a new conversation
To be honest, my health goal is quite modest. I accept dying; my goal is to hold off the grim reaper until I’m done living. There is, ahem, one other goal: to look good, even in death.
I’m not counting on modern medicine to save me (nor does this blog take the place of doctors, who we sometimes need). In truth, the killers who stalk us—heart disease, cancer, stroke, and so on—are mostly incurable. So here is an idea that has been largely ignored: prevention! Prevention is about lifestyle, mostly diet, but also work and rest (more about these later). We all know we should eat better but there is a mountain of confusion about what to eat. And old habits resist change. Saying is easy; doing is hard.
In the last century there was a great respect for science. Perhaps it was a misplaced trust because on subjects like eggs, or butter vs. margarine, the advice kept changing. To be blunt, science has over-promised and under-delivered. Important questions, like what to eat, still remain a puzzle.
So this blog offers an integrated approach we can use today: Combine incomplete science with knowledge from two venerable but neglected sources—tradition and scripture. Taken together, these three offer our best chance. In later postings we will dig into tradition and scripture. And we will share ideas on good-for-you food. As you will appreciate, this is a profoundly American approach.
So let the discussion begin. I will write twice a week, raise topics and offer ideas. You, the reader, can improve them with your comments. Together we will learn. If we learn well, I will publish it in a book. Question for today: Please share your biggest questions about health and nutrition.
One other request, share this with a friend. In the beginning we said changing one’s diet is hard. It is hard, but we are more likely to succeed if joined by our friends.
Note: This is a nonprofit blog; there will be no ads and nothing is for sale. Though an avid student of nutrition, I am neither doctor nor scientist and don’t pretend to be. In fact, that is my credential: I’m a private person studying a public puzzle: how to live. In my search I have read over a hundred books, plus many, many articles and studies. Whatever I have been able to learn, I freely offer for your consideration and comment.
Friday, November 19, 2010 at 5:45PM | by Skip Hellewell | 31 Comments | 6 References | Share Article | in prevention, scripture | Email Article
Reader Comments (31)
Way to go, Skip! What a great and long over-due blog. You are a creative and captivating thinker. I have been a fan of yours for years.
But as to soft drinks, I like severely limiting their use as you suggest, especially when those with or without caffiene become a bad habit or even addictive. I do enjoy a very occasional soft drink. But I love simple, cheap, refreshing, life-giving...WATER!! Sometimes the simplest and nature's original is the best beverage of choice.
Skip, What a great idea. Thank you for sending this link to me. I love it when someone I know will take the time to literally spell things out for me and add pictures too. I will put this to the test. Does this mean Ken will have to kick his Pepsi habit? Not sure if he can do that.
Looking forward to more info!
I'm so glad you started this blog! I look forward to keeping up with it and changing my diet. Thank you.
I love the idea of your blog. I enjoying reading about diet and heath issues. Finding new ways of changing those dietary habits we know are "bad" for us is always empowering. I watched Food Inc last year and have since become a Pescetarian (still working on becoming a full Vegetarian....) . My question is about dairy, I have read that it isn't necessary (contrary to what the food pyramid includes) for the daily intake of calcium and vtiamin D. I look forward to keeping up with your weekly suggestions and discussions. Thank you!
I just found your blog today and have really enjoyed reading it! I will be sharing it with friends and family. I would love to learn more about the following: the pros and cons of the mostly meat, very little carb "caveman" diet , natural remedies for common health issues, and of course recipes to implement.
i love your new blog! so inspiring. and the images are beautiful (no surprise, as you are brooke's father). thank you so much for sharing all your insights, can't wait to follow along. xo
just found your post via black effiel. I am really looking forward to read on your ideas re: how to live. i am looking for a change and really need a good push.
I also found your blog through black eiffel. I'm excited to read your posts and hopefully start a healthy change! Similar to Carolina's thoughts on the "caveman" style dieting, and Liz's mention of becoming a pescetarian, I would love to know more about the pros and cons of different proteins, red meat vs chicken vs fish, etc. Thanks for sharing with us!
Anna, thanks for joining. Future posts will address the proteins you mentioned. There is a truism often invoked, "All things in moderation". Usually this just means the person isn't planning to change their diet. In today's toxic food environment we have to amend that maxim to say, "All HEALTHFUL things in moderation", and this includes protein. Have a healthful new year.
I am excited about this blog! After reading Pollan's Food Rules last year, I felt so convicted that I really needed to make some lifestyle changes in my own life, and also take my family with me. Thank you for taking the time to give us these weekly changes, which seem so far to be very doable, and will help me make this a family thing. :)
I just discovered your blog and I'm really enjoying it so far. Thanks for the great information. I have really enjoyed learning about nutrition the last few years. Along with my family, I've adopted a mostly plant-based whole foods diet and I feel so much healthier from it. Good nutrition is the best medicine!
On of my biggest questions is about milk. My mother was raised on a dairy farm and my husband is against drinking milk, so I am torn on what to feed my children. It seems that the people who are on the fellow quest of trying to figure out the puzzle of nutrition are avoiding drinking milk. And the people who are following culture are buying it by the gallon. My husband does not mind yogurt or cheese or butter because the process is so much different. He says that the processed milk in the store will actually take the calcium out of your bones, and to be honest ALL of the people who I know who have broken a bone are avid milk drinkers. What is your take on the issue? Do you know what the church recommends?
I also would like to know what your thoughts are, as a fellow mormon, on water kefir, kombucha, green tea, and herbal teas.
oh my! i am SO excited over this blog and look forward to following. my (first) question is also about milk. first i'm told i don't digest lactose well so i switch to soy. then i'm told soy is bad (GMO something or another). then i'm told almond milk is bad because the almonds are sprayed and so on ... i'm looking for truth. i don't think i'm lactose intolerant and i love vanilla soy milk.
I just noticed a couple comments asking questions about milk. That is also one of my concerns as well. My husband and I read the China Study by T. Colin Campbell (a Cornell research scientist) and he says that cow milk has very negative effects on our bodies. So, we took the challenge and my husband who is a type I diabetic was able to reduce his insulin level by a third the same day he stopped drinking milk, just like Dr. Campbell described. Also, we both started having exceptionally clear skin. Overall, we've noticed a lot of health benefits from removing dairy from our diet.
Thank you for beginning this blog...I'm on my own journey both for myself and for my children and Iook forward to learning more this year.
i do not know you, but just found this site through your daughter's 'inchmark' blog. when i first learned of this blog...i wasn't able to take the time to read it but it has been on my mind constantly. this is what i've been looking for! i am so interested to follow your thoughts combining science, tradition, and scripture. i have known for years that many trends in food swing too far one way or another and have always believed that there needs to be 'moderation'. i've only just now read the first post and anxiously look forward to now following your blog (and your 52 suggestions) for the year. while you will provide the information I've been looking for, i realize it is up to me to dig deep and find the motivation and ambition needed for success.
Emily, thanks for sharing your milk experience. We'll get back to milk in a future post. So many people have issues. If you look at books published about milk in the last ten years you won't feel any better. Have room in your yard for a family cow? Thanks for being part of better living. Skip
Kimberly, you're right on target. We all must learn to ignore what is advertised about food and together look to other sources--tradition, science and scripture. Working together is key--the topic is complex and habits are hard to change. Moderation has a new meaning now—avoidance of things unhealthy, variety in things healthy. It'll be a great year! Skip
Skip, I read your blog today, referred to it from my niece. I believe you wrote that you will blog 2 times a week. Where can we see these posts? Where can we see each new steps in the 52 steps? I am assuming you started sometime in December but I only see one step.
Thanks for doing this :)
I learned of your site through your daughter's site, Inchmark. I can already tell this will be a new favorite. I have sent the link to friends and family, and wish you great success. And, by the way, thank you for starting with sodas...my biggest hurdle. Great way to start!