Dietetic dumbness = trip to hospital

[Brad Johnson]

Just got a call from my Mom that my Aunt had to be taken to the ER. 

My Aunt is one of these people that thinks everything is going to kill you - salt, sugar, fat, carbs, red meat, carbonation, etc.  She even thinks that distilled water is poisonous because it's been "commercially processed".  I think she lives on all-organic wheat grass, bananas (which she eats by the truckload), and some kind of high-dollar "all natural" bottled water she buys from a health food coop.  She won't eat any seasonings except some kind of $20 a can salt-substitute, although I'm sure she hasn't noticed a warning buried down on the label saying it is potassium based (potassium cholride, maybe?).  She doesn't even cook with salt, even when the recipe specifically requires it.  You should try her "bread" - like chewing on a mouthful of wet newspaper (although I'm pretty sure newspaper would have more flavor). She won't touch fresh-ground pepper unless you can prove it came from an "all-natural" source.  In other words, pretty much a total whack job when it comes to dietary sensibilities. 

Anyway...

She had to be take to the hospital this morning with heart palpatations.  Guess what... a combination of sodium deficiency and mild potassium poisoning!  Mom said her doctor specifially ordered her to lay off the salt substitute and ease off on the bananas so her body can recover from the potassium overload, and to start using modest amounts of real salt on her food.  My aunt wouldn't hear of it - Mom says she is firmly convinced that some "processed" food somehow got into her pantry and that the heart problems are from some reaction to the "toxins" therein.

Good, frickin' grief... 

*EDITED TO ADD*  Mom just called back and said they had to restrain and sedate my Aunt.  She was ranting, raving, and arguing so much with the doctor that he mentioned she should probably seek some counseling, both mentally and dietetically.  She freaked.  They had to call in security and everything.     Mom's a little wigged out at the moment, but Dad got on the line and I could tell he was having trouble not laughing (he and my Aunt have been at odds over this stuff for decades).

Brad

[Marnoot]

Ugh, my dad used that salt substitute (yeah, it's potassium chloride, AKA Muriate of Potash (I think that name sounds more like what it tastes like)) briefly several years ago after getting scared straight diatetically by a double bypass. It's nasty. Good if you like to add some bitter-and-not-remotely-salty flavor to all your foods. He came to his senses rather quickly and just went with salt in moderation. Wow, I've known a few people like your aunt but none so extreme.

[Brad Johnson]

but none so extreme.

'Extreme' is a laughable understatement.

Brad

[Devonai]

It would not surprise me if your aunt is experiencing mild dementia associated with a nutritional deficiency.  Good luck; I hope she recovers soon.

My dad tried the potassium salts for awhile, then decided it only went well with roast beef.  He was on the Atkins diet (and lost 40 pounds) but eventually started to experience mood problems and went back to overall moderation.  He put back on some of the weight but feels better for it.  I will have to ask him why he went back to good ol' NACL, though.

Nutritional deficiencies are strange conditions.  I wish they were all as easy to spot and treat as, say, scurvy.  I experienced all kinds of problems at the end of Army basic training and for months after that I attribute to "MRE Syndrome."  I got a one-two punch.  I was put on antibiotics for a very Staph infection (the docs say it would have killed an elderly person), and felt so ill for three weeks that I skipped going to the chow hall as much as possible and subsisted almost entirely on MRE components.  I knew it was a bad idea and I had already heard stories of soldiers experiencing health problems from MsRE, but I was wiped out all the time.  The last two weeks of basic I was in a daze and I don't know how I got through PT every morning or the final ruck march.  Probably God's grace.

I came to believe that between the antibiotics and the irradiated, preserved MRE foods, I had wiped out a significant portion of the healthy and beneficial probiotic organisms in my digestive tract.  I have been taking probiotic supplements ever since, but it is impossible for me to know whether or not it has been the supplements, or simply eating right, that has returned me to health.

[Brad Johnson]

I came to believe that between the antibiotics and the irradiated, preserved MRE foods, I had wiped out a significant portion of the healthy and beneficial probiotic organisms in my digestive tract.  I have been taking probiotic supplements ever since, but it is impossible for me to know whether or not it has been the supplements, or simply eating right, that has returned me to health.

I vote eating right.

The irradiated food wouldn't have had anything to do with it.  Irradiating for storage purposes leaves no residues, physically or energetically.  The antibiotics, on the other hand, would have completely wiped out your good gut-buddies.  Especially those used to treat major staph infections - that's some pretty high-powered stuff.

MRE's may taste like crap, have questonable textures, and be olfactorily revolting, but they are nutritionally complete.  They can, however, make you irregular (i.e. constipation or diarrhea) if you aren't used to them.  They are carb-heavy and calorie-concentrated to keep you alive and functioning in the field.  Some folks' digestive tracts take a while to get into the game.  If you were just experiencing an extended instestinal problem, combined with loss of your good gut organisms to the antibiotics, I could see where existing solely on MRE's would throw your body into major upheaval.

Brad

[Iain]

Don't know about dementia, but certainly these food aversions can develop into an obsessive behaviour, seriously obsessive. I also have an aunt who I try not to go and eat anywhere with, she will not allow a molecule of processed sugar to cross her lips. Waiters can get a serious cross-examination.

[Lee]

Don't know about dementia, but certainly these food aversions can develop into an obsessive behaviour, seriously obsessive.

Or is it the reverse?

[Cosmoline]

I wouldn't be so hard on her.  If you listened to all the hype, you'd think fat and salt were real poisons, instead of essential parts of a diet. 

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

Getting your electrolytes all messed up with too much potassium, among others, can cause delerium.

It's probably a cumulative effect, along with what sounds like some organic brain syndrome thrown in as well. Sounds like the electrolyte problem just brought it more to the surface.

Any chance she's got an underlying DSM-IV diagnosis in there as well, such as bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder?

Regards,
Rabbit.

[Fly320s]

Now that she's sedated, stick a saline solution IV in her arm.  She'll get her salt.   Oh, make sure it is organic saline.

[grislyatoms]

Got one somewhat like your aunt at work, although co-worker is a germophobe and hypochondriac.

It would take volumes to describe her, and even that probably would not be adequate.

[Brad Johnson]

Talked to Mom this morning. My Aunt checked herself out of the hospital last night, against the doctor's orders of course.  I'm sure she's been sitting at home all day having a panic attack trying to figure out which "toxins" she needs to purify herself of.

I'm glad I'n not that paranoid.  Judging by my Aunt's usual state of mind t's a miserable way to live.

Brad

[Perd Hapley]

MRE's may taste like crap, have questonable textures, and be olfactorily revolting,

You must not have eaten the same MRE's I ate.  Them's tasty. 

[Devonai]

Don't get me wrong, I find many MsRE quite palatable.  Chicken with Salsa, Meatloaf with Brown Gravy (gotta mix the mashed potatoes in there though), and BBQ Veggie Burger are all good.  The plain ol' crackers are good although I always save the PB or cheese for later (it's easy to suck down a packet on the go).

The worst items are Cheese Omelette and Clam Chowder.

[Antibubba]

Talked to Mom this morning. My Aunt checked herself out of the hospital last night, against the doctor's orders of course.  I'm sure she's been sitting at home all day having a panic attack trying to figure out which "toxins" she needs to purify herself of.

I'm glad I'n not that paranoid.  Judging by my Aunt's usual state of mind t's a miserable way to live.

Has anyone told her that even the healthiest person will eventually die?

Nutritional imbalances can cause mental disorder, although given her phobic reaction to salt, i seriously doubt she will allow psychiatric medication to be administered.  You know, a little lithium carbonate mixed into her KCl would probably go unnoticed...

Does she have kids (who aren't crazy, too) who can intervene?  All joking aside, it may come to the point where having her legally commited for treatment may be the only way to save her life.  That ranting episode is a warning alarm.  Obsessive-Compulsive behaviors are among the hardest to treat, and when combined with schizophrenia and paranoia, well, she's not going to admit herself. 

It's a tough spot to be in.  good luck.

[gunsmith]

I worked in a few health food stores and I have worked on organic farms as well.
You run into many OCD folks in that biz.

One lady yelled at me for giving her animal products...yeast!

You can go overboard in not caring about your diet as well, in trying to prove my
ideas about eating healthier foods wrong my dad got into lots of chemically enhanced
food and refused to quit smoking, he lived to the ripe old age of 57.