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November 8, 2005
99.9% of Cardiovascular Disease Is Lifestyle
I heard that line on the radio this morning as part of an advertisement for a hospital. Then I came into work and saw this article in Slate magazine.
Uh, yikes! 99.9% of cardiovascular disease is caused by lifestyle, yet the "fat acceptance movement" is gathering steam? We're not talking about hardcore CR vs. moderate heatlhy eating -- we're talking about life and death here!
I like the way the author of the article, Laura Kipnis, wrote in detail about the role the food industry has played in shaping American's food preferences and waistlines. Tastebuds can indeed be ruined by overfeeding of processed foods, as Zeynep points out (though I can assure her that Judith is not suffering from that problem... she's an amazing cook and feeds her family healthy and delicious foods. We may just have to agree to disagree about eggwhites!) and from school cafeterias and McDonald's kids' meals on, Americans are trained to love junk. Even those who try to improve their diets face obstacles. It can be very difficult to navigate the maze of processed foods in grocery stores, saturated-fat laden fast food, and cream sauce drenched pasta in restaurants. Portion sizes are out of control, finding healthy food is like a treasure hunt, and no one has any time because we're all working too darned much just to put "food" on the table for ourselves and our families. No wonder Americans are fat and on the verge of heart attacks!
Over the weekend, I went out with a group of non-CR'd friends, and after eating the only thing on the menu that was even vaguely CR friendly, a chicken fajita salad, I was still hungry. And after a margarita, my inhibitions were significantly lowered -- wow, I am such a cheap date now!!! It's amazing how much less one can drink at 101 pounds than at 140! So I ate some nachos off a friend's plate. Nachos and margaritas -- the old evil combination. Anyhow, she asked me how I stay so thin. I pointed out that I certainly don't eat nachos everyday, but that since I am very careful with my diet, both in terms of calories and nutrition, I can afford every once in awhile to go out and eat junk.
Fact is, though, if I ate in restaurants nearly as often as most people I know do, there's no way I'd be able to even maintain a healthy diet, much less a calorie restricted, nutritionally optimized one! The food choices tend to be horrible, and even when they're not incomprehensibly bad, there aren't many high protein, low saturated fat, high volume vegetable choices out there. The food I make for myself and MR at home is delicious, and when friends come over they rave about both the quality and quantity of food served. (In fact, I've just been appointed Ministrix of Hospitality for a social group I'm in -- a vote of confidence that I appreciated!) But you take the same people, plop them down in a restaurant, and they're going to eat food that will eventually land them in the CCU. That's Cardiac Care Unit, for those of you who don't do nurse-speak.
I feel very guilty when I eat junk when out with friends, not so much because it will damage my CR since a once a month forray into a few bites of nachos isn't a life-extension disaster, as long as I balance out the calories and make up for missed nutrients in other meals, which I always do. But I feel like I'm setting a bad example. I'm very happy that this group is getting it's own space for events, so we will be eating potluck style instead of going out to restaurants. I love to cook healthy food that fortifies the body and mind, and sharing it with those I love. But I hate being hungry because the menu choices are bad, and then sitting next to someone eating a pile of junk food. It's hard to resist, especially when I know how easy it is to make up for it in other parts of my CR plan. Still, I feel crappy after eating that way, even if it's just one meal and not that large a volume of sub-optimal food. It seems to make the brain sludge somehow. I'm sure there's a technical term for this.
It was a joy to get back on the straight and narrow, cooking favorites on Sunday like our CR Sunday breakfast (giant vegetable and eggwhite scramble with low carb buckwheat pancakes fortified with whey protein), my beautiful MR-made salad with yogurt for lunch, and a delicious spaghetti squash topped with homemade tomato sauce with olive tapenade for dinner. Yum!
The week is crazy busy, and I was happy to come home last night to find that MR had already assembled my vegetable soup and cottage cheese dinner. I was very hungry because I got home past dinner time, so I dug into my cottage cheese with an enthusiasm usually found only in teenage boys attacking a large pizza. I felt totally satisfied after dinner, and went on to do another hour or so of work before finally crashing out.
You'll be pleased to know that Philomena the cat seems to have stopped howling all night. I think I can thank Trader Joe's Tuna For Cats. It's a special cat-friendly version of tuna fish, and it's a real hit in our household. When I fill the little calico's belly with it, she purrs and then sleeps peacefully until at least 4 am, which is an improvement over last week's 1 - 3 am howling start time. What can I say, I'm a kitty-mommy -- I live to serve!
Posted by april at November 8, 2005 6:41 AM
Comments
Yeah "dogs got masters, cats got servents" :-) (as we say in german, roughly translated for your cenvenience(tm))
Posted by: Curious at November 8, 2005 3:19 PM
April,
we can agree on disagreeing on eggwhites, but I know something we can agree to agree on...
Pumpkin!
Since it's the pumpkin season in the U.S, and you seem to like it (I do too and it's very healthy and nutritious too), I will share a recipe with you. It's actually a Bosniak specialty as far as I know. (my late aunt used to cook it).
For 2 persons:
Boil half of a pumpkin, peeled
Cut the quarter-moon shaped, boiled slices into squarish pieces, sautee with some finely cut white onion, some cayenne pepper, 2 soupspoons of vergin olive oil, some fresh (or powdered) ginger.
While they are being done, in a seperate bowl, mix some fat free plain yoghurt with some thinly cut garlic cloves and a pinch of salt.
Take the sauteed pumkins from the heat and add the garlic yoghurt sauce on it. Decorate with some parsley leaves and enjoy.
It's a sweet/spicy tasting, lovely and healthy dish...
Posted by: zeynep at November 8, 2005 4:01 PM
And we can agree on being cat mommies.
When they howl, the male ones do especialy, I take them in my arms and tell them that they are o.k, nothing bad is going to happen to them, that I will protect them..
They seem to understand. They murr and suck on my earlobe. Then we bite eachother, then we fall asleep.
Me and my cats.
Posted by: zeynep at November 8, 2005 6:54 PM
Kitty Mommies! Yes!
I just had a nice cuddle with Kieffer. I have a Raggedy Ann doll that is about 3 feet tall and sits on our couch. Kieffer likes to sleep in her lap. I laid down with my head on Kieffer on the doll's lap. He purred and purred... a very gentlemanly purr.
Philo is very old -- we're not sure how old -- and she has kidney disease so she gets subcutaneous fluids once a week. She has weird hunger cycles, so she won't eat for a day or so and then will be so hungry that she'll eat three cans of cat food in one night. I have to get up to feed her. She has a very big purr, and is the cuddliest cat I've ever met.
In fact, she is calling for me to cuddle her now.
a
Posted by: April at November 8, 2005 7:29 PM