The data is pretty astounding--nearly 75% of American men and 60% of American women are obese or over weight, while 55% of Americans take at least one prescription medication--this is not how people should live their lives. We are seeing rapidly increasing numbers of people with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol which leads to heart attacks, cancer, and strokes at earlier and earlier ages. In a SHTF situation, not only can these people not help themselves, they are going to be utterly screwed when it comes to continuing to medicate what for many are lifestyle choices and not organic medical conditions (if you have type 1 diabetes this article is not aimed at you--for this and certain other diseases, no amount of lifestyle changes will change your medical condition).
A while back the doc noted that my blood pressure was higher than it should be and offered to write a prescription for medication to lower it. I would like to think that blood pressure increases with age, which it does to a point, but the fact is that while I do exercise regularly, we also eat out quite a bit and I have never really paid much attention to my diet because I don't gain weight so figured I can eat whatever I want as long as I exercise. Apparently you can't out-exercise bad eating habits.
So I declined the medication, got a blood pressure cuff, and changed my diet significantly. Predictably my blood pressure dropped like a rock when I wasn't eating so much restaurant and processed food (I look at food labels all the time now, it's shocking how much sodium nearly everything that comes in a package has!).
The moral of this story is that if you are in an out-of-control situation with your health and have the ability to take control of the situation, do so. It's much better to rely on yourself than on doctors/medications that increase in price nearly daily/wrangling with health insurance companies/etc. Having one less thing to worry about, namely health concerns, is one way to prepare for whatever may happen in the future.
Some health-related websites that I recommend: Dr Gregor, Dr McDougall, Dr Esselstyn, Dr Fuhrman, Dr Campbell
Some health-related movies to stream: Forks Over Knives, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead (1 & 2), What the Health, Food Inc, Fed Up, Hungry for Change, In Defense of Food
Congrats on taking more control of your eating pattern and improving your health. If plant-based is working for you, that's great. I made similar improvements by moving toward a paleo/carnivore pattern of eating several years ago, and maintain a healthy weight with no hunger or effort.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to you as well. I'd much rather be at the mercy of my refrigerator than be at the mercy of drug companies. And as you noted, vegan isn't for everyone, if paleo works better for you, than by all means, do whatever works.
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