Hey Bill. Sounds advice. I have not had a weight problem (5'10" 166lbs) but I do have an addiction to chocolate and cake and indulge every night. At my wife's encouragement just 2 weeks ago (A1C was climbing a bit) I shut down the sweets and substituted with strawberries after dinner to satisfy my sweet tooth. The scale this AM was 158. Shocked. Hadn't seen that since college! Ready to go 10 rounds. Thanks for all you do, Bill. You save lives, no doubt!
Simple but sound advice. Processed food is just too easy to eat in large amounts - the taste, the consistency, the texture; all designed to consume LOTS QUICK. Thanks for sharing this, I just subscribed.
Thanks for the affirmation. Great to have you aboard and please spread the word. Many people will follow this pattern if they understand why it matters and that it works
Prediabetes is most related to extra abdominal fat. By eating real food and losing a pound or two a month she can make a big difference. Metformin can also delay progressing to diabetes.
We will find out this week but she cut back on the little sugar she was eating - pay very close attention to how much sugar a product has. Very surprisingly for me I got diagnosed with sky high blood pressure - was pure by luck I found out - could have very easily gone undiagnosed (previous checkup BP was fine so huge surprise) but thankfully on meds and everything is looking fine.
Hey, you will find good advice on this Substack. Dr. B is the best at explaining why we need to take control of our health. I am also a Baby Boomer and I lost 17% of my body weight. It really affected my blood glucose numbers in a good way. I am still working on it. I have close family members with diabetes, one with severe heart disease and the other on top of a kidney transplant list. Scary stuff, I want to avoid.
Baby Boomer here and the other fact is our metabolism slows as we age. I'm a tad envious as I watch teenagers (generally not overweight) wolf down big macs large fries, desert and a coke while I dip my 4 McNuggets and munch on a small fries that came with my kids meal. Been many years since I've allowed myself to eat a normal Big Mac menu 😭
Amen - great post. I've found a huge part of this in my own personal battle to detach from junk food (included some foods I thought were "healthy") has entailed a radical retraining of the palate.
Putting it very crudely, but I think accurately, the palate of the consumer of the average western diet & their attitudes about flavor and what food "should" taste like or what constitutes a "real meal" is as warped as a porn-addict's concepts of love and sex. It takes time, distance, and a lot of deconditioning to get the palate to appreciate the pure flavors of natural food again, but once you do - it is remarkable how incredible a single piece of bitter lettuce can taste.
Along with that, once your palate is more balanced and your perspective of what constitutes "real food" changes, the synthetically sweet, the deep-fried, the highly processed foods become too sweet, too heavy, and their artificial / manufactured flavors become repulsive in comparison.
There's a reason so much junk food is marketed to kids; there are years/decades of conditioning to unstitch to reconnect with pure & whole foods.
You make some great points. I recently learned that the same people who made cigarettes even more addictive have turned their talents to food. I hear people say they won't eat real food because it doesn't taste as good. Well, of course it doesn't. The processed foods are made with such wonderful taste and texture it is not about satisfying your hunger and enhancing your health like real food. It is about eating more food so the provider can make more money.
Taste preferences are cultivated. If I eat very salty food, before long, that is what I want. If I cut way back on salt, that food tastes fine after a couple of months. Food is wonderful and very enjoyable, but that is not its core purpose. It is possible, as you say, to enjoy good food and enhance your health at the same time.
Totally agree (I think I heard that too... in an Eric Bricker video?). The self-admitted addictive nature and intent of the products makes it all the more tragic that we are stuck in this snake-eating-its-own-tail equilibrium in which a huge chunk of the economy is currently dedicated to managing the pathologies created by another fairly large portion of it, and that many people yet regard it as representing a paradigm of great comfort & personal freedom.
“If you like it, it is either illegal, immoral, or fattening” is a very well known wise saying. And the truth is that I don’t like brown rice-vegetables-beans(G-V-B). That is not to say that I dislike brown rice-vegetables-beans, that is to say they don’t give me the same kick that meat, cheese, chicken, Chinese food, pizza, grinders, Coca Cola, coffee, cigarettes, fried foods, etc. do.
You and I have evolved or are designed to breath clean air, drink clean water, have a positive attitude, work physically hard and be lean/cut (muscular lines of definition), and eat a very high fiber/low fat diet. You don’t have to do it, but as in breaking any law, you will likely pay the price at some point with:
Stress, being overweight, diabetes, dialysis
Bad self image/depression
High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke,
Cancer, diverticulitis
Hospitalization/surgery/accident, etc.
I do like the FREEDOM(!) that I get from eating G-V-B and I also like avoiding the jail of medicine those other things would cause in me (or you).
“Noli carborundum illegitime'” is a saying about perseverance and translates as: “Don’t let the ba—-ds grind you down!” And it does take perseverance and determination to do this, but you do not have to do it all at once. Don’t be a follower of (other) bad ideas, and do as everybody else wants you to (that is, hurt yourself). You will give up some pleasures to be free, but then you will have the pleasure of your freedom, no need to see doctors, a cholesterol-blood pressure-blood sugar of 130 or less, feel healthy, and have the inner moral courage that comes when you know that you are doing the right thing.
I am not trying to be grim, but the price of freedom is never cheap, it takes a fair amount of dedication, and you do it/have it if you want by exerting the effort, or if you are slow, you lose it. This is not about perfection, this is about moving in a direction. As always, it’s your decision, but the above facts will help and assist you in achieving these goals.
H. Robert Silverstein, M.D.
Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine
Thanks for this great comment. We are on the same page, as usual. We have reached a point in our understanding of human health that we can live longer lives. Even more importantly, we can live fully functional lives much longer. We are like automobiles. If you don't use the right fuel, the car won't last nearly as long. We are the same.
Dr. Kessler managed to get ads aimed at children for cigarettes prohibited. We need the same thing now for these foods that target defenseless children. We should ban ads for highly processed foods that target kids.
Hi, This is so important "Certain foods are making you fat and if you don’t change what you eat you will continue to struggle." It is really that simple!
Hey Bill. Sounds advice. I have not had a weight problem (5'10" 166lbs) but I do have an addiction to chocolate and cake and indulge every night. At my wife's encouragement just 2 weeks ago (A1C was climbing a bit) I shut down the sweets and substituted with strawberries after dinner to satisfy my sweet tooth. The scale this AM was 158. Shocked. Hadn't seen that since college! Ready to go 10 rounds. Thanks for all you do, Bill. You save lives, no doubt!
There is nothing quite like an atta boy from a respected friend and colleage. I am very grateful.
Simple but sound advice. Processed food is just too easy to eat in large amounts - the taste, the consistency, the texture; all designed to consume LOTS QUICK. Thanks for sharing this, I just subscribed.
Thanks for the affirmation. Great to have you aboard and please spread the word. Many people will follow this pattern if they understand why it matters and that it works
As well much to my wife’s annoyance she came out as pre-diabetic while me, the sugaraholic was fine.
Prediabetes is most related to extra abdominal fat. By eating real food and losing a pound or two a month she can make a big difference. Metformin can also delay progressing to diabetes.
We will find out this week but she cut back on the little sugar she was eating - pay very close attention to how much sugar a product has. Very surprisingly for me I got diagnosed with sky high blood pressure - was pure by luck I found out - could have very easily gone undiagnosed (previous checkup BP was fine so huge surprise) but thankfully on meds and everything is looking fine.
Hey, you will find good advice on this Substack. Dr. B is the best at explaining why we need to take control of our health. I am also a Baby Boomer and I lost 17% of my body weight. It really affected my blood glucose numbers in a good way. I am still working on it. I have close family members with diabetes, one with severe heart disease and the other on top of a kidney transplant list. Scary stuff, I want to avoid.
I did not say that I am pre-diabetic but I am.
You are making progress towards no longer being prediabetic.
Hey!! Thanks for the testimonial and congratulations on your amazing progress.
Baby Boomer here and the other fact is our metabolism slows as we age. I'm a tad envious as I watch teenagers (generally not overweight) wolf down big macs large fries, desert and a coke while I dip my 4 McNuggets and munch on a small fries that came with my kids meal. Been many years since I've allowed myself to eat a normal Big Mac menu 😭
Sounds like you are doing great.
Amen - great post. I've found a huge part of this in my own personal battle to detach from junk food (included some foods I thought were "healthy") has entailed a radical retraining of the palate.
Putting it very crudely, but I think accurately, the palate of the consumer of the average western diet & their attitudes about flavor and what food "should" taste like or what constitutes a "real meal" is as warped as a porn-addict's concepts of love and sex. It takes time, distance, and a lot of deconditioning to get the palate to appreciate the pure flavors of natural food again, but once you do - it is remarkable how incredible a single piece of bitter lettuce can taste.
Along with that, once your palate is more balanced and your perspective of what constitutes "real food" changes, the synthetically sweet, the deep-fried, the highly processed foods become too sweet, too heavy, and their artificial / manufactured flavors become repulsive in comparison.
There's a reason so much junk food is marketed to kids; there are years/decades of conditioning to unstitch to reconnect with pure & whole foods.
You make some great points. I recently learned that the same people who made cigarettes even more addictive have turned their talents to food. I hear people say they won't eat real food because it doesn't taste as good. Well, of course it doesn't. The processed foods are made with such wonderful taste and texture it is not about satisfying your hunger and enhancing your health like real food. It is about eating more food so the provider can make more money.
Taste preferences are cultivated. If I eat very salty food, before long, that is what I want. If I cut way back on salt, that food tastes fine after a couple of months. Food is wonderful and very enjoyable, but that is not its core purpose. It is possible, as you say, to enjoy good food and enhance your health at the same time.
Totally agree (I think I heard that too... in an Eric Bricker video?). The self-admitted addictive nature and intent of the products makes it all the more tragic that we are stuck in this snake-eating-its-own-tail equilibrium in which a huge chunk of the economy is currently dedicated to managing the pathologies created by another fairly large portion of it, and that many people yet regard it as representing a paradigm of great comfort & personal freedom.
That is a great summary of where we are
Great topic
Thanks Laura
Bill: VERY well done
Here is my version of same. Bob Sil...
I Don’t Like Brown Rice-Vegetable-Beans
“Noli carborundum—” Direction, not perfection
“If you like it, it is either illegal, immoral, or fattening” is a very well known wise saying. And the truth is that I don’t like brown rice-vegetables-beans(G-V-B). That is not to say that I dislike brown rice-vegetables-beans, that is to say they don’t give me the same kick that meat, cheese, chicken, Chinese food, pizza, grinders, Coca Cola, coffee, cigarettes, fried foods, etc. do.
You and I have evolved or are designed to breath clean air, drink clean water, have a positive attitude, work physically hard and be lean/cut (muscular lines of definition), and eat a very high fiber/low fat diet. You don’t have to do it, but as in breaking any law, you will likely pay the price at some point with:
Stress, being overweight, diabetes, dialysis
Bad self image/depression
High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke,
Cancer, diverticulitis
Hospitalization/surgery/accident, etc.
I do like the FREEDOM(!) that I get from eating G-V-B and I also like avoiding the jail of medicine those other things would cause in me (or you).
“Noli carborundum illegitime'” is a saying about perseverance and translates as: “Don’t let the ba—-ds grind you down!” And it does take perseverance and determination to do this, but you do not have to do it all at once. Don’t be a follower of (other) bad ideas, and do as everybody else wants you to (that is, hurt yourself). You will give up some pleasures to be free, but then you will have the pleasure of your freedom, no need to see doctors, a cholesterol-blood pressure-blood sugar of 130 or less, feel healthy, and have the inner moral courage that comes when you know that you are doing the right thing.
I am not trying to be grim, but the price of freedom is never cheap, it takes a fair amount of dedication, and you do it/have it if you want by exerting the effort, or if you are slow, you lose it. This is not about perfection, this is about moving in a direction. As always, it’s your decision, but the above facts will help and assist you in achieving these goals.
H. Robert Silverstein, M.D.
Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine
Fellow of the American College of Cardiology
HRS/kkt
Thanks for this great comment. We are on the same page, as usual. We have reached a point in our understanding of human health that we can live longer lives. Even more importantly, we can live fully functional lives much longer. We are like automobiles. If you don't use the right fuel, the car won't last nearly as long. We are the same.
Dr. Kessler managed to get ads aimed at children for cigarettes prohibited. We need the same thing now for these foods that target defenseless children. We should ban ads for highly processed foods that target kids.
Hi, This is so important "Certain foods are making you fat and if you don’t change what you eat you will continue to struggle." It is really that simple!