The Numbers.
- Fasting blood glucose: 120 mg/dl Late night piece cheesecake with the Charming Mrs. SWMBO. Okay, we were bad.
- Weight: 192 lbs.
- Exercise: Good, long bike ride. I was really pushing it this morning. Penance of sort. It's the Catholic in me.
- Mood: 8.0. Business sucks but I feel virtuous from the exercise.
- Breakfast: Oatmeal with craisins and infused with apple/cinnamon herbal tea, strawberries and blueberries
- Lunch: Bean burritos, two, from Taco Bell. Hectic day at work.
- Dinner: Stuff and Stuff. We have some leftovers in the fridge and we nibbled on what was there and did some housework. I had a orange and a grilled cheese and ham sandwich. Not spa cuisine, but it sure did taste good.
- Snacks: None.
Today I was talking with my youngest sister. We got on to diet and the state of our health. She is having problems with plaque building up in her carotid arteries, my issue is type 2 diabetes. Mine is under control, more or less when I am on my good boy diet, from diet and exercise. She tried diet and then went to diet plus taking a statin. For her, it's working.
My father had similar issues to her, a build up of plaque in the carotid arteries, yet she, like my father was never fat or overweight. His condition went undiagnosed for way too long. He was a bit heavier at 70 than at 20, but not by much. As part of my father's treatment, the McDougall diet was recommended and my mom put him on it and made sure he stayed on it. She went on it too. This diet is an extremely low fat, vegan diet. No animal products of any kind.
It seemed to work, at least for a while. He lost some weight, his blood cholesterol went way down, good cholesterol up, bad cholesterol and triglycerides down and for good measure his blood pressure dropped to that of robust teenager. He was as skinny as he was when he enlisted in the Navy. My mom, always fastidious about her weight and finding time to exercise, dropped some weight as well. After a few months on the McDougall plan, she could once again fit into her wedding dress. Not bad for lady in her late sixties.
The diet change and his program of light and consistent aerobic exercise seemed to be paying off. He felt great and his vital signs were all good. Then on a Labor Day weekend, he had a heart attack. The seemingly fortunate thing for him was that he was already in the emergency ward for a foot injury. He started to sweat profusely and felt nauseous. The staff knew what was happening and he was treated immediately. Unfortunately, it was not enough. In a month's time he passed away. He literally had plugged up. The event that triggered his heart attack was his kidneys plugged up with plaque. His heart could not stand the stress anymore. Apparently, a lot of his organs where in similar shape, plugged up with plaque.
The question my sister and I always ask is why? I understand that his adoption of the McDougall diet may have come too late. At the time low fat, low protein, high carbohydrate was the way to go in the 1990's. Dr. McDougall took the food pyramid to the extreme, no meat, fish, fowl, eggs or dairy, just lots of grain, legumes, fruits and vegetables. It sure sounded healthy and it was backed by lots of research.
Now, maybe not so much. Now, carbohydrates are considered the villains. Research shows that carbs are making us fat, not meat, not eggs, not cheese, not fat even. Lard is not so bad anymore. It's all backed by lots of research.
So, did a diet considered healthy in 1990, really wind up killing my dad? I don't know. Low fat, high carbohydrate vs. fat-not-so-bad, no carbohydrates. Who's right? I have no clue.
Dr. McDougall and Dr. Dean Ornish who promote similar diets are both well into their sixties, slim and healthy looking. Jack LaLanne for most his life ate what they advocated. He lived to be 96.
Robert Cameron, the guy who developed the Drinking Man's Diet (it was published under the pseudonym of Gardner Johnson -- I think I got that right) was, as of last year, hale and hearty at age 94. He enjoys a good cocktail every evening, I have read.
The Drinking Man's diet is based on much of the same research that lead to the Atkins Diet. He believed that carbs make you fat by producing too much insulin. A steak is much better than some brown rice. Dr. Robert Adkins did have heart disease. Dr. Adkins said his heart problems were caused by an infection, not his diet. He died by falling on an icy street, although what caused the fall, a patch of ice or a heart attack, was subject to some speculation by his critics.
The man who invented Doritos, Arch West, passed away last year at 97. He ate Doritos every day and Doritos were scattered over his grave. I don't think he had a diet philosophy of any kind other than to enjoy life and eat Doritos.
Just to add to the fun, there is also the Twinkies Diet.
So what to do? I have no idea, but I think Arch West may have had it right.
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