This week I came to truly understand the connection between nutrition and what we typically call age related diseases. Because it is a new year and because most people make resolutions having to do with their health, I will take this as an opportunity to educate the public about why diet and exercise can help stave off strokes, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
First let me say that I am personally appalled at what I heard on a public radio station the other day, it was on the Pat Morrison Show. (I love her!) http://bit.ly/7NHP3z. Anyhoo, a woman from the University of San Diego who teaches in the woman’s studies department and who is the co-editor of “The Fat Studies Reader” actually stated that being fat has little do with mortality. I know, huh? There is an organized group for fat people, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. That group even has an acronym NAAFA.
Being fat is not acceptable. This is my blog and I get to say that. It is irresponsible to promote the idea that being fat is o.k. Being fat is not like being Black, or Jewish, or Hispanic or whatever minority or particular race which you inherently are. There is nothing that you can change about that. You can change being fat. There are fast food restaurants that charge the same for salads as they do for tacos or Big Macks. They have grilled chicken, etc. If someone is poor, and I believe that social factors such as income can impact food choices, there are healthy choices.
If being obese impacts the price of medical services, you should be discriminated against. If you being fat causes me to pay more in premiums, I can be angry with you.
Putting My diatribe aside, if you don’t want to have a heart attack, or a stroke or contract Alzheimer’s disease, stop eating the things that make you fat and exercise. Eating high fat foods causes plaque and cholesterol to build up in your arteries which cause atherosclerosis. This causes the arteries to narrow and makes the heart pump harder to get blood to go where it needs to go. This strain on the heart causes heart attacks. If the blood can’t get to the heart or the brain, the organs die. The brain and the heart die. You don’t need a degree in medicine to understand this. I bet the NAAFA won’t teach you this either.
If that is not convincing enough, autopsies of individuals who had Alzheimer’s disease had much more plaque in their arteries than those who did not have Alzheimer’s. In many people high cholesterol can be controlled by diet and exercise. If you are part of an organization supporting the right to be fat, quit and go for a walk.
Diabetes and high blood pressure have also been implicated as a risk factor for eventually developing Alzheimer’s disease. Type 2 diabetes is by far the most common variety of diabetes, usually occurring in people who weigh too much and exercise too little.
I am the opposite of a mean spirited person. But, I am deadly serious about educating people and providing them with the truth. The truth is being fat is not good for your health and anyone who tells you otherwise is BIG FAT LIER.
