Sweet Tooth Gone Wrong

For a week or two after my first Ironman, my teeth ached like they were filled with cavities. I don't even have cavities, and I've practiced good dental hygiene habits. And I don't eat junk food...except when I'm on long workout. Has anyone else has had this experience? I wondered if it had to do with what I ate during the course of the race...I'm so ashamed of what I put into my body. Here's a pic of some of the stuff I consumed during the race.

Junk food eaten during a typical training weekend two years ago. I think I see a banana somewhere in there.

Since then, I've had a couple of achy tooth days here and there, usually after long training weeks. It brought to mind some of the research my mom was telling me about Weston Price Foundation, which my mom is a devotee of. They are very much sure of themselves in a couple of theories that stick out in my mind--1) that animal products are essential to human health, 2) veganism is the worst thing you could do to your body, 3) tooth health is an indicator of overall health. As much as I didn't want to believe what Satan was saying, I'm sure there is some shade of truth to #3 here...

It begged the question, where does one go to get real answers to nutrition questions? There's so much bull shit "science" out there and so many passionate charlatan diet-ists, lobbyists, and nutrition gurus looking to make a buck, that I've decide to just unplug from that grid.

When you think about it, all we ever really do is defer to what others tell us about food and nutrition. From the ads on TV, to the way the supermarkets are stocked, to the latest mono-food diets (grapes only with a side of a cool whip, really?) and roller coaster fasts. It's kind of like letting a psychologist with a comb-over tag along on your dates. How is a passionate romance ever going to catch fire amidst the constant deluge of theories?

"Now would be the appropriate time to kiss the female."

Instead, I'm trying to develop a deeper intuition around food, so that I can recognize the meaning of my cravings and the nuances of my nourishment. My body has its own intelligence if I just trust it, but instead I get caught up in asking for other people's hints. I feel like I just need to go make-out with my smoothies for a while and see if I can't get to home base without anyone's supervision.

My produce delivery friend, Randall, who is also one of my nutrition consultants asked me what my cravings were this week. I told him, "you know, I never really liked chocolate that much, but I'm craving chocolate incessantly."

His reply was awesome: "I have one rule about chocolate-- eat as much as you're craving...as long as it's the good stuff."

What a concept! Trust our cravings...with some trepidation and healthy respect for the effects. I suppose it makes sense that our body is a "feedback" system in communication with the one who feeds it. It's not a one-way relationship.