Vitamins and BK Chicken Nuggets
Living on Vitamin Supplements and Burger King Chicken Nuggets
Ever since developing comorbidities, my health challenges have caused a disease even more disasterous than my immune disorders: poverty. All dark jokes aside, this past year has been a continued challenge to stabilize my health, and maintain enough nutrients when I've been experiencing continued health problems that hinder me from working "normal" jobs. That said, I've been "hyper-fixated" on optimizing my health, pushing doctors to test for deficiencies, eating healthy meals, and taking supporting supplements.
A huge issue my autoimmune disorder has caused is partial intestinal paralysis, or a variation of slow gut motility. That was making it difficult to eat ENOUGH meals during the day. Not only have I tried OTC laxatives and a high fiber diet, but also acupuncture, massage, and a few supportive supplements. While manually massaging my abdomen does assist bowel movement throughout the area where I often get blockages (the ascending colon/right side), there has been 1 supplement specifically that has significantly improved my bowel regularity and stool consistency. Magnesium Citrate has been my greatest friend I have found this year and is a better alternative to laxatives such as Miralax.
As I mentioned, I was eating a high fiber diet (and went vegetarian for over a year!) and doctors also told me to take fiber supplements like Metamucil. However, the combo of already eating nothing but fiber and then taking a fiber supplement additionally cause extra bloating and discomfort, and it wasn't helping me pass stool any quicker. I eventually eliminated certain foods, and experimented adding certain foods back into my diet to see what effected me. I learned 2 good things: 1) I could digest chicken and fish just as easily as most of the vegetables I was eating and 2) a breath test indicated I didn't have a gluten intolerance (many with my disorder do!). The reason number 2 is SO huge is because almost EVERYTHING contains a form of gluten... usually wheat or flour. That includes the breading of chicken nuggets.
Back to the poverty issue... ordering enough of the right supplements and medicine to support my health issues while also attempting to eat "healthy" food my body can digest has been hard to accomplish when I've had limited funds. One of the cheapest store bought meals I eat time to time is a can of spinach ($1.20) and a can of black beans ($1.10). It's hardly satisfying but it fills the belly. But after a year of extreme dieting and limitations I had to seek out an alternative for a cheap meal under $3, and this time I wanted chicken. I first sought out DQ but their baskets have skyrocketed to over $7... outrageous. I looked into McDonalds cheap-o value menu to find out they're not very valuable anymore... 20 nuggets for $8. We can do better... So I drove across the street to our ol' pal Burger King and lo-and behold, 16 chicken nuggets for $2.99! (when ordered through app). I'm not typically one to condone french fries BUT BK also gives you 1 free order per week. If you're feeling extra naughty, you can save up enough loyalty points to reward yourself with a free chocolate oreo shake... but this article is about making healthy choices! Don't be like the guy in this video... save up for more nuggets!
As I mentioned, I was eating a high fiber diet (and went vegetarian for over a year!) and doctors also told me to take fiber supplements like Metamucil. However, the combo of already eating nothing but fiber and then taking a fiber supplement additionally cause extra bloating and discomfort, and it wasn't helping me pass stool any quicker. I eventually eliminated certain foods, and experimented adding certain foods back into my diet to see what effected me. I learned 2 good things: 1) I could digest chicken and fish just as easily as most of the vegetables I was eating and 2) a breath test indicated I didn't have a gluten intolerance (many with my disorder do!). The reason number 2 is SO huge is because almost EVERYTHING contains a form of gluten... usually wheat or flour. That includes the breading of chicken nuggets.
Back to the poverty issue... ordering enough of the right supplements and medicine to support my health issues while also attempting to eat "healthy" food my body can digest has been hard to accomplish when I've had limited funds. One of the cheapest store bought meals I eat time to time is a can of spinach ($1.20) and a can of black beans ($1.10). It's hardly satisfying but it fills the belly. But after a year of extreme dieting and limitations I had to seek out an alternative for a cheap meal under $3, and this time I wanted chicken. I first sought out DQ but their baskets have skyrocketed to over $7... outrageous. I looked into McDonalds cheap-o value menu to find out they're not very valuable anymore... 20 nuggets for $8. We can do better... So I drove across the street to our ol' pal Burger King and lo-and behold, 16 chicken nuggets for $2.99! (when ordered through app). I'm not typically one to condone french fries BUT BK also gives you 1 free order per week. If you're feeling extra naughty, you can save up enough loyalty points to reward yourself with a free chocolate oreo shake... but this article is about making healthy choices! Don't be like the guy in this video... save up for more nuggets!
and if you're of the charitable variety, bless you.
