And the Cough Stopped

I just realized something. For years I would often cough during or after I would eat - mostly during lunch. I became aware of it back in '94. It was not often after dinner, but always after lunch.


I went to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor and there was nothing he could do - though I did get new X-Rays of my esophagus that was repaired when I was an infant. It looks like a heavily scarred thin hour glass. How did I get so big with such frighteningly fragile looking, reconstructed trachea and esophagus? How did I even play athletics? At birth I had Trachea Esophageal Fistula, so the better part of my first year on the planet was spent at Mather Air Force Base Hospital. Maybe I'll post a photo of me back during my incarceration -- think E.T. in diapers. Choking on food throughout my childhood was an all too common experience.

Well, the coughing problem in adulthood never went away - an annoyance really - and I just chalked it up to my esophagus knowing that to get food down through the eye of a needle it had to get my mucus membranes to work overtime.

Again, I never thought about until the last few days when I realized that for at least 16 years I would cough a few times after I ate my lunch, but all during the vegan quest I never would! And this has nothing to do with meat vs. salad since it would happen even after I had soup, or yes, even salad during my non-vegan days. It is highly curious that my body would produce more of that viscous liquid that would tickle my throat to cough a few times almost daily until I stopped all animal products. Very interesting - no nutritional info here, just I find it interesting.

Last night I got home late and decided to watch some baseball and drink some water at the Pig 'n' Whistle. They had a special salad that that was mixed greens, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and slices of grapefruit with a citrus dressing (very light on oil, but too much for me). Also included were calamari shells, or tubes, stuffed with crabmeat. I was nervous this would be fried, or the crabmeat would be loaded with mayo, but I was shocked at how fresh and pure both the squid and the crabmeat were!

I think if I have some sort of fish or chicken dish, I would prefer that most of the meal be an interesting salad. I would rather fill up on salad and not fish. I just feel better afterwards.