One of the best ways to get your spouse to eat well is to stop taking responsibility for their food habits

When “Rabbi Berg” — a middle-aged rabbi in the Five Towns — and his rebbetzin walked into my office for their initial consultation, I could tell right away from the looks on their faces which one of them had initiated the meeting.

“What can I help you with?” I asked, addressing both of them.

Rabbi Berg had a look of deep resignation on his face as he motioned to his wife to answer my question. Rebbetzin Berg, clearly the one who had wanted this meeting, needed no more encouragement to begin.

“Let me give you a little background,” she said. “About three months ago, my husband was knocked down on the sidewalk by a careless boy on an electric scooter. As a result, he suffered a minor head injury. Baruch Hashem, the CT scan showed no brain damage. His doctors recommended only rest and relaxation, which considering my husband’s position, is easier said than done.

“I have to admit that he has been trying to cut back by letting others take over some of his shiurim and limiting his attendance at simchahs. Nevertheless, I’ve noticed a significant change in his personality since his fall. He has been more impatient and irritable at home than he was before. When I reported this to his doctors, they said that such things aren’t unheard of after a head injury. But they did not offer any treatment or medication and simply told me to ‘give it time.’

“So last month, after seeing no improvement, I researched alternative medicine options and I came up with the name of someone in Williamsburg who uses nutritional methods to treat a variety of medical conditions. It wasn’t easy to get an appointment to see him because he has such a busy practice. But we used a little protektziya and got to see him last Thursday. He said he has seen this before and has successfully treated others with similar symptoms by putting them on a strict diet, eliminating certain foods which he feels exacerbate the condition, and adding certain over-the-counter vitamins and dietary supplements.”

I was beginning to wonder how I fit into the picture when the rebbetzin answered my unasked question.

“Enough with the background information,” she said, clearing her throat. “The reason I wanted to meet with you is because my husband says he wants to keep to the diet that will improve his health. But I often catch him cheating, eating the foods he enjoys but that aren’t allowed according to the special diet he’s on. So I want you to give me instructions as to what I can do to make sure that my husband keeps to his diet.”