Mater

My husband unearthed a carrier bag full of nostalgia yesterday. It had obviously been in transit from downstairs to upstairs at some time – and had somehow been pushed to the back of his tool cupboard.

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I spent a couple of hours going through my daughters’ old school reports, drawings and cards –and a whole lot of my mother’s old letters to me.
It’s only year and a half since I lost my mother and I still find it difficult to read her letters (I cry easily – my husband reckons he’s always got to be at the ready with a mop and bucket!), so I just put them in order (some of them dated back to the eighties) and checked the envelopes for any extras, such as photos and newspaper clippings. I found one clipping that I obviously missed the first time around:
CHOCOLATE MAKES ARTHRITIS WORSE. How mean is that? I’m a choc-a-holic. I’d cut out almost anything, even coffee, for the odd (or not so odd) bar of chocolate. Ale and pork pies for some, chocolate for me.
I dare say that there’s been more research done in the 15 or so years since this little snippet was in the newspaper back home, but it’s funny how I knew about the other no-nos and ignored the one that I didn’t really want to know about.
The research – or mapping – of patients with inflammatory arthritis showed that symptoms of the illness got worse by certain foods and drinks – such as pork, beef, citrus fruit, chocolate, red wine and spirits (they didn’t mention coffee!).
The best way to reduce the inflammation and progress of the disease was found to be to first fast for a few days (it didn’t mention how long), then an individually tailored gluten free vegan diet for three and a half months and a lacto vegetarian diet for a further nine months.

I read somewhere recently that Rheumatoid Arthritis was not known in Europe before the Industrial Revolution and that it’s linked with wheat intolerance, and although I agree with the latter, because of personal experience, I’m not at all certain that RA is that new a disease in the western world.

I seem to have been eating more than my fair share of chocolate lately (Christmas leftovers?) – and the RA is attacking almost every joint in my body. I feel as though finding this newspaper clipping was a timely reminder from my mother about not only moderation, but also about cutting out the offending chocolate for the sake of my health. She’d have laughed if she had seen me trying to get the last piece of chocolate I ate, into my mouth, all the same. The RA has set into my jaw and I can hardly open my mouth. Serves me right.

So, do I make any radical changes? Of course I do, but not today. We’re going to one of our daughters’ for Sunday lunch, and I’m not going to land her with last minute demands for changes. But this evening I shall plan it all out. Perhaps even my knee will improve!
Watch this space.