I know some people find these sorts of posts on health, annoying. Perhaps it makes them think I am saying their life choices are bad, but they know their opinions are as valid as mine. Yes, opinions are personal and should be freely chosen. But look at it another way for a moment. Suppose someone reads this and similar things and their life gets better? I can live with the grumbling, behind my back or to my face, if I think that might happen. Another view on it, is this. Science is a reliable way to knowledge.
If I know and trust the science behind diet and exercise studies, the same science that makes air travel, microwaves, orthopedic shoes, smart phones and so on, a reality; I believe it is my responsibility to seek to adjust my life choices according to the suggestions of the science, if I really claim to love this life; and to pass word along to others I also love. Facebook is a passive way to do this. People do not have to read what is shared. Most people I know appear to crave a better life, more energy, less illness, fewer medications, weight management, etc. However, many of them wind up asking the researchers and physicians to do the work for them. They find personal responsibility for their own health too great to bear. Many people I know slavishly maintain their flowers, their houses, their cars, their relationships, their relationship with God, everything in their life, except for their health. They eat according to local customs, family traditions or what tastes good to them; and they lead themselves to believe they cannot change their diet and their exercise habits, although our health is arguably the most important thing any of us is called on to take care of.
I didn't intend to turn this into a sermon, but it's so easy for me to get passionate on things I believe in. Oh, and don't ask me how well I maintain my house, our flowers, etc. That's the sort of stuff I do if I have time left over from the most important things, doing the job I'm paid to do, seeking to improve myself as a person in general and, of course, taking care of my health.
I might not be this way, but for a condition I was diagnosed with, called ankylosing spondylitis. This condition, a form of arthritis, causes you to hunch over as you get older, for your spine to fuse into one solid highly-breakable bone, for your eyes and joints to be racked with arthritis pain and for your heart muscle to even be affected. The only way to cope with it is through diet and exercise.
In 2000, I was on heavy medication for AS, I weighed 212 pounds, my cholesterol, BP and sugar we're all out of whack and the doctor wanted me to go on lots more medication. I started running and changed my diet - until I am now a vegan- and all my blood work is great, my weight fluctuates between 145 and 150, I can still do the same resistance training weight I did at over 200 pounds, and I've run 18 marathons in 12 years, eight while I've been a vegan, a few of which have been my fastest.
Yes, I am passionate about this because I've seen what a wonderful transformation it's made to my life. Yes, I have lots of other things to continue working on, to fix about myself. But it's a powerful feeling to know you are not helpless in the face of the aging process and diseases. Of course I could get sick tomorrow and no I'm not saying anyone who is sick or died of cancer or heart disease is/was inferior to me. I'm simply saying, the knowledge I've gained and found so helpful, is available to anyone who wants it. It costs nothing, and it's only a matter of changing a few habits.
