I have read with interest the messages in the last few days concerning
watching other family members eat SADs. When one person said that it was
hard to watch her father, who had just gone through angioplasty, eat SAD,
the terminology and tone of that message was akin to, e.g., a committed
Christian watching non-Christians and wondering why they hadn't "seen the
light."
And I'm not being facetious or giving a put-down by saying that. Those of
us who eat VLF have to realize, unless one has grown up eating this way,
that changing from SAD to VLF requires an experience not unlike a
religious conversion. Consider it this way: eating is something one does
at least three times a day, so it is "practiced" more than nearly any
other activity in our lives. Eating is something which defines
relationships, defines families, and defines cultures. To not only change
one's eating habits, but to denigrate (even if for good reason, and even
if without ever saying a word) the eating habits of others, is going to be
perceived as an act of rebellion against all that the group holds
"sacred." It is like a Jewish son becoming a Christian, or a Presbyterian
daughter becoming Tantric Buddhist.
All I am saying is 1) don't be surprised that people look at you as if
you've just joined the Moonies when you say you don't eat meat or fat, and
2) don't let VLF become a cult in your life--as you do it in order to
live, don't make it your life. Now, back to the recipes :)
Jim Massey
Humanities, Polk Community College, Lakeland, FL
masseyj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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