bawal ang pork, bawal ang beef, bawal na ang lahat!

IT'S no picnic to go food shopping for our family. Just think of what I
have to consider when I buy the things that will grace our dining
table: hypertension, gout, rheumatism, goiter, allergic rhinitis,
heart murmur, low blood, cancer. Kind of hard to ponder, huh? But we
survive.

       Armed with my list of things to buy, I then double check it with the
lists from our doctors. Again, I say, no mean feat. But we survive.

       Meat. With hypertension running in both our families, I've eliminated all
processed foods (except for the occasional hotdogs for the babies in
our family, yes, that includes me). I also stick to lean ground pork,
pork cutlets sans fat and pork shoulder. Beef, I've struck off the
list eversince I felt a tightening in the chest (and in the belt)
everytime I ate it.

       Fish used to be easy to buy. I'd point to everything that met my
budget and that was that. Until, my dad gave me a list from his
doctor. Those who have gout should not eat salmon, sardines, mackarel.
To make it easier for me, he said,  fish that don't have scales -- no go.

       Now we come to everybody's favorite. Chicken and egg. For the
hypertensives, no skin, no wings, no yolks. For those with rhinitis,
no chicken, no eggs. You should have seen the baleful looks I got from
my son. If looks could kill.....

       Vegetables. Again the same rule applied. Buy anything and everything.
Until I got another list. No legumes, no asparagus, no mushrooms, no
cauliflowers, no spinach.  Well, at least my son rejoiced.

       Dairy Products and Oil. Our pediatrician said low-fat milk, and
that's what my son's been drinking eversince. As for cooking oil, I
bite my lip everytime I get a bottle from the shelves but if it's good
health you have in mind, then stick to olive oil and maybe sunflower
for frying (if you have to, that is).

       Finally, fruits. With all the experts hailing fruits as wonderful for
the health, I figured it was safe for me to buy plenty. Well, it
doesn't seem to work that way, either. Mangoes a no-no for those with
allergies. Strawberries and anything with seeds are not for those who
have gout. Buco flesh and avocado are not too good for those who love
them but have hypertension.

       Aaargh! Sometimes, I just want to follow my lola's advice. "Bahala
na!" she said and would eat pork taba. She lived up to 93 years and
she was hypertensive! But, still I trudge on to the grocery with my
list and hopefully, make the right decisions....


***********
Update: 
This was written before I discovered I also had hypertension. And my doctor's No. 1 advice -- nothing fried and only good cholesterol (fish and vegetables, preferably steamed). Eeewww! And now with my sister around, pork is virtually non-existent in the ref as she's anti-pig. Waaaah!