I Don't Get It.

I'm not the smartest sometimes but when hard evidence is placed before me that conclusively proves a point, I don't get why people will go out of their way to refute it or even completely ignore it. Doesn't make any sense. Arthur Schopenhauer is quoted as saying, "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. There are tons of examples out there from things like flat earthers, politics & religion of every variety...and of course nutrition! (You knew I'd bring that up!)

Since starting into this quest to achieve better health I've come across sooo much information that flies in the face of "common knowledge" that you have to sit back and start questioning everything...and I do! Things as simple as a candy bar touting that it now contains 20% less fat when they don't tell you they've just reduced the size of the product by 20%. Of course it's less fat because it's less candy bar! That happens way more than you realize. Studies are done all the time that seem to show things that just can't be healthy as beneficial. You really need to dig under the surface to find out what they are compared to! A Twinkie can look healthy compared to a stick of lard!! I just don't get it.

Recently I was listening to Simon Hill's audiobook called "Plant Proof" and he makes the point that things like cancer and heart disease don't necessarily "run in the family" but in the actions and culture in which we were raised. So just because a father or grandfather has heart disease does not mean that you will get it. It's more about what we bring with us from childhood into adulthood that matters. A family that likes to barbecue steaks or have Sunday fried chicken dinners will most likely have kids that continue those same traditions passing down recipes from "the old country" that contain loads of butter, salt, sugar and who knows what else that have been proven to cause things like heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, etc. You should not accept the line that just because someone in your family had cancer that you are going to get it...YOU can break the chain. I just don't get it.

It's a known fact that most doctors receive very little if any nutrition education. They are taught how to treat the symptoms but not the cause of disease. In my case it was a gallstone. Instead of informing me to stop eating fat we will just remove your gallbladder to make the problem go away. I was never informed that after the surgery I would still have to change my diet and refrain from eating certain foods for the rest of my life. I still have my gallbladder and it will tell me if I'm eating the wrong kinds of things. But I hear story after story after story of people who just take their doctors word for it and accept the prescription written out for them regardless of the side effects that usually are worse than the initial issue!! I don't get it.

My own journey has not been without speed bumps and challenges. We recently spent almost two weeks traveling throughout the south and visiting some family. Finding good, healthy foods on the road is a major challenge. Gas stations carry very little that would even be considered healthy food. You might be able to purchased a banana or an apple but everything else comes in a package laden with salt, sugar, fat and preservatives. Most restaurants will look at you with blank stares when you ask about vegan options. One hostess gave my wife and I a blank stare when we asked if they had any vegan options and then bluntly said "We have vegetables!" Great...grumble, grumble. So after a couple weeks on the road my weight had gone up a bit (nothing to write home about) and I felt a bit sluggish since I was also not doing my morning five-mile walk. So it's back on the daily walk and back to cooking fresh, whole foods for the win...that part I get! -Greg