Dear (YOU!),

Lately it was pointed out to me by a reader that I am not a good food evangelist.  Well, they didn’t say that, but that was the conclusion that I arrived at about myself based on reflection.  Really, I actually already knew that.  My food evangelism is a lot like my religious evangelism.  I wonder if that’s okay.  I’ve always been content with it.  You won’t hear me talking the talk (much) (unless you ask), but I hope you see me walking the walk.  Although I stumble sometimes.  But I get back up.

Recently a few of us homeschool moms got together at the request of a family considering homeschooling for their ADHD and oppositional defiant (possibly) son.  School just wasn’t going well.  I talked up the insight you gain on your child, and the ability to help the child academically and socially succeed.  They seemed excited.  I was excited for them!  Then, one of my fellow moms said:  “And you also get control over what they eat.  What people eat is so important to how they feel and act, and that is not well-known.”

Hey!  That was my line!  But I didn’t say it!  And I wasn’t going to say it.  But I should have said it.  (I did back her up for sure!)  What keeps ME from saying these things?

I am still thinking about the answer to this.  My husband says I should just be happy that I figured it out for our own family.  That I’ve made a difference in our own family.  He also says that the changes that are required, that I would ask people to do, that those changes are too hard.  Are they too hard?  We aren’t perfect–and for that matter, since we humans don’t know “The Best Human Diet,” nobody is–but we try hard to keep food real and watch out for food intolerances.

I will keep thinking about the answer to this question. I’m wondering if the answer doesn’t lie in self-doubt and insecurity. “Well, sure it helped us. But maybe it won’t help everyone.” Or, “Maybe I’m just a crazy control-freak mother and wife and this is just one more way I can obtain that.” Also how about, “People don’t really want to hear it.” And, “But I don’t have a journal article to support me.”

So I will say it today. Here. What you EAT and what you DON’T EAT make a huge difference in your health. Despite what your conventional medical doctor tells you, diet and nutrition MAY treat (Oh. May. There’s a wishy-washy word, which is definitely not evangelist material. And an evangelist would choose “cure,” but a cure implies gone forever to me.) your seizures, your depression, your skin rashes, your migraines, your constipation, your GERD, your asthma-like condition, your IBS, and your hormonal flare-ups.

I don’t know the specific right diet. Nobody does. I like to help close friends and family choose a diet platform that seems right for them based on their health conditions, and then tailor it to make it better suited for them. A smoother, tighter fit. A forever diet that they can feel good about and with good observation, change up here and there to better suit them or reach their health goals. I’ve got about four different diet books on my living room side table right now and nimble Google fingers. I’m not set on one plan. I’m set on a good, whole food diet with close observation for the side effects of food.

Deep nutritional changes matter. Would it be too hard for you? Does it make a difference to hear someone evangelize about their diet? Or does it turn you off? What words would be needed to draw you in? What doubts do you have? Do you share if you have success?

The New Year is approaching. I try to make resolutions and changes all year long, so I don’t have anything in particular to change for this week entering 2015. But maybe you do. Maybe you’ve got a diet book on your bedside table. What is it? Maybe you’ve decided to “eat better.” What in the heck does that mean to you?

I must close now to start breakfast and then school. Kids don’t stay on track too well without me. Plus my hands are cold and not typing so well. I hope you have a good week. One of my favorite things to do is write letters. So I thought I’d give this technique a try on my blog. See if it got me evangelizing a bit better. We’ll see.

Terri