Sherlock: Nutritional Intake
Title: Nutritional Intake
Author: Llama1412
Universe: BBC Sherlock
Characters: Sherlock, John
Disclaimer: Characters and events from BBC Sherlock or the Sherlock Holmes series do not belong to me.
Summary: It was extremely difficult to make sure Sherlock got enough nutrients to keep from passing out. Fortunately, John enjoyed a challenge.
It was no secret that Sherlock Holmes did not eat much, viewing digestion only as an interference with his thought processes. It didn't make much sense biologically, but it did explain why he was so skinny, what with his body using what it could to supply his brain with nutrients, on top of his rather lacking diet.
There was no use in trying to trick Sherlock into eating; getting something past a genius who could read you better than you knew yourself was difficult. And anyway, how do you disguise the consumption of something so vital into someone's body when they know all the tricks that murderers use?
It was also useless to give any sort of advice to Sherlock; he seemed convinced that when it came to his own health, his own medical experience was more credible than Doctor John Watson's. And while this was beyond frustrating and more than a bit insulting, actually, he did have to admit that Sherlock had survived this long, so he couldn't be completely hopeless in matters of his health (although it could also be because his brother monitored him constantly and drugged him with nutrients or something. The fact that this was actually a possibility made John leery the Holmes family).
Overall, it was pretty much impossibly for the average person, doctor or not, to get Sherlock to eat when he didn't want to. But John did have a few advantages over the average person. For a start, Sherlock actually trusted him and his advice was occasionally met with the courtesy of being dismissed without the mocking. More importantly, though, Sherlock had developed a habit of stealing John's meals. It wasn't often and, once again, it was only when Sherlock deemed that a minute amount of food might serve him well, but instead of shouting for someone to make him food, he simply leaned over John's shoulder and took a bite of the toast or biscuit or steak he was consuming.
Generally, this would be more than a bit not good and would set John off into another rant about his irritating flatmate, but really, as a doctor, he had to believe that any method of getting Sherlock fed was an acceptable one.
Which was why he'd started to eat healthier foods. If the main source of nutrition for Sherlock would be stolen morsels from John's meals, then he had to make sure that those morsels would do him some good.
The first time Sherlock noticed was when he'd stolen a mug he'd thought to contain tea, only to grimace at the tart bite of fruit juice. He took another sip, though, and cocked an eyebrow at Watson. “Getting devious, John. Good, you're learning.”
That bit of praise and Sherlock's apparently willingness to go along with John's efforts for the moment made pride swell up in his chest. Perhaps it was a bit more than warranted, considering the subject matter, but even backhanded praise was rare from Sherlock and no one but John could've gotten this far without getting verbally thrashed.
It wasn't much, really. The increase in nutrients he'd managed to get to Sherlock was only minimal, but he was working against the full force of a genius who saw little use for food, so really, anything at all could be seen as a huge accomplishment.
John grinned as he spread organic almond butter - filled with proteins, complex carbohydrates, and Omega-3 fats - over his toast. It was a work in progress, but as long as he was here, he could keep Sherlock from starving himself as much as possible.
Author: Llama1412
Universe: BBC Sherlock
Characters: Sherlock, John
Disclaimer: Characters and events from BBC Sherlock or the Sherlock Holmes series do not belong to me.
Summary: It was extremely difficult to make sure Sherlock got enough nutrients to keep from passing out. Fortunately, John enjoyed a challenge.
It was no secret that Sherlock Holmes did not eat much, viewing digestion only as an interference with his thought processes. It didn't make much sense biologically, but it did explain why he was so skinny, what with his body using what it could to supply his brain with nutrients, on top of his rather lacking diet.
There was no use in trying to trick Sherlock into eating; getting something past a genius who could read you better than you knew yourself was difficult. And anyway, how do you disguise the consumption of something so vital into someone's body when they know all the tricks that murderers use?
It was also useless to give any sort of advice to Sherlock; he seemed convinced that when it came to his own health, his own medical experience was more credible than Doctor John Watson's. And while this was beyond frustrating and more than a bit insulting, actually, he did have to admit that Sherlock had survived this long, so he couldn't be completely hopeless in matters of his health (although it could also be because his brother monitored him constantly and drugged him with nutrients or something. The fact that this was actually a possibility made John leery the Holmes family).
Overall, it was pretty much impossibly for the average person, doctor or not, to get Sherlock to eat when he didn't want to. But John did have a few advantages over the average person. For a start, Sherlock actually trusted him and his advice was occasionally met with the courtesy of being dismissed without the mocking. More importantly, though, Sherlock had developed a habit of stealing John's meals. It wasn't often and, once again, it was only when Sherlock deemed that a minute amount of food might serve him well, but instead of shouting for someone to make him food, he simply leaned over John's shoulder and took a bite of the toast or biscuit or steak he was consuming.
Generally, this would be more than a bit not good and would set John off into another rant about his irritating flatmate, but really, as a doctor, he had to believe that any method of getting Sherlock fed was an acceptable one.
Which was why he'd started to eat healthier foods. If the main source of nutrition for Sherlock would be stolen morsels from John's meals, then he had to make sure that those morsels would do him some good.
The first time Sherlock noticed was when he'd stolen a mug he'd thought to contain tea, only to grimace at the tart bite of fruit juice. He took another sip, though, and cocked an eyebrow at Watson. “Getting devious, John. Good, you're learning.”
That bit of praise and Sherlock's apparently willingness to go along with John's efforts for the moment made pride swell up in his chest. Perhaps it was a bit more than warranted, considering the subject matter, but even backhanded praise was rare from Sherlock and no one but John could've gotten this far without getting verbally thrashed.
It wasn't much, really. The increase in nutrients he'd managed to get to Sherlock was only minimal, but he was working against the full force of a genius who saw little use for food, so really, anything at all could be seen as a huge accomplishment.
John grinned as he spread organic almond butter - filled with proteins, complex carbohydrates, and Omega-3 fats - over his toast. It was a work in progress, but as long as he was here, he could keep Sherlock from starving himself as much as possible.