Nutrition, Health and Diets
People in our country are more educated now about their medications than ever. Drug manufacturers as well as other companies recognize the need to educate consumers, and readily provide a vast amount of information to them through drug company representatives, physicians, nurses, pharmacies, other healthcare providers, and through various prescription drug information publications. Consumers are encouraged to know about the prescription drugs they are taking, to seek information, and to ask questions whenever they arise. Many people assume that just because their doctor wants them to take a certain prescription drug, that there are no questions asked because the doctor knows best. This is simply not the case anymore. Patients should be well educated regarding the treatments chosen for them, and not all physicians act in the best interest of their patients, though this is not usually the case, it does happen. Patients need to advocate for themselves and for their loved ones who cannot to ensure that they receive the treatment that is the best for them.
Free online reference sites provide essential prescription drug information regarding uses, side effects, interactions, and other pertinent information that all consumers should know. Online book vendors such as Amazon, offer a great selection of prescription drug information books that you can keep on hand whenever you have questions arise concerning all medications, even those obtained over the counter. Most pharmacies now provide this same information in the form of print outs given to patients when they are prescribed a new drug that they have never taken before. This information can be provided in many languages making it accessible to all cultures. If access to the internet is not available, the library has many prescription drug information sources that can be reviewed for free also. There is a huge number of new medications developed and marketed to patients every year, therefore drug books soon become outdated.
Online sources are probably the best; they offer the latest in prescription drug information and encourage everyone to be well educated about the medications they are taking. Some of the most popular sites are www.rxlist.com, www.drugs.com, and www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html. These online sources are an invaluable tool offering a wealth of information that can answer all of your medication related questions. Be a well informed consumer and get all the prescription drug information you can get your hands on. Take an active part in your health management, because with all the information available, there’s no reason not to be.
Oh no you don’t, I hear you say. Not another “breakthrough-research-shows” diet that tells me everything I’m eating is wrong! Every week I’m told I must follow this or that diet if I want to look good, live longer and save the planet.
And each new fad diet is the exact opposite of the last one, isn’t it? The recent “you-must-go-on” diet from Mr. Atkins, with its emphasis on protein, ---one inch thick 16 oz steaks, bacon dripping with fat, lashings of butter -----totally inverted that food pyramid I’ve had magneted onto my ‘fridge these last two years.
Then, when Atkins slipped on an icy New York sidewalk and needed a small crane to lift his Marlon Brando sized body onto the gurney, the headlines shrilled, “Atkin’s diet leads to obesity,” “Atkin’s diet kills!” “Told you so,” etc., etc.
How do you make sense of it all?
Well, it’s not that complex if you adopt one fundamental principle. Seriously. Read on.
The first thing you have to do is stop thinking digital. Stop cognizing in binary.
Truth isn’t always “either or.” Ask any science grad who’s studied sub-atomic particle physics and string theory.
Did you know that Einstein’s collaborator and Nobel Prize winner Neils Bohr said, “the universe, at its most basic level, is more like a poem than a mathematical formula.” More like the sound of one hand clapping than 2+2=4. Well, he didn’t say that exactly. But that’s a rough translation. He was from Norway or Finland or one of those other countries near the top of Europe that no self-respecting American can find on a map. Heck, in a recent survey 60 percent of us couldn’t find Mississippi.
But what Neils Bohr said is important if we are going to understand the “diet thing.” One man’s meat is another man’s poison. Eskimos thrive---or did before global warming killed both the Eskimos and the whales---on a diet that is almost exclusively whale blubber. (don’t you love that word---blubber)
No cholesterol problems. No arteriosclerosis. Their hearts weren’t attacking them. Oh sure they were pleasantly plump. Obese even according to the current AMA indices or whatever other politically correct chart we’ve got taped to the ‘fridge right now.
But if you fed a stick-thin life-long vegan a meal of blubber he’d be dead before nightfall.
You see! Stop thinking like your laptop. Stop making decisions digitally. It’s not all meat or all vegetables for most of us.
Did you know that when you masticate food properly the mouth releases digestive enzymes from the salivary glands? These enzymes play a huge role in digestion and absorption. Even good, nutritious food can turn to fermenting mulch if you don’t chew it well. If we eat on the run.
Research shows that anger can also cause poor digestion. Poor absorption. No matter what fad diets we adopt, none will work if our bodies don’t digest and absorb the food. Simple!
Secondly include “live food” with each meal. Yes, that means vegetables. Preferably leafy green vegetables that have digestive enzymes. That helps the body to digest the animal products that most of us include in our diet for protein.
And eliminate processed food. New research shows the hydrogenated oils, monosodium glutamates and preservatives in these foods contribute to Syndrome X or Metabolic syndrome----the failure of the body to properly convert food into healthy tissue---- that many believe is the basis for all disease.
The perfect meal for a man is 5 oz of lean meat---omega 3 rich fish, poached chicken, 10 oz of leafy green vegetables sloshed with liberal amounts of olive oil, masticated well and eaten peacefully. And if you’re still hungry after you finish, wait for ten minutes and do it again.
And listen to your body. Use biofeedback to work out what is best for you!
For societies to stay healthy, doctors will have to
gain an understanding of nutrition,
or nutritionists will have to become our Doctors”
It’s so true. Good nutrition, the science of nourishing the body, is essential to our health and well-being. And didn’t I tell you it was simple?
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