No one knows the truth, or better yet, perhaps everyone thinks they know the truth. I found myself amazed last night over the the amount of 'death chatter' regarding young people dying of strokes and heart attacks. "Well she worked out, she was young and healthy." What is "healthy"? Dr. Oz even had these cardiologists come onto his show and say that if you have high cholesterol, then you will live longer. They said, "Eat more saturated fat" while other doctors cringed and said, "Take more statins!" Our uncle died of a heart attack in his 30's -- so did my mother's cousin. All ate well, jogged, had a "healthy lifestyle" as the average person would see it. I have a doctor friend who inspired me to take the Paleo challenge. "Eat all the bacon you want!" Of course that comes with, "Stay away from all sugar and pastas." The pasta part was the hardest for me. But think about all of the contradictions out there. They are still trying to figure the human body out. "Eat eggs, it's the perfect food." "Don't eat eggs, it raises your cholesterol!" All of these mixed signals sends us spinning with confusion. Someone says, "Eat less, portion is everything." Another says, "Eat as much protein as you want." Even coffee is thrown into the mix. People were trying to give up coffee because some doctor out there somewhere said it was "bad" -- while other doctors are claiming that it reduces your risk of heart disease and cancer greatly -- and that's if you drink over 2 cups a day. Hey, I'll take it. You know what my guess is? Nobody knows. Nobody knows the perfect "diet" or solution to our health ailments. I remember my personal trainer would tell me, "Get your heart rate up to 190 for over 1 hour every day." Another person told me that 30 minutes of moderate exercise was all I needed. Then I hear that you need to at least go above 45 minutes in order to start losing "real calories" --- the ones that are attached to your thighs, not what you just ate. Made sense. But what if...
they're wrong?
The fact is, we can all walk out of our houses today and have an anvil fall on us. We can die just as easily as making a simple mistake. What does it matter? But, while we're here, we want to live a healthy life without pain or health complications - so that's something I'm striving for, but who's the best person or doctor to listen to? Everyone has their own health mantra and I seriously believe, what works for one person may not work for the other. Our bodies are so different, genetically, chemically, etc. The Atkins or Paleo Diet may help one person lose weight, but for me, it gives me heartburn and 'brain fogginess'. The ketones wreak havoc on me. I'm always looking for good advice regarding health, but diets have become much like religion: certain people are totally swept up by their "beliefs" that
this works, or
that works, and they have this, "I'm right and everyone else is wrong" type of attitude. It's actually quite a turn off, whereas you want to do exactly the opposite - just like a Jehovah Witness trying to convince you of their beliefs. It's like, "Get off my welcome mat!" Some believe that if you have to be thin in order to be healthy. There are many beliefs that are tossed into a pile of 'know it all' opinions. And while some of these "opinions" may be from professionals, like doctors, personal trainers and dietitians, half the time these people are on the news reported as "wrong". So then, what's "right"? For now, I will live my life enjoying the people I love, good food in moderation with a bigger goblet of wine. Besides, they say wine is good for your heart, right?
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