Friday, January 27, 2012

Enlightened and Frightened

I grew up in Kansas and ate the diet of meat, dairy and veggies along with fast food and lots of sweets as I got older.  Then pregnancy came and I gained a ton of weight, lost a little of it, gained a ton more weight with my second pregnancy and only lost a little after that one.  So, as I do this research, it is very enlightening and frightening.  I am reading about what my diet should be--whole grain and plant based (as opposed to my diet of pizza, chips, sweets, soda, red meat)  and I am thinking, what do you really eat?  I don't think I could ever eat like this.  As I continue reading, I realize that as a cardiac patient, I can't not eat like this if I want to live to see my children grow up.

What I read frightened me because I was realizing all of the damage that I did not really paying attention to good eating habits.  I have always listened to it and never really considered it as that important.  I am busy with work, kids and starting my own photography business.  Busy, busy--too busy to pay attention to wear red for women's heart disease in Octobers on Fridays.  Yes, I know women have heart disease, I have even heard it is the number one killer of women, but I am too busy for that to apply to me.  Well, it applies to me now.

What I read enlightened me because Dr. Esselstyn's book has some very compelling research.  Once the patients that took part in his study started following the plant based diet, of the ones that continued to follow it, they did not have another cardiac event between them.  These were patients that at that time were considered to be end stage heart disease patients.  That is pretty powerful.   Especially to someone who just turned 43 and has a youngest child that is 9.

More this evening...I am at lunch at work and it is about over.  I am quite sure my company does not want to pay me to blog about my health and diet:).

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