This is mostly a rant but bear with me its a long read which may shed some light on the dangers of the SAD diet you don’t see everyday. Strictly anecdotal but I don’t think many here will doubt my observations.
I post here often and some who read some of what I write may pick up on my reasons for changing the way I eat. Essentially it boils down to me wanting to live a long and healthy life (revolutionary I know). And after the birth of my daughter I feared at 33 years old I was well over half way done with at least the healthy portion of it as I was staring down the barrel of chronic illness.
I was able to come to this conclusion of my ultimate mortality because of my profession. I am an occupational therapist and I specialize is neurological rehabilitation. My job is to rehabilitate people who suffer strokes, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries etc. In a typical day I interact with 8-11 patients with 50% having had strokes.
I can tell you with almost certainty that diet is responsible for easily 75% of the stroke patients I see. I can dive into a medical chart and follow the history. 55 year old man history of HTN, hyperlipidemia, DMII, atherosclerosis. I can see the blood work going back years showing a pattern of pre-daibetes then diabetes, I can see that they a stent placed last year and they have been on statins since their 40s. On average these patients are taking a dozen medications to treat the above conditions yet they still had the stroke. In the rare case someone is not metabolically damaged you will see a “rotten luck” cause such a heart defect, aneurysm, or fibromuscular dysplasia. Smoking is obviously a common finding but rarely appears in isolation. And everyone not caused by a clear defect in the cardiovascular system beyond their control I would suggest almost 100% have metabolic damage.
Another note is the patients with metabolic comorbities are often far worse of than the “rotten luck” lot. Many have cognitive impairments I cannot typically attribute to the area of brain which was affected by the stroke. Often times their MRIs reveal chronic microischemia which implies he has been having many tiny strokse prior to the most debilitating stroke. Thus they were well on their way to vascular dementia anyhow even if they never had “the big one” They maybe 50 but the look 70.
Since the stroke didnt kill this 55 year old man but he is now disabled and unable to work. He has cognitive and physical impairments which will make him a burden to his family. He will be dependent on others, in pain from secondary neuromuscular impairments, unable to drive or hold an intellectual conversation. He will die with an empty bank account and splintered family. There will be no retirement parties, golf outings, great grandchildren, or vacations. After 55 years he will have next to nothing. You will not see him though unless he is your father or husband. He isnt walking around outside. He takes the mainstream bus doesn’t go to the store. He rarely leaves him home except for doctors appointments or family gatherings. He is forgotten by all except those who love him most who must see him a fraction of the person he was before.
However, he WILL still be on all those pills and some new ones. He will make many a doctor rich with his chronic conditions. Yet still after all that I will read in his neurology note that he was counselled to eat whole grains, 6 servings of fruits and vegetables and avoid fatty foods. Maybe they think they are doing the right thing… the patient, the doctor, the pharmacist. A year ago I would have thought the same but having dedicated countless hours to educating myself so I can live as long as possible I know better.
This is not sustainable. The broken bodies are piling up. The money is running out. The system is doomed to collapse. Eat this way to lose weight and just as he didn’t know he was killing himself you may not know all you will be gaining in future you have returned to yourself. Dont get caught up every carb, gram of protein, ketone reading. Do what you need to eat the best way you know how for your body. Do whatever it takes to keep in mind what you are giving up by not giving sugar.
Health and Love,
Joe
So her new medical advice is to go absolutely crazy with low cholesterol, low fat and low sodium (but of course keep eating lots of cereals and whole grains) to mitigate the ‘danger’ of removing the statin from her pill parade. So now she’s adding oatmeal and raisin bran to her oj, toast and pastry diet. She’s so confused and tired about all this advice. I feel terrible but I’m not here enough to step in and become a dietician, so her medical team will continue to make her life miserable as they shepherd her toward diabetes.