Way back when in 2010, I took an allergy test. I was curious. I took the kind where you look at a list of foods, pick the ones that you usually eat more of, and then have little pricks on your back. Based on the size of the reaction, you can figure out what you’re most allergic to. What I remember the most is being allergic to … lots of things. Lots. Not only dander and pollen and trees, but also to soy. That showed the largest reaction.
I tell people this, and they ask me, well, what happens when you have soy?
I have no idea. I’ve been eating soy my entire life (indirectly, mostly – as we all know, it’s in pretty much everything). I have never had a full-blown allergic reaction to anything in my life.
I say all of this because this year I am going to try harder to eat better. I’ve been curious for a while if my allergies have anything to do with my speech. Does the soy affect how my vocal cords react? Or is it just hard wired in neurologically and that’s that? Do certain foods get me more amped up than others? I was reading through my About and FAQ pages recently on a cleanup. I talked about taking Pagoclone and feeling more relaxed. Would non-allergic foods make me feel more calm? Does it have to do with blood sugar? So many variables!
Disclaimer, of course – there’s no cure for stuttering. There’s working on Acceptance – the mental aspect. And then there’s the physical aspect – working on breathing, pacing, easy onsets. What if I can tweak more of the physical?
What’s also hard is that I spend pages and pages on this blog saying that Acceptance is the goal. Say what you want, sound however you want, and it’s fine. And it is. And I’m ok with it. But then the other half is still wanting to sound fluent, still chasing that high that follows fluent speech.
I think my excuse for this is going to be – what’s the harm? Why not treat my body a little better and see what happens. So this year I’m going to read more labels, try to avoid soy (and gluten, why not) and see what happens.
Hello. I stutter. 