Firstly, before I dive in, I hope you had a wonderful 2018, and I hope you survive the Christmas craziness. and feel positive about 2019.
How do I feel about year just gone?
Probably like you-I am knackered (but in a reasonably positive way).
Yes, there is the juggle of family, jobs, finances, and health that we all have.
Throw in other stresses like climate change, the madness of Donald Trump, and trying to remember who our PM is this week-it makes for a difficult world.
I think the most difficult thing that we face each day is “what the heck am I going to eat/cook, and what the heck am I going to feed the kids and/or partner!”
No wonder so many of us are drinking more-just so we can face another day.
Free tip: If you can kick the booze and find another stress-reliever (ideally ‘getting strong/building muscle/exercise) it will save your life.
Second free tip: If you can also kick the booze, and realise that you don’t need to eat every 2 bloody hours-you may have just stumbled upon how to live a long and healthy life.
That’s right. There is no superfood. There is no elixir of youth. There is no perfect supplement.
Eating less, but more nutrient-dense food as we age (did someone say meat, dairy, eggs, fish, nuts/seeds), is the secret to hit triple figures, and to receive a letter from the Queen.
I know what you are thinking: ‘why should I believe you mate’.
All I can say is, you have to trust me, as I help patients daily with this same blueprint.
I fixed my own poor health, and I continue to help patients daily, traverse their way through this food and health minefield.
But it takes change. If you don’t change, then nothing changes.
The daily grind
Some days, I feel like I am just holding on by my finger-nails, trying to fight back against all the misinformation about food, heath and diet.
Why?
I put a great deal of pressure on myself to try and help you, my patients, and the public, understand exactly what it is, you need to eat, to live a long and healthy life.
I feel as though if I can’t convey this message succinctly and successfully, then I have failed.
I then feel like I have failed to protect you from the conflicted, combative, maelstrom of diet/food/nutrition/supplements.
But that is my job.
It is my job, to explain to you not to fear cholesterol and fat. (and to explain to you that carbohydrates are a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing).
It is my job to explain to you that meat is healthy, and that it doesn’t clog your bowel or arteries, cause cancer or heart disease.
It is my job to explain to you that the reason you may have reflux, bloating, constipation, migraines, tinnitus, poor skin, atrial fibrillation/cardiomyopathy, heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, fatty liver, fatigue, pain, thinning bones, kidney disease, fatigue, foggy brain, dementia, failure to lose weight around your middle and horrible menopausal symptoms, may be because of all the bread, cereal, pasta, potato, fruit/dried fruit, snacks and alcohol, you are having on a daily basis.
It is my job to explain to you what the hell insulin resistance means.
It is my job to explain to you that you didn’t become fat, diabetic and heart diseased by eating fat.
It is my job to explain to you that eating mountains of fat, won’t magically ‘burn fat’.
It is my job to explain to you that protein doesn’t cause kidney disease.
It is my job to explain to you that fibre, probiotics, turmeric, kale, red wine and activated almonds, won’t save your life. (making some basic dietary changes will).
The dike boy
This is the reason that I do feel like the boy with his thumb in the dike.
This is why I rail against dieticians, and diabetic organisations who are funded by big food/drug companies.
This is the reason that I rail against people like Pete Evans, who sells more books and t-shirts, every time he makes a controversial comment.
And this is the reason that I despair when my patients get no answers from their doctors, so go straight into the arms of chemists, obesity surgeons, other health professionals, and on-line charlatans selling hope, (but only if you buy a shopping-bag-full of supplements).
The first thing you must say to yourself is “there must be another way” (to stay healthy and alive).
It is then my job, to tell you there IS another way.
Sure, you can follow the plant-based, no-meat, wholegrain, low-fat, ‘cholesterol/fat kills’ and ‘we need fibre to survive’ blueprint from the past 50 years, that has made us fat and diabetic and sick.
Or you can realise that there IS another way.
So stick with me in 2019 and beyond.
Help me by taking a turn to stick your thumb in the dike wall, because I can’t do it by myself, and I need your help and support.
Merry Christmas. Have a lovely break and I’ll see you in 2019. |
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