Too much of a good thing

The prognosis was a natural clearing of the obstruction or, failing that, surgical intervention. The diagnosis, following an expensive computed tomography scan, was a small bowel obstruction caused by eating too many raw vegetables.

I had overdosed on salad.

The scan revealed a pinch-point in the small intestine caused by scar tissue resulting from a hernia operation almost two decades ago. Too much fibrous material can stop up at this point, causing any solid or liquid material taken orally to become a ticking time-bomb—what cannot go down, must come up.

In effect, this meant periods of intense abdominal pain and regurgitation. It started a couple years ago. Ascertaining the cause was a relief, although the bill for 24 hours’ observation and the CT scan will take us a year to pay, at over $400 per month. We couldn’t afford insurance when my employer offered and were not eligible to enroll when my spouse found full-time employment last spring. We’ll be able to enroll in November and cover any medical expenses incurred after Jan. 1, 2026.

Of course, now that we’re paying monthly for medical debt, we may not be able to additionally afford medical insurance deductions from my income. I suspect this double-bind is not uncommon in these United States.

Gut health has become a prevalent concern for my generational cohort. Crohn’s, celiac, and irritable bowel syndrome have all become common, kitchen table talking points. I am fortunate in that my own issues do not apparently require radical dietary and lifestyle changes, or medication. Boiling and steaming vegetables, and cutting them into smaller pieces, chewing more thoroughly, and consistently stretching and moving in ways that promote digestion, should suffice. 

Like so many national-level policy initiatives, exhortations to “make America healthy again” are rooted in very popular mandates. The question of how to pursue the changes we all want to see continues to be a source of divisions.

What should we be doing to promote better health in our country? How are we seeking to do so, from both top-down and bottom-up standpoints?

We’re seeing a lot of disruption in the institutions charged with administering public health, everything from controversy around the national Health and Human Services Department under Robert Kennedy Jr. and the nation’s relationship with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, to our own state health services bracing for likely budget cuts and potential government shutdown.

But were those institutions, whose aims are indubitably good, fulfilling their missions and purposes? Would more good intentions (and ever-increasing funding) be too much of a good thing with too little to show?

How can we find the obstruction and what will it cost?