Monthly Archives: August 2020

WHEN YOU EAT………DO NO HARM!

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LET FOOD BE THY MEDICINE AND MEDICINE BE THY FOOD.  That was uttered by the Greek physician Hippocrates, who lived 460 – 374 BC.  Today we know more about the way certain foods can help us to prevent or even reverse some significant life-altering diseases.

One of these life-altering diseases that affects almost everyone in the United States is cardiovascular disease.  According to the American Heart Association, in the United States, 48% of people over the age of 19 have some degree of cardiovascular disease (CVD).  The category of CVD includes coronary heart disease (CHD), heart attack, angina, heart failure, hypertension, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and aortic aneurysm.  Many people have CVD and just don’t know it.  Your vessels may only be partially blocked with plaque and not yet screaming at you, but that does not mean you shouldn’t be worried.

So….when my patients do get worried, what do I tell them?  I remind them how important their diet is!  How do you let food be your medicine?  Well, the good news is that there are a lot of risk factors for CVD that are modifiable, and diet is among them.   In fact, a worldwide study named INTERHEART looked at people in 52 different countries.  This study identified 9 risk factors that could be modified to decrease CVD.  These 9 risk factors were responsible for >90% of the risk of having that first heart attack!  WOW!  So what are these 9 factors you can change or alter?

  1.  smoking
  2.  high blood pressure
  3.  diabetes
  4.  dyslipidemia
  5.  abdominal obesity
  6.  DAILY INTAKE OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
  7.  regular alcohol consumption
  8.  regular physical activity
  9.  psychosocial factors

FOCUS on number SIX,  and you will help numbers two through five.

The AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION is promoting a HEALTHY HEART LIFESTYLE and calling it LIFE’S SIMPLE SEVEN

  1. don’t smoke
  2. get regular physical activity
  3. keep a normal blood pressure
  4. have a normal blood glucose level
  5. have a normal total cholesterol level
  6. keep a normal weight
  7. EAT A HEALTHY DIET

Again, focusing on number SEVEN  will help accomplish three through six.   No matter how you look at things, your diet is important and plays a factor in your health and longevity.  Food is medicine, one way or the other.  There is good medicine.  There is bad medicine.

It’s your choice!!

To Fatten A Belly

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To fatten your belly fast, there is a simple solution.  FAST FOOD.  It is everywhere.  If you would like to be healthy, it would be best to  AVOID it.  But that is nearly impossible to do.  But if your goal is to grow to the next size, it is helpful to have fast food on every corner!

So what are the fast foods most helpful for enlarging your girth?

FRIED FOODS – having something fried in oil adds so many calories, that you can eat a lot less and still maintain or even increase your current weight with no effort at all.  A FIVE GUYS Bacon Cheeseburger will supply 920 calories.  (If you wash it down with a coke (290 cals) and add Five Guy style fries (953 cals)you can get up to 2163 calories in a single meal!  How is that for efficiency?)

SODIUM (SALT) –   Most people have no idea how much salt they eat, but they do know they love it.  Eating fast food is a great way to get a lot of salt.  Health experts say to limit you sodium intake to < 2400 mg a day, but that is only about one teaspoon.  That can be hard to do if you like a McDonald’s quarter pounder with cheese since it has 1110 mg just by itself. But, even better,  the Bacon Smokehouse Artisan Grilled Chicken sandwich has 1940 mg!  

CONDIMENTS – Ah, a few of these will really increase your belt size.  Zaxby’s ranch dressing = 190 cals.  And it is hard to get by with just one!  Honey mustard for your chicken.?  180 cals.  And don’t forget the ketchup for your fries!  See how easy it is?

BEVERAGES  –  A large soft drink can give you up to 560 calories.  Or you could go for a milkshake.  A Cookout milkshake is up to 900 calories.  A Hardees peach shake is only 700.  Personally, I love Frosty’s, but the large is 590 calories.  So I get the junior at 200.

So, there you have it!  A guide to gaining weight.  If you’re interested!!

TAKE BACK CONTROL

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There are a lot of things in life over which we have no control.  Take, for instance, the Covid pandemic.   But there are some things you can control.

YOU NEED TO TAKE BACK CONTROL OF WHAT YOU EAT!

There are several ways to do that.  This blog, over the next few weeks, will explore some of these ways in more detail, including

 1.  BEING CHOOSY ABOUT FAST FOOD  

Everyone loves fast food.  You may choose to go to McDonald’s or Taco-Bell or your favorite fast food chain …….BUT,  unless you are pouring over on-line ingredient lists that are hard to find, you may not know everything that is in your food!

2.  COUNTING CALORIES

The calorie count law of 2018 has helped some

3.  AVOIDING HARMFUL INGREDIENTS

Some processed foods have ingredients that clog arteries, are toxic to the liver, cause cancer, etc

4.  KEEP YOUR DIET SIMPLE.  

Simple does not mean easy to get, because that would be fast food all the time.  I mean the food itself should be SIMPLE.  Minimally processed!   Foods straight from the harvest to you with minimal alteration.   It will take some work.

JUST LIKE MOST THINGS, THE EASY WAY IS OFTEN NOT THE BEST WAY.    You only were given one body and you want it to last.  So take time to revise your diet and eating habits so they help you live a long and healthy life. 

 

HEALTHY EATING

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Do you want to live a FAST BUT SHORT LIFE?  Then you have chosen the right country to live in.  The AVERAGE AMERICAN DIET can get you there!

However, the purpose of the Healthy Eating blog is to help you know how to obtain the nutrition needed to build and maintain a healthy, strong, and resilient body.  I want to help you STAY AWAY from the average American diet.

And I want to KEEP IT SIMPLE.  There are an endless variety of “diets” making unrealistic claims and vying for your attention.  The more gimmicky they are, the more you need to RUN.  To be healthy, one needs to get back to basics.  A simpler diet of wholesome foods.

AVOID the average AMERICAN DIET.

LOOK FOR SIMPLE INGREDIENTS.

THE CLOSER YOU CAN GET TO FOOD IN ITS NATURAL STATE, THE BETTER!

 Avoid processed food, fast food, “just add water” boxed food, and food with a shelf life of forever.  These foods are convenient and help to serve up sickness along with dinner. You really don’t want your life to be fast and short.  Don’t you want to enjoy a long and leisurely life?  Then use food in the way it was intended to be used.  You will enjoy your meals more and feel so much better!

Begin with  simple foods in their natural state.  That means eating a lot of fruit and vegetables, along with whole grains and beans and nuts and seeds and healthy fats like olive oil.  Fish, meat and poultry can be included in SMALL amounts.  Observational studies show that eating like this may decrease your risk of developing a host of diseases, including cancer, Alzheimers, and Parkinsons disease.  It leaves an endless variety of food to experiment with and enjoy!  There is always fun in trying new things – so think of this as a new adventure.  It is a different adventure than going to McDonalds but there is definitely less of a downside.

To get started, here are a couple of recipes to try:

#1 – Toss broccoli in olive oil, add salt, bake on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees until crispy.  SO EASY!

#2 – Boil cauliflower in water until soft, drain, mash and add garlic and some cheese – good substitute for mashed potatoes

#3 – grill some fresh peaches!

Have fun experimenting with food that is directly from the ground and unadulterated!

REMEMBER – USE SIMPLE INGREDIENTS – KEEP IT SIMPLE!