top of page
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

We Are What We Eat

​

​

 

“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are. “  Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

​

We are told “we are what we eat” or sometimes we are told “we are what we think”, depending on which behaviors someone is trying to get us to change. Both sayings are true but today I think I’ll talk about how “we are what we eat.” Nutrition is something I’ve studied for years, most of my adult life. While spending 60 or more hours a week working in my bookstore, I had the opportunity to research pretty much any subject that peaked my interest, which included nutrition.

​

I’ve been convinced for years that eating right is the key to good health. Since the bookstore years, I’ve followed all of the latest research, food trends and specialty diets, trying to come up with my own version of what “eating right” really means. My main goal in Walking a Healthy Path is staying out of Dr.’s offices and hospitals, if at all possible. Eating the right foods and avoiding unhealthy foods is essential in reaching that goal.

 

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

One of the things I’ve found interesting is how the “experts” have changed their minds about what foods are healthy and how much to eat of each food group. Remember the old Food Pyramid? Here is the 1992 version.  Since that time, there are many more “experts”, which is probably a good thing for those of us who are trying to follow a health diet. The old Food Pyramid has pretty much flipped on it’s top, some of those good foods are now not so good and the foods we were supposed to be limiting have become the best things we can eat. Go figure! 

 

In 1995, when I opened the bookstore, if we followed the eating recommendations of the time, we believed that eating all types of fat was causing weight gain. Grains should make up the highest percentage of our diet, with fruits, vegetables and dairy in between. But, those of us who wanted to lose some weight were not able to do that, even eating a supposedly healthy diet.

 

A year or so after I opened the bookstore, I discovered a book by Dr. Robert Atkins, that completely changed my views on healthy eating, and is best explained here:

"In 1972 Dr. Atkins published his first book,  Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution, to explain his findings on low-carb dieting. The book’s publication kicked off decades of research and debate within the medical community to determine whether a diet low in sugar and carbohydrates was better for the body than a diet low in fats and protein. After all that time, we now know Dr. Atkins was right; from Harvard Medical School to the American Heart Association, over 100 scientific publications have shown the benefits of an Atkins lifestyle." https://www.atkins.com/our-story/atkins-diet-history

​

This book did start a diet revolution and eventually led to the drastic changes in the Food Pyramid, as we knew it. There have been many variations of the Atkins food plan, including but definitely not limited to, the South Beach Diet, the Mediterranean Diet, the Sugar Busters Diet and most recently the Dash Diet, the Paleo Diet and the Keto Diet. These are all plans that use the latest research regarding food related diseases such as Diabetes, Cancer, Heart Disease, and the list goes on. They all subscribe to the latest Food Pyramid, with some notable differences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, it wasn’t fat that was making us fat after all. As Dr Atkins wrote, sugar and a high carbohydrate diet was making us fat and we need more fat than was previously acceptable. And there have been other changes. Now, we can eat eggs, completely guilt free, and we are now being told, very recently, that salt is not the culprit we were once told it was; in fact we need salt in a well balanced diet.

​

I can’t wait to hear more nutritional “myth busters”.   What can we eat that we’ve been avoiding for years, because the “experts” told us we should.  What kind of health problems have we suffered because of that flawed advise?

​

Old food pyramid.webp
New food pyramid.webp

In my humble opinion, emotional health is one of the most important components of Walking a Healthy Path. Today, I’ll write a short introduction to this side of being healthy and the challenges created by depression..

 

It has long been known that what we think and how we feel not only affects our mental health but also our physical health.  With all the craziness going on in our world, almost everyone experiences bouts of depression, anywhere from just occasionally to chronically.  Whether a person’s depression is caused by a life situation or has a biochemical origin, being “down” can cause a number of physical symptoms such as a lack of motivation,sleep problems, fatigue, chronic pain and digestive issues

 

After suffering the grief of losing my youngest son last year, sadly, I’m speaking from experience.  I would say grief of any kind leaves us very susceptible to some level of depression. In my case, I felt unmotivated and lost for several months. Since Aaron was diagnosed with cancer and passed 8 months later, I have had digestive issues, sleep deprivation, brain fog and 2 bouts of vertigo. Even though I have pulled out of the depression for a while, the next “first '' would come along and I would go back down.  I’m not typically a depressed person, but it does takes some real effort to consciously pull myself out of the hole.   It's been a tough year and I’m pretty sure I’ve aged physically more than a year over this time and I don’t know yet how much permanent damage this trauma has done to my over all physical health.

   

During these times, a person’s support community is so very important!  I’m not sure what I would have done without my wonderful friends and family, while I’ve gone through this natural state of grief.  If a person suffering from grief doesn’t have this kind of support, or even if they do finding a good grief counselor to talk to is very important

.  

Many people who suffer from more than occasional depression tend to self medicate, using alcohol or other drugs. This usually starts at a young age, creating a dependency on these substances.  Self medication is a subject for another blog about the things that derail a person’s walk on a healthy path and what can be done to help get him or her back on track. Ironically, liquor and many drugs are considered depressants so a person who self medicates is just making their problem even worse.

 

No doubt the saddest effect of chronic depression is suicide, which is on the rise in the U.S.. According to a CU Boulder study, almost 50,000 people in the U.S. took their own lives in 2022, up 3% from the previous year.  95% of all suicides can be linked to depression or some other mental disorder. It’s important to recognize the warning signs of depression, which can include feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and isolation.  If you recognize these signs in yourself or in someone close to you, it is very important to seek help before these problems escalate into serious plans to commit suicide.

 

If this is a subject that you can relate to or just interests you, stay tuned for future blogs about how a person’s emotional state can affect their walk on a healthy path and how to get back on the right path. 

​

Til later then...

bottom of page