by Alice Rush
WHEN WE visit the Netherlands, my husband and I want to enjoy everything about it, including eating all the specialty sweet treats that Holland has to offer. There are so many! I sometimes feel like there is more of an abundance of sugary snacks there than in the United States, but I don’t really think that is true. We just eat more there because we won’t get to partake of them once we’re back home.
One birthday visit, we ate a tower of cream puffs! I was so sick! I think that much real cream didn’t sit well with me. I’m really not a big whipped cream fan. I could go without on almost everything. Tompouce though, oh how I love Tompoucen! I’m a huge fan of custard, so that filling is fantastic to me! Even basic chocolates taste better in Holland. They’re simply made with better ingredients there.
This is on my mind because recently I have given up most sweets. I have a couple of minor gastroesophageal issues that have a major impact on my life, so I am now changing my eating and drinking habits. My stomach has created so much acid in the past that my esophagus is scarred from it. Years ago a doctor put me on a daily medication to limit how much acid my stomach creates, and I’ve been taking it daily ever since. It mostly solves the problem, and I can eat almost whatever I want. If you know me at all though, you know that I don’t like conventional medicine except as absolutely necessary. I prefer to avoid medications and their side effects as much as possible. So, last week, I began my own solution, a caffeine-free and sugar-free eating habit. ACK!
THERE IS a little more to it than that, and I have help from a professional holistic practitioner. Caffeine and sugar are huge contributors to acid production. So I had to make a choice, continue taking the medicine and accept the long term side effects (including osteoporosis and dementia), or change my ways. Although I don’t like giving up coffee or desserts or candy, I DO like that I feel better. And the side effect in this case might be some weight loss!
So far, so good. I miss the routine of morning coffee, but I’m substituting specific herbal teas. In years past that would have been a lousy substitute, and I would have found it laughable, but here we are. Giving up all the goodies has been mostly okay so far. However, considering that sacrifice, I WILL be having all the good extras on my regular food. For instance, I ordered a baked potato when we ate out the other night, and yes, I took the sour cream AND the butter. I’ll have to watch that too, but in my case, it’s better than sugar. When I’m tempted to have something I shouldn’t, I just remember the horrible feeling I’m going to get in my throat if I partake. I won’t forego a taste of wedding cake, or sampling something special, but I’m cutting way back.
All that said, check-in with me on our next trip to the Netherlands, maybe I’ll need that conventional medicine after all, just for the visit.
* Alice is a Maine realtor and a licensed helicopter and fixed wing pilot. She first met her Dutch husband in Maryland in 2005, and married him four years later.
