Did you know, researchers effectively dropped some compounds found in things like broccoli on some cancer cells and it stopped the cancer dead in its tracks? Obviously you can’t just rub broccoli on your tumor cells, but this got me thinking.. what other obvious health things might I be missing in my life?
I just finished an ~17 hour long book appropriately titled: How Not to Die. I was a bit skeptical at first, mostly because I LOATH most people who talk about things like “plant based diets”. I love meat. I love to smoke meat. I love the smell of meat. I love my steak medium rare, It’s a part of who I am.
I was watching TastyTrade one day, and one of the guys (Tom) made the comment about his recent eating habits. The tone in which he noted the book, just made you think that while he loathed what he was suggesting, there was a pointed suggestion to the rest of us. Almost as if he had his own “come to Jesus moment” with his diet too (which we later learned, he did).
Over my life my body has been incredibly sensitive to what I eat, I’ve effectively had to tune my diet as I go. No milk means less things like ice cream. No red dye, means less candy. High fructose corn syrup gives me the kind of migraines that makes me in-tolerable. Beer? I love beer, especially the dark kind. As I’ve aged, one or two beers almost certainly turns into an instant, day-wrecking migraine.
While I can’t say this book completely changed my life, it certainly put some things in perspective. There is a lot of BS on both sides of the “plants vs meat” topic, this book does a really great job of breaking down (and citing) the science of both. It oddly makes you WANT to go vegan, but by showing you the real hard science, not the bullshit politics of it. Eating cricket protein isn’t going to make a dent in anything. However, adding some curry-ramen recipes to your monthly meal plan, will.
It’s not preachy, but practical and the author does a great job of laying out the facts, and giving you something actionable to help introduce a different kind of diet into your lifestyle. In fact, almost half the book is comprised of tips, tricks and ideas to introduce these in a way that doesn’t make you want to slam your head in a car door every day. He describes the science, math and statistics that you already knew, but in a way that encourages you to make your own decisions. He’s not trying to win you over, he’s trying to teach you- how not to die.
I’m writing this, not because I think it’s going to change anyone’s life. I loath self proclaimed vegans, they’re obnoxious at best. I’m writing this for my kids, who one day might be dealing with my DNA laced dietary problems. I’m writing it for them as a reminder to me and my wife- what we feed our kids today may have profound impacts on their future. I’m writing this to help them understand why we made them eat their veggies and why we feed them lots of odd things like rice, curry and lentils.
If they don’t know any better, maybe they won’t have to worry so much about it. Besides- “spicy noodles and chopsticks” night is way cool.
(Thanks Mom).
Barely3am 