96 Days of Cod Liver Oil
Doing what’s best for yourself can often be unpleasant….
I practice what I preach. That’s why when I recommended that one of my patients take cod liver oil for its natural content of vitamin D, I decided to do the same. Like myself, my patient believes that getting vitamins that naturally occur in food is better than taking pills that are made in a lab. It’s been a dreary few months already here in upstate New York and it’s far from over, which is why we got on the topic of vitamin D supplementation in the first place… but that is not actually the topic of my post, so let me not get sidetracked (which happened once already!). Vitamin D info on the web is plentiful! If you want to read about it, you can visit our good friend, Google. 🙂
Back to the cod liver oil…. I bought a bottle and have committed to ingesting a teaspoon a day until it’s gone. The bottle contains 96 teaspoons, and therefore, it will take me 96 days until it’s gone. I know that by then, spring will be close and hopefully the sun will come out more often. I have taken it maybe 10 times so far. It’s actually not that bad (it is orange-flavored, after all), but I will admit that I do continue to taste it periodically throughout the day because it does like to come up and remind me………… 😮
So now I know what question is forming in your head. It is “Why…………..?”. (in the world would I purposely drink a teaspoon of oil from fish liver every day(ISH) for 96 days?)
To which I would respond with the common reply “Because it’s good for me?!” That’s the short answer, but that’s the truth. I do a lot of things that seem unpleasant to some for the purpose of nourishing my body: I eat tons of vegetables. I drink a GREEN powder that has every green plant known to man in it (my husband and stepson think it’s disgusting!). I drink Kombucha and eat beets regularly. I choke down gritty and strange tasting Chinese herbs. I spend endless hours shopping and cooking so I can eat nourishing food throughout the week. I nag my kids about the importance of nourishing their growing bodies. I work out even when I don’t want to. I purposely say yes to situations and do things that freak me out for the purpose of overcoming fear and anxiety (and this can be the most unpleasant of them all – for those of you who suffer panic attacks, you can understand why).
Unfortunately, food capitalism has completely changed our tastes by over-sweetening, over-salting and adding chemicals (like MSG!) to our foods, and has fortified a connection between emotions and eating. The LEAST nourishing foods are the ones that often taste the best. Why?? Because companies want to sell their cheap food! Companies make the most money when they spend the least and charge the most. It’s capitalism at its finest. Processed foods are not only devoid of nutrients, but they contain foreign chemicals that your body has no idea how to process (so they get stored as sludge in your body, sludge that causes pain, chronic illness, obesity, and yes, even cancer.) Think about this for a second: why is it that most American food “staples” were once foods created for low income communities? Hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni salad, bread, pasta, pizza?? Historically, these foods originated for their ability to feed the masses on pennies. Aren’t we one of the riches countries in the developed world? If so, why do we eat such low quality food??? Food for thought….. no pun intended….
Taste is not reflective of nutritional value. Eating and drinking are for FUELING and NOURISHING your body, like putting gas and oil in your car. Really, that’s it. You eat so your body can operate, and just like your car, if you put crappy gas in the tank, you can expect your car to run like crap. The same applies to your body! Obviously no one is perfect. Many of us eat or drink for various other reasons, like boredom or socialization or just because it tastes good, and there’s nothing wrong with that as long as you are mindful of it. All the more reason to take care of yourself when you are NOT splurging… so you can help your body repair the damage from your not-so-great habits (we all have them!) and from all those “toxins” everyone is always complaining about.
The longer answer to why I do things that are good for me, and maybe not so pleasant, is because I like to be high functioning. I don’t want to feel crappy or have to take time off due to illness. Do you?? I can’t imagine why anyone would. So do yourself a favor today and do something just because you know it’s good for your body and for NO OTHER REASON. Even if you don’t want to.
JUST EAT IT. Watching what you put in your body is the single most important thing you can do for yourself. And if you want to join my in my commitment to finishing the whole bottle of cod liver oil, I can certainly tell you where to buy it……… 😉