COLUMN : i am what i eat

every 3 month, almost all the cells in my body will be replaced. this is hard to understand – that i’m an almost completely new person every 90 days.

philosophically, mentally, and intellectually – there is a lot about this to wrap my head around. but i don’t want to focus on that right now. i want to be more practical. what does this mean for me practically ?

well, most importantly – where do i get the new building material to replace just about my entire body every three months ? that’s a lot of jenny to build.
the body is doing some recycling, so that’s one thing. but the rest ? the rest is coming from outside of me. unless i’m missing something, the rest needs to be either inhaled, ingested, or absorbed. lungs, tummy, skin.

the only way to get new material for my brand new self is through those channels. so let’s think about this, am i in the position to actively choose what i am going to be made of in 3 months time ? mind-boggling.

what i’m breathing is most of the time hard to control. i can make sure not to smoke. otherwise it is what it is. if i live in the countryside i’ll get better air than in the city. if i choose to live in the city, i can try to make up for it through my tummy and skin. yeah, let’s do that.

my skin deserves organic skin care. deodorant, soap, schampoo, and moisturiser. so does the environment. and all animals in all labs deserve not to be tested on.
and for me, it’s not even that expensive because i’ve simplified my bathroom shelves. i’m buying fewer products, but of higher quality.

but regarding building material – nothing matters as much as my tummy. what i put into it will literally make me or break me.
the thing is, our tummies are so resilient. we can put all sorts of crap into them and they will do their best to take care of us anyway. to build a new body as healthy as possible. they will work overtime everyday, never having a weekend off. and probably working even harder on christmas, lunar new years, birthdays, eid al-fitr, and hanukkah.
and they’re so good at what they do that it usually takes many many 90 day cycles for us to get a less than perfect new body. so we won’t even know what’s going on until our tummies are completely exhausted with stress from their poor working conditions.

now my tummy doesn’t demand much. not all working days have to be stress-free ones. it doesn’t mind working hard in crappy conditions once in a while. as long as that’s not most days. as long as we most days work together, each caring for this body we share. as long as we both agree on what we want our new body to be like – whether it 3 months from now, or 3 years. or 3 decades.

i made peace with my tummy a few years back. i apologised for the 90 day cycles that had passed. and promised to step up my game from now on. that we would share the load. i don’t know for certain, but i think my tummy was a bit sceptical at that point. i hope i have by now proven my sincerity.
and i can tell you one thing – since we started working together, the way i see my tummy has changed completely. i’m now seeing her full potential. and oh man, i had really underestimated her. she’s got mad skills.

love // jenny