Tiny Choosin’ Keeping Me Healthy
By Karina | March 10, 2010
I have to preface this post with: I am not a doctor! nor a medical professional of any sort. So take everything here with a grain of salt (so to speak).
Because of my day job as an environmental engineer who occasionally has need to go onto hazardous waste sites, OSHA requires that I have an annual physical in order to monitor my health and make sure, well, I’m not being impacted and that I am fit for that sort of activity. I just got my physical results back and I’ve been thinking about them for a few days and I have to say, I really think that my food choices are doing a great job of keeping me healthy!
I think to understand how big of an issue this is to me you should know that my family has a whole lot of heart disease. It’s a big problem, with lots of young heart attacks being had by various people, and I’m so happy that my dad is doing so well now after several scares and several surgeries. (The photo is of an embroidered heart I gave him for fathers day one year. He pointed out where his problem areas are!) I’m not sure if I have good luck in this area because of my lifestyle, or if my mom’s genes have so significantly moderated my heart disease risk, but every time I get blood work back I call up my daddy and tell him how healthy my heart is. This time around my cholesterol was 141 (normal is under 200) and my triglycerides were in the 70s (normal is 150). Best of all, my cholesterol ratio indicates that I have a below average risk of heart disease! PHEW!
So as I have been thinking about my test results, I realized how worried I am every year at blood test time because of my family history. And to be honest, I’m a tiny bit overweight and while I do like to run I am not always a 3x a week active person like I should be. In some respects I am no poster child for healthy eating. If I could get all my required protein from cheese I would be happy to do so, and since I met my partner about two years ago I’m afraid I’ve eaten more butter than I have in my whole life before that… and I have *never* skimped on the butter. Ever. Plus, in the same vein as protein, I am also happy to satisfy any calcium requirement with ice cream. Very happy to do so, yes sir.
When I mentioned how happy I was that my diet hadn’t impacted my triglycerides or cholesterol to my dad, he suggested that he thought maybe butter got a bad rap – maybe it was really the processed foods that American’s eat so much of. And it’s true. Other than my favorite microwave burritos (a lunch standby, despite their plastic wrapper) I would guess I eat processed or packaged food just once a week, probably – and it’s less during the summer when I’m wrassling with my giant CSA share. Personally, I think I have a fairly moderate diet – one full of whole grains, fresh seasonal vegetables when I can, and I always try not to eat in my car. Because I don’t like to throw away plastic I don’t buy many processed or packaged foods to eat, and certainly not in individual serving packages. I always choose the option with the most fibery and green stuff when I’m in a grocery store. I do eat meat – but not every day, for sure. And I really think that the “no meals in the car” rule helps moderate my junk intake a lot – after all, I am in the car a whole lot between commuting and various other obligations I have.
(And for the record, I actually *have* been working out several times a week – but it’s not that aerobic, more of a cross-training weights-and-fitness program. I am phasing in running more, especially as the weather is getting nicer!)
For more ideas about eating healthy – I love this run down of eco-friendly healthy diets from LA Green Girl!
How do you moderate your diet? Does it help keep you healthy?
Topics: Food, Health | 14 Comments »
I am totally with you on the butter and also eggs issue. I have IBD so am perhaps a bit more up on food combos for health, but butter is always one I was suspicious of. It just didn’t make a whole lot of sence to me how this product is supposed to be so damn bad for you. And really after years of research you can really pick which ever side of the arguement you would like as there is plenty of evidence for both sides of the arguement.
My little addition is eggs. I love them and when times in the guts are rough I live on them. To eat a dozen eggs in a week is not a problem. Yes eggs have cholesterol in them, but the part that the health nutters miss is what yoru body does with it. You don’t actually increase your cholesterol by eating cholesterol. You increase your cholesterol by eating fats, basic physiology here. So eat your eggs, have some oatmeal porrage with a nice bit of milk and butter on your toast, YUMMY!
Oh, eggs! I eat lots of them too, they’re such a good place to find protein and an easy fall back when a meal needs a little extra on top.
Karina, I love this post…and I’ve been kicking around writing about the same thing on my blog…and I think you’ve inspired me to sit down and do it! I KNOW that eating simply prepared whole foods are keeping me healthy…of course, since I have celiac, that keeps me toeing the line – and I’m actually grateful for it. Like you, I stay away from processed, packaged foods as much as possible, and belonging to 2 CSAs does keep us very busy in keeping up with the tide of organic veggies and meat coming into the house. My cholesterol is quite low, BP is good, and in the last 8 years, my only visits to a doctor are the yearly OBGYN and yearly physical. No complaints here!
My family has a huge cancer burden (and I work for the American Cancer Society as well), so preventing cancer – it’s kind of an obsession. 2/3 of cancers are preventable by diet and exercise (and no smoking!), and I know I’m doing very well in these marks. And, I’m not really worried about cancer risks at all. I know I’m doing right by myself to live a long, healthy, and ACTIVE life. No settling into the sofa for me!
I would LOVE to read about this on your blog, especially given the cancer angle – it’s great to know about those 2/3 of cancers that can be prevented.
This is a really great thing to read because it’s a really nice reminder that if you don’t want to sacrifice butter/ice cream in your life 1.) it may not affect your health negatively, as least not presently and 2.) it’s a great reminder to start incorporating more foods into your life that challenge those nasty side effects of butter and ice cream.
I’m personally not a fan of buckwheat flour, but if you happen to enjoy baking with it (or at least mixing it in with your whole wheat or spelt flours) it’s been shown to reduce cholesterol levels (at least in RATS, the staple of animal testing).
I’ve recently discovered the joy of butter in cooking, but I am often pairing it with incredibly healthy foods. It’s just, you know, make it work for your instead of against you.
I actually do love love love buckwheat flour. it’s hard to find on its own, though, usually it’s in a pancake mix or something. which is delicious! (and pancakes are a wonderful way to transport butter and syrup into your mouth!)
Hey! What about the vegans? There’s a whole lot of arguments out there that being vegan is more environmentally friendly because of the whole process of getting dairy products, BUT there are also lots of issues with replacement products (like margarine) containing other not-so-eco-friendly stuff (like palm oil). Would love to see an article addressing that sort of thing. (I know you’ve got some floating around, but I would love to see more!) Ultimately I think I’m going to stick with the vegan thing for ethical reasons, but I would like to know what products I should avoid that are still vegan.
PS: We’re always told that dairy is a great source of calcium, but I’ve also heard/read that it is NOT the best place because of animal proteins. (Wikipedia says, “Research has found an association between diets high in animal protein and increased urinary calcium loss from the bones.” There are some sources cited there.) Can anybody back this up/refute/point me to some good discussions on this?
PPS: By “ethical reasons” I meant “animal welfare” specifically.
I have to say, I gracefully refer to Jenn for all vegan discussions.
but, in my experience it’s just as easy to be an unhealthy vegan as it is to be an unhealthy omnivore. There are lots and lots of processed foods available, and I think we all knew that kid in high school who was a vegetarian but didn’t eat any green vegetables – mostly pasta, if I recall that kid correctly. again, it’s an issue of moderation!
I generally follow Eat To Live guidelines. It gives me energy and a much better frame of mind than heavier foods. I love healthy grains, but the majority of my food is produce in the form of steamed veggies, salads, green smoothies, and raw fruits/veg.
I worked out fairly intensely for several months (along with ETL) to lose about 30 pounds. Now I am at a healthy weight and work out 3-4 times a week to just maintain and keep my energy up.
Good luck with your health goals!
I am so, so glad your heart is healthy. Yay!
I can add in here some science info to the above. A quicky, not just buckwheat (which is part of the rubarb family) but oats will really help to lower the cholesterol. Combine those oats in a nice cookie and you have a yummy treat that is not as unhealthy as you think. You can also use oats instead of breadcrumbs to add to your burgers or when you bread things for frying.
On the calcium question. This is a big one that has alot to do with marketing and some very old fashioned issues regarding health. Milk as a food product was marketed heavily after wide spread pastuization was brought about. At the time this was a safe product that was not too expensive, provided a good source of protein, calcium and vit D and some B12 to those who may not be eating a healthy diet due to poverty. And as a food stuff it still has all of those properties. What has changed is that in 50 years we eat very differently and the avaliblity of alternatives to get those nutrients are there for those wavering around the poverty line.
Calcium (Ca2+) comes in a huge number of places. You can start with your water, if you have hard water you have calcium! Hard water is shown to be better for your health than ‘softened’ water, especially your heart health. So if you have to de-kalk your kettle you are getting some calcium every time you drink water! Dark greens, again a great source of calcium, broccoli spinach, all the usual yucky ones ;-). Fish, especially with the bones as super dupper source of Ca. A tin of salmon can have as much as 1000mg of Ca avalible for your body! So it is merely a matter of a highly subsidized industry in the US which is driving home the marketing message that milk is THE source of Ca (and remember that ice cream is just as good of a source as a glass of milk in this regard!). You would be surprised to know how much governments around the world subsidize the milk industry!
The link between different regions and oestoperosis and milk intake is more complicated. Vitamin D is a key player here and in most western nations our milk has some extra vit D added in. You need the D to get the Ca to bind into the bone formation (you also need exercise as muscle mass drives bone formation at ALL ages). In most northern climates we are rather skint on the sunlight during the winter so the odds of having a low level of Vit D is extremely good. It is also in these nations that we consume loads of milk products and see fairly high levels of oesteo (which also has a link to having a population old enough to actually develop oesteo). So from a stand point of oesteo the biggest issue at the moment in the research work is Vit D. With our current sunblock usage (which is a good thing) we do tend to block the UV light that causes the formation of Vit D in your skin. So while you are most likely getting enough Ca in your diet without milk, you could really actually need more vit D in your diet to prevent oesteo. this can especially be a problem for those with darker complextions in northern climates as many studies have show they are often extremely low on Vit. D do to the natural UV protection in their skin compaired to those of paler complextions.
Interesting info, thanks!
Looks like after all healthy eating is not big science after all but a healthy attitude to real foods and your body ;)).