How Not To Die
Nothing Tastes As Good As Feeling Great
I would have never predicted I would end up a plant-based eater. Despite a lot of reading in my life I am confident I have never read a diet book. This was good.
For my frequent readers, you already know that I have some attitudes about eating, exercise, and health. From some of the topics I’ve written about before, you also know that I jump around a bit. I received some great advice for a reader who said “tell people what the story is about” at the beginning. As I touch my old posts, I add a sentence or two at the top to eliminate the mystery. Today I thought the topics I will touch on include expertise, diet, health & evidence. If none of these interest you, today is a good day to take 3-4 minutes back if you need them in your busy day. I genuinely appreciate everyone that chooses to read my posts and perhaps the topics will help illustrate the respect I have for your time.
While I won’t do this every day, since this is day one this is what my targets of this post are:
EXPERTISE — In a modern and complex world what can guide us to make good choices without having to be an expert ourselves. That is where trust in expertise is a very good thing.
DIET — As my version of the joke goes, if you ask ten people about their diet, you will get at least 11 different diet recommendations.
HEALTH — Health is complex and subjective. My favorite question at the doctor is how much does it hurt on a scale from 1-10. I suppose that will depend on how much pain you are used to. For me, most things in life come down to data and evidence.
EVIDENCE — Sometimes when I scan the dial in my car I will park on a “talk-radio” host who seems to live to fire people up because that is how he gets ratings. It is no surprise that on every commercial break he shouts about how many “special pulverized beets” he eats. I think I can usually listen for only a few minutes. Kind of like the sport of people watching. I happen to prefer evidence instead of shouting. While I realize the health benefits of beets, the idea that the best way to do this is to consume pulverized powder seems a bit like the sad existence of the Jetsons just swallowing a pill for dinner. The same is true for garlic. If it is good for you why not just eat some? As for the merits of eating all the bacon you want, on its face it is ridiculous. Most people love bacon and I do to. It is quite different to go for a temporary lobotomy and accept that the more you eat the better for you.
Many years ago, I stumbled upon a book by Dr. Michael Greger titled “How Not To Die”. Whenever I recommend the book to others I always have an internal chuckle because the title in and of itself is ridiculous. In a previous post All Hail Crucifer! I explained the format, content, and premise of the book. After some consideration of the book, I committed to it with some exceptions and figured out what worked for me. While I am not 100% plant-based, I generally keep to the guidelines and I feel great. Since adopting the diet generally, I have lost about 50 pounds and feel great. I have a quote from the author on my refrigerator which is the subtitle of today’s post.
Each person becomes convinced to attempt a change in different ways. Some people can just go to an authority figure, perhaps their doctor, and simply do what they are told. Change is hard, so whatever works for your personality is the best way to proceed. For me, the way I felt, the way I looked, and how extra weight on my frame was affecting my life. The weight had come on gradually and I had never been one for diets. The vicious cycle for me was that I had some nagging injuries and they made me less active. That is a vicious cycle!
I am a committed reader. When I see there are people on GoodReads who have recorded their reading religiously and the book counts number in the thousands, I realize that I am NOT in that class just yet. Nevertheless, I read for education, joy, and relaxation. Few habits that I have can deliver consistently on all three scores. While I have read a lot of books in my life, I have never read a diet book before.
After reading How Not to Die, I think that my record of no diet books read remains as it is more of an evidence-based review and lifestyle-for-health book. The link takes you to the GoodReads reviews. For many of us, what we eat is tied up in how we were raised, our traditions, and our preferences. Change is hard. While you will note that the overwhelming consensus of the readers is positive, the negative 1-stars reviews are wonderful as there is such anger expressed in many of them. This is a personal topic for many and it is interesting how emotional the negative reviews are. The supplemental non-profit website is built for a guy like me. It is populated with an amazing video library related to our health and what we eat. Each video and the accompanying script includes lots of references to peer-reviewed medical studies about the topic being discussed. The author REALLY EMBRACES EVIDENCE. When there is not enough evidence, he clearly states that. He tackles in a scientific and non-emotional way practices like the paleo-diet. He even explains how certain diets work for weight loss even when the other effects might not be a long-term healthy approach. He is also attentive to highlight the deficiencies of even the diet he might recommend. While that supplemental material has not changed all of my eating habits, the information I now have colors my behavior and the choices I make.
I remember after I had my diabetes diagnosis and I was losing weight with my new approach, a fair number of people talked to me about “keto” diets. My purpose here is not to disparage as I am no expert. I did look on the website and watched what was available regarding keto as the results were intriguing according to a number of people I knew. This video is not about whether keto is good or bad but more to lend a flavor of the approach of the website in regards to all sorts of claims. For me, an evidence guy, this is the sort of information that works for me.
So why today? Well, I haven’t been feeling great and am working through some aches and pains and a sinus infection. Much like when I was young, when Mom would make chicken soup when we were not feeling good, I now have my go-to approach when I need to zero-in on eating healthy. As I mentioned in my previous post, I wear a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) and it serves as a red-flag (or a canary for those that read the post) for me. It works to tell me when I am not feeling good, sometimes even before I realize it. Now, whenever my numbers are stubbornly high, I revert to focusing on eating something that delivers what I need to eat every day to get myself back in balance. I would be disingenuous if I said I did this every day or this is the singular reason for my change in health. What it is for me is a great tool that works like magic for me without fail. My blood pressure is now normal range, my cholesterol level is in the mid-70s and I just feel great.
My last checkup before being diagnosed with diabetes, my cholesterol level was about 150 and had been steadily climbing through my 50s. Upon diagnosis it was at 160 but unbeknownst to me or my doctor, it was already dropping quickly as I had changed my diet about one month before the checkup. A large subset of Americans takes a statin. On my next follow-up, my overall cholesterol level was 72. All that had changed was my diet and a loss of some weight (15 pounds). My doctor was amazed and told me that my diet was not the preferred approach for diabetics as it is high in beans which can be a carbohydrate problem. The standard of care is to treat high cholesterol as a problem when it reaches 200 or 100 for a diabetic. Mine is no longer a treatable condition. If only I could have the pancreas of my youth, all would be well. She then shared that the diet is not recommended, mostly, because people don’t keep to it. A flexible doctor is another of those things in life we all can use.
While it is completely the opposite of my thesis, this is a fun song. I hope to see you tomorrow.
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