Everyday Systems

I have heard a few diet and health comments in print, and on the news lately that have been me look twice, or wish I could hear it again...

1) (And this is an old one) If you jog/run you don't have to worry about how much food you eat. I am a walking, breathing example of how this is incorrect. I do have to watch how much food I eat, or I gain weight.

2) (From Dr. Agatston on Dr. Oz Show) If you follow my diet (South Beach) you will not have a heart attack or stroke. Blanket statements always make me feel unfomfortable, i.e. vegetarians don't get cancer. A lot of people get drawn into a sense of false security because of diet and exercise and ignore warning signs concerning health issues.

3) (Men's Health- again for the umpteenth time) How to heart attack proof your body. Very similar to Dr. Agatston and ironic since a Men's Health editor recently went through bypass surgery in his early 40's, and he "ate clean" and exercised. (I know "eat clean" irritates some. Those were their words, not mine...)

I can't think of many off hand, but they are out there.

Over43 wrote:I have heard a few diet and health comments in print, and on the news lately that have been me look twice, or wish I could hear it again...

1) (And this is an old one) If you jog/run you don't have to worry about how much food you eat. I am a walking, breathing example of how this is incorrect. I do have to watch how much food I eat, or I gain weight.

2) (From Dr. Agatston on Dr. Oz Show) If you follow my diet (South Beach) you will not have a heart attack or stroke. Blanket statements always make me feel unfomfortable, i.e. vegetarians don't get cancer. A lot of people get drawn into a sense of false security because of diet and exercise and ignore warning signs concerning health issues.

3) (Men's Health- again for the umpteenth time) How to heart attack proof your body. Very similar to Dr. Agatston and ironic since a Men's Health editor recently went through bypass surgery in his early 40's, and he "ate clean" and exercised. (I know "eat clean" irritates some. Those were their words, not mine...)

I can't think of many off hand, but they are out there.

1. I think if you exercise as much as an Olympic athlete, you probably don't have to worry so much (Michael Phelps comes to mind with his 8,000-10,000 daily calorie requirement).

2. "A lot of people get drawn into a sense of false security because of diet and exercise and ignore warning signs concerning health issues." So true! I've also heard that a lot of cardiologists who started out as big fans and proponents of SB are now telling patients to stop it, though I haven't heard their rationale.

3. There are no guarantees. Other lifestyle choices and stress as well as things we're exposed to in the environment (chemicals, etc) may play as big a part as diet/exercise.

Over43 wrote:2) (From Dr. Agatston on Dr. Oz Show) If you follow my diet (South Beach) you will not have a heart attack or stroke. Blanket statements always make me feel unfomfortable, i.e. vegetarians don't get cancer. A lot of people get drawn into a sense of false security because of diet and exercise and ignore warning signs concerning health issues.

3) (Men's Health- again for the umpteenth time) How to heart attack proof your body. Very similar to Dr. Agatston and ironic since a Men's Health editor recently went through bypass surgery in his early 40's, and he "ate clean" and exercised. (I know "eat clean" irritates some. Those were their words, not mine...)

I can't think of many off hand, but they are out there.

This kind of thinking is basically superstition. It's an attempt to feel like you're in control of something (in this case, whether or not you will have a heart attack or get cancer) that you really don't have any control over. It's like thinking that, if you don't stay on the 13th floor, nothing bad will happen. It's a very human thing to do- people don't like the feeling that something bad could happen to them and there's nothing they could do about it- but it's wrong.

Worse, it might make people indulge in blaming the victim when someone does get cancer or have a heart attack. People who have had a heart attack or who have cancer don't need that. It's similar to blaming the victim of rape or robbery. It makes you feel a little better, to think this couldn't happen to you, but it makes the victim feel much worse. It's not good to make yourself feel better at the expense of others.

There's only one guarantee in life, and that's that you are going to die. There's no diet or exercise program or medicine or supplement in the world that can change that. If you live long enough (remember that not everybody does), you are going to get old. Again, there's no diet or anything else that can change that. You might get sick. There's nothing you can do to guarantee that that won't happen, either. People like to think that they can do something to guarantee that those things won't happen to them, but, in reality, they can't.

There is another guarantee, my kids will leave me flat broke...

I think you are right, superstition has wormed its way into the diet/health world. I had not paid much attention to that, but what people do to be "healthy" (juicing, raw foodism, extra money a month buying "health" products, etc...) is at times outlandish.

It is what it is (not to sound fatalistic). I still believe the three biggest things you can do to live a longer period of time is: don't drink (heavily), don't smoke, and have good genetics.

Over43 wrote:
I think you are right, superstition has wormed its way into the diet/health world. I had not paid much attention to that, but what people do to be "healthy" (juicing, raw foodism, extra money a month buying "health" products, etc...) is at times outlandish.

I don't know that I'd call it superstition, but extreme beliefs and behaviors and it's a result of our weight and health problems.

Something I've found interesting (found in all that reading I've done) is that these things aren't popular at all in places like France, Italy, Spain, Japan, Greece, China, etc. You know, all those places they naturally eat a wide variety of foods and eat moderately. They're dismissed as unnecessary -- something those crazy Americans do.

I think they follow the principle of "it it ain't broke, don't fix it." We have a very broken food culture, which includes everything from the growing and production of food to the purchasing, cooking, eating and enjoyment of it.

Something I found interesting is that the governments of those countries have, until very recently, found no need to get involved in the dietary practices of their citizens. No food pyramids, no "eat this, not that." They didn't have huge problems with obesity or chronic health issues from dietary causes. Since American-style food and eating practices have become more common, the incidences of those have increased and the governments are concerned. Their advice? To go back to the old ways of eating.

There are few vegetarians or vegans in those places and those who do follow those guidelines tend to do so for religious reasons -- certainly not "health" (or animal rights!).