Doesn’t Matter Where You Start From
It being the first of the year it’s a logical time to start eating healthy and being more active but if you’re reading this in July for instance, July works as well.
On this blog the goal isn’t to sell anyone anything really, the hope is to spread a little bit of awareness, hope or inspiration.
The Doctor Appointment
Towards the end of December, I had my annual physical and I was asked a surprising question by the doctor: Are you on any special diet? I answered “no, not really”. It wasn’t until a few days later that I recalled that question and thought about it. Being about as close to 60 as you can be and not having to take any medications puts me in the minority of Americans. Hmmm, genetics certainly play a role but what about my diet? I thought a bit more and looked at what I eat normally- Lots of oats, fresh chicken, home grown or at least fresh vegetables, black coffee, lots of chaga, turkey tail tea and not much in the way of red meat. I also make my own bread and yogurt. So, I guess in comparison to many Americans I am on a special diet.
Started Watching a Few Documentaries
After a while you start seeing the parallels between personal health and soil and forest health, a healthy personal biome and a healthy forest biome. Where everything big and small play an intricate part of the whole. In order for a forest to be healthy it has to have diversity as do people pertaining to diet. If you can “see” the overall trend of your diet, you can almost anticipate certain outcomes.
We sat and watched a documentary about diet as it pertains to heart health and learned many things. I’ll try and recap a few points here.
Heart disease and cancers are epidemic in the United States and is a growing problem worldwide. As we all speed through our daily lives everyone feels the pressure of having limited time for our health, especially when it comes to eating. So in many cases we grab what we can on the go, many times that means we are offered worst choices. Over time those choices have consequence, and our bodies will no longer be able to perform their functions without fault.
In one documentary they looked at data from China. Why China? Because the data offered a view at millions of data points from millions of people over a large geographic area and lifestyles.
As China grows into the new millennium and their urban areas and population habits begin to mimic American population eating habits it’s no surprise that their cardiovascular disease and cancer rates should increase to mirror our own.
Interesting enough, in the more rural areas and the poorer populations cardiovascular disease and cancers and almost unheard of. The main difference in the two groups is diet and exercise. Poorer communities eat more vegetables and little or no red meat and are generally more active.
The doctors and scientists touched on other interesting things like how ineffective big pharma is at treating our ailments. Installing stints to bypass or clean out plaque that has grown in the artier walls of the heart has become almost routine in the U.S. Most of those efforts are a temporary fix and cost thousands, (big pharma must love them). Now, these doctors and scientists in the documentary showed where not only can plaque buildup be avoided but can also be reversed without surgery through diet and exercise.
The human body is amazing, and you can affect how it looks and behaves through diet and exercise.
Check out this video to start your own personal journey to living a healthier life. Short clip from documentary Rip Esselstyn’s Scenes in Forks Over Knives Documentary
