY Sharon… I remain grateful too. It was a scary episode.
Great post Elizabeth. I really love seafood and especially in a soup. It is such a shame you can’t eat it now.
Cheers
Lorraine 🙂
Thanks for all your comments on my blog. I did purchase the problogger guide you suggested to me some time ago and have found it really useful. Thanks for the tip.
I love seafood too but that event put me off clams for life… TY!
So important to get back in touch with our intuition! I’m still learning all the time . . .
Yes, I agree and it does take effort and vigilance to know the difference from our fear talking to our intuition prompting. TY!
I am not allergic to foods but DeDe is. She had LOTS of skin problems and licked herself until she made sores until Jen put her on a grain-free diet. See, it happens to dogs too.
Yes, it does happen to animals… TY for bringing that fact up as it is important to the conversation on allergies.
Thanks, Eliz…for sharing such a painful memory.
We should always listen to our intuition or gut feeling…every cell has a brain and is capable of telling us something important. I’ve always cautioned my children that even if something smells and/or tastes good to someone else, if it doesn’t smell and/or taste good to them, they should avoid it.
TY Viv! Unfortunately, the soup did smell and taste good so that didn’t help much… However, my intuition was giving me a hint that all might not be well with the soup… I learned. TY!
Your experience reminds me how lucky I am to not be allergic to anything (that I know of). I get a spot of hayfever at certain times, but I do not have a allergy like you describe here. What an awful experience!
On the othr hand, I cannot drink Diet Coke – not because I am allergic to it, but because I cannot stand the taste of the articficial sweetner. I have read I am not alone – some of us retain an ancient gene that detects poisonous foods. Artifical sweetners can do terrible things. While it is not my intuition kicking in with foods, it seems it is my genes.
WE all have some allergies to things; some more than others… I’m glad I survived that nasty little episode.. and I ma careful about what I ingest… always have actually. TY!
Oh Elizabeth! The painful memory – ugh! And clams are so delish! No wonder you wanted to avoid that warning. There is nothing worse than having an allergic reaction to a great food! I cannot say that I relate to the allergy part but I did get the flu when I was a kid after eating some Halloween Butterfingers — to this day – I cannot eat a Butterfinger candy bar – the thought makes me quesy!
Yes, I no longer eat clams as I can’t help but remember what happened. It is ironic that the post before my pleas for consideration of hunger in the world is one on food poisoning… Yet, when I think about it, I am again reminded that we eat well prepared food, our waters are not contaminated and we have a system of checks and balances here…. Many in poorer nations have none to protect them.., including that fact that many go without food. Truly sad. TY!
It is so hard for me to comment on this, but I’ll try my best. My mom knows that everyone is allergic to onions, so that’s the one thing that she has to watch out for. I’ve eaten onions all the time, and I didn’t feel any different. Perhaps I have developed an immunity to them. I don’t think I can be poisoned by anything, unless I overdosed on medication or something like that, which I wouldn’t do.
Oh I so wish I could choose several food items that could be poisonous to me. I would pick chocolate, certain vegetables and fruits, and dairy products. Of all the things I wouldn’t want to be poisonous, bread of course. I am thinking like that, because that’s what I feel like saying right now.
I’m so sorry you went through all that! Food can be so healing at times, and so terrible when not properly prepared. That is why I am trying lately to eat more fresh things that I can make myself as opposed to prepared items. You never know what is going in them!
This isn’t the same thing as I never liked eggs.
I might have been 6 when I went home for lunch with my friends. Their mom had made an egg based drink and I had some and got so sick I could hardly get out of bed.
When my mom told her, she said she’d remembered that I didn’t like eggs but thought since it was just one ingredient in the drink I’d be okay. It’s precisely because it was one of many ingredients that I didn’t pick it up.