This past week, someone asked if I was ready to speak publicly about my son Daniel’s death—more specifically, was I ready to talk about the “s-word” publicly.
This upcoming Memorial Day will mark seven years since he died by suicide at age 21. . .with the first year being one of shock and post trauma; the second year a dark hole of depression; and the third year burying myself deeper into that hole.
I felt horrible. I ate unwisely. I gained weight. I didn’t care.
Only the grace of God--and the wonderful tools He put in my toolbox--brought me out of it.
I’m more than ready to talk now; not only about my son. . .but relapse too. . .and more importantly, how I got out of that pit. (I’ll be discussing relapse and recovery in future posts.)
By the way, my son had a food addiction—combined with a diagnosis of Type I diabetes at age eleven—that contributed to his unstable and delusional thoughts that led to irrational and erratic behaviors.
The week leading up to his death, he went on a major junk-food binge. He died, in part, due to a toxic food overdose.
Starting at age fifteen, if his blood sugars would go high, the avalanche of brain-damaging glucose spikes would create a medical delirium (metabolic encephalopathy) with symptoms of psychosis. The hallucinations and delusions, combined with the adverse side effects of some of the mind-altering medications he was put on to control the delusions, would then negatively affect everyone in his path, including himself.
As long as he would keep his blood sugars stable, his mind would remain stable, and he could manage the challenges of life. However, unfortunately, we live in a culture inundated with fast food everywhere—and it took every ounce of his energy to remain free from the temptations and peer pressure to succumb to them.
Thankfully, most of us don’t have such severe reactions to food, but nonetheless, our brains were not made to handle the avalanche of toxins that are found in processed food.
Dr. Fuhrman calls this “fast food malnutrition” and these subtle micronutrient deficiencies target the brain and damage it. Fast food consumption produces mental illness. [1]
If anyone reading this post is struggling and making unwise food choices, I understand, and I care. Please feel free to interact with me in the comments below. Freedom from food addiction is for everyone. Start by reading “The Powerful Freedom of Abstinence.”
Blessings to you!
Joel Fuhrman, M.D., Fast Food Genocide, (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2017), 2-4.
Emily Boller, artist, mother, and author of Starved to Obesity, lost 100 pounds more than fifteen years ago by eating an abundance of high-nutrient, plant-rich foods. Today, she’s certified in whole plant nutrition from the Nutritarian Education Institute. She’s on a mission to combine practical, no-nonsense and cost-effective tips—with easy to understand science—in order to help anyone escape the addictive grip of the Standard American Diet. And now, she’s on a mission to bring awareness to the suffocating and potentially deadly trap of eating disorders as well.