Eating like a cardiologist

All right, I’ve always been the one to pooh-pooh healthy food. I’m surrounded by South Beach and Atkins successes, but frankly, they always seemed faddish to me. Not that there aren’t good ideas in both–well, heck, just ask my friend Jimmy Moore or NYC sister [sorry, no link....I've tried but failed in convincing her what a great blogger she'd be] about the positive effects of these plans.

And I resisted.

Let me clarify: both of those plans are popularized as diets to lose weight. But I think I’m pretty safe in saying that both Jimmy and NYC sister view their diets as not simply weight-loss plans, but in fact, as lifestyle transformations.

And, this, too, I resisted.

I remember the exact moment when my attitude about being an actively healthy eater hardened. It was several years ago when they said barbecue caused cancer. Remember that?? I’m pretty sure it was pre-web, or at least not too far into the web, because I read this news in the paper. And right at that moment, I decided, I’d rather eat barbecue than live to be 100.

A little history:  I’m either in great stead by my genes, or totally screwed. I have several grandparents and great-grandparents who lived to 90 or nearly 100, and I have several who died far earlier than their time–heart trouble all around. Far as I can tell, they all lived about the same kind of life. Sure, some smoked in their time, but no one ate healthy, no one was a particular athlete by the time I knew them, though they were active folks.

I’m a reasonably healthy person. Heck, I can’t eat junk all the time; I’ve got kids watching me. You want to eat better, find a couple of kids to copy your every move and see if you don’t shape up. I actually exercise, and I’m sure I’ll do that even more when I’m not always toting a baby on my hip.

But there’s a part of me that has long said, if I’m not having fun while I’m here, what’s the point?

I guess what I’ve finally decided is that eating lots of cream cheese isn’t the kind of fun I need to have to justify my existence around here. Here was the tipping point: this month’s National Geographic cover story. WAIT!! Don’t click that link unless you are prepared for the possibility that this article will both scare the fool out of you and make you realize that you can, in fact, make a difference in your own health.

Now, if you went over and read that article, you’re now thinking, umm, Laura, that article talked almost exclusively about genetic markers for heart disease. What’s your point?

It’s the cardiologists they talked to. Those guys eat nothing but healthy food, and not much of it. And, they were all on statins.

I do NOT need another medication….trust me, I’m over my lifetime quotient….but I can certainly eat better.

I don’t say all this to announce any sort of format change around here. Because, I still think I would rather eat barbecue than live to be 100. But I am changing my daily routine, to make sure I’m eating a lot more vegetables, fruit and whole grains. And less of everything else.

UPDATE: I previously provided an incorrect link for my friend Jimmy’s site. Visit him here.