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)
Terru, thanks for your interest. We will post one of the 52 Healthy Changes each Monday through the year. Together, as you adapt them to your needs, they can transform our diet and our health. There will be other supporting posts and comments during the week.
And thanks for spreading the word—it's the only way we can reform the food environment. Food Inc. will never change as long as we buy the junk they are hustling. But they are smart people who don't want to be the "new dinosaurs". They won't invest in change until their business survival depends upon it. To the barricades!
I'm so grateful to have found your your blog via your daughter today.
Have you tried Zevia? It's actually pretty good. I gave up sodas about 10 years ago and my son has been raised without them.
Just to add to the milk comments....an interesting fact....Humans are the only mammals that drink milk as adults. (And from another species.)
I'll be keeping up~Thanks!!
Woo Hoo! I am so excited about what you are doing. I can't wait to continue reading and share it with my friends and family. I'm excited to take this journey with you over the year, 2011 is my get with it year, and see where we both end up! Best of luck!
Just discovered the blog, and I'm excited to take the journey with you. I am completely lost when it comes to what to eat these days. I feel manipulated by ads and labels. Thanks for creating this blog.
Jen, I think most would agree with you about the manipulation behind food advertising. Maybe there's a food rule here, like "the unhealthiness of a food is related to the volume of (advertised) health claims". Does healthy food even get advertised? Thanks for joining us on the journey. Best, Skip
I have really enjoyed reading through this blog! I'm excited that I began reading towards the beginning of your writing. I will definitely follow along, and look forward to the book. My biggest concern with nutrition is the ease and convenience of processed foods and our cultural acceptance of them - including my own! I will use this blog as a source of information and motivation to take the time to prepare more nutritious meals for myself and my family.
The Word of Wisdom is something that has puzzled me for quite some time. I feel that we just aren't doing the "should" that we are instructed to do. I have tried to research the questions that I have but feel that I am still lacking in information. I'm trying to fit the Word of Wisdom together with everyday eating and food storage. They should all fit some way but I'm not quite sure of the best way.
I'm also a bit puzzled with the increasing incidence of gluten intolerance, something that members of my family struggle with. How can we increase grains if gluten is a problem?
I am also interested in all of the other comments that have been given. I'm excited for the information that has and will be presented. Thank you for your time!
Jayne, you're right on target. Living the full W of W means leaving processed foods and eating more whole fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Learning to do this is the real nutrition challenge and the goal of our 52 weekly healthy changes.
The recent surge in gluten intolerance is a puzzle but there is a discovery phenomenon with such hard-to-diagnose conditions. For a time they are over-looked, then the weight of evidence reaches a tipping point and they become over-diagnosed. Many with gluten intolerance are self-diagnosed. Bottom line is that celiac disease is a serious condition and must be carefully treated. As you probably know there are grains without gluten.
If you find this blog helpful, please share it with your circle of influence. More readers will make it more informative, and it is a non-commercial effort. Thanks for your support and best to you, Skip
My friend sent me a link to your blog just this morning and I'm already a huge fan!! Having my first baby has made me take a serious look at my diet and when I found out I was pregnant last fall, I decided to make some changes. After she was born, I had to cut dairy out and even when the pediatrician told me I could start eating it again, I chose not to because at that point, I was feeling too good to go back! I really appreciated your dairy posts and I sent them to my sister, who is also off dairy. I'm sure I'll find answers to my other nutrition questions, as you are almost all the way to the end of your 52 weekly changes. So mostly this post is simply to say thanks and to let you know how excited I am to get started reading through your blog. (It might be nice to have your weekly changes listed in order on a separate page with links to each of the specific blog posts, but I'm going to read through your blog backwards to get the full effect anyway.)
Janeya
Welcome to Word of Wisdom Living. In the beginning I thought nutrition was about what we ate. Later it became about what we think, and what voices guide us. Now, diet is less about what's in the store, and more about what's in our head.
In 2012 we'll make a list of the Healthy Changes with links, and provide a spreadsheet so you can grade yourself from time to tome as you progress. We'll also provide more recipes, and links to healthy recipe blogs. Best of health to you and your baby.
I just discovered your blog. I have been trying to eat healthier and asked for some advice on Facebook...and I was sent here! I LOVE everything you have written so far. I am so excited to read your ENTIRE blog! I love it that much and I have found it soooo helpful so far. I love the bread and cereal rule and I am off to learn how to bake my own bread. :) I have been off sugar (baked goods, candies, treats) for 5 whole days and it is amazing how much better I already feel. Can't wait to eat healthier in general and see how much better I will feel then!