The Coral Springs Study

Watched Losing It last night.  To me, lately, its almost like watching the news in that it sort of disturbs me, but I don’t want to miss it.  In this episode she visited with a Native American family and not only impacted them, but their entire nation.  First, on a very shallow note, I would like to say that Jillian looked outstanding when she first arrived and if I could have one person’s arms, it would be hers!

Jillian finds that the people of this tribe are basically all obese.  She finds them seemingly apathetic, but they let her know they don’t know any other way.  I am pretty sure changing an entire nation is going to take more than ONE week, but you have to start somewhere, yes?   I understood why they were upset when she threw out their fried bread.  Though there was NO question the bread was like poison (dough fried in lard) and she needed to teach them that, throwing out food was an insult to their people.  It was an insult to me, too.  I think you can give people tools and offer them alternatives, but I always think it is important people make their own choices.  Especially adults!

What I understood most clearly, though, was Jillian’s complete and total frustration over what unhealthy lifestyles these people had.  She seemed to care about their health and wellness more than they themselves cared.  Often, I feel that way, too.  Watching people with compromised breathing smoking a cigarette, watching someone who has had a heart attack eating a corned beef sandwich, watching some with type-2 diabetes eating sweets or simply hearing an overweight person tell me they just don’t have time to exercise or that they know they should drink more water, they just forget!  It rattles my brain and makes me want to scream “come on people, you can make your whole life better.”  I cannot imagine the frustration of the many very good doctors who suggest dietary changes for their patients, knowing they can drastically improve their quality of life, and then find their words falling upon deaf ears.  As Judy put so well in comment yesterday, some people just don’t want to do the work.

My greatest current frustration is that I think EVERYONE should read The China Study.  The good doctor Campbell has a wealth of information that he just wants to share with others.  I still have my head buried in it at some point of each day.  The information is compelling and we all have a right to read it and decide for ourselves.

In my very own Coral Springs Study, I am excited (but not at all surprised) to report that my blood donation from last week showed my cholesterol down 19 points from my last donation in the winter.  When I donated in the winter, my reading was 194.  Though I wasn’t eating meat or poultry at that time, I was eating dairy products and fish.  In March, I gave up ALL animal products and my reading this time was 175.  The only other time my cholesterol was that low was the last time I tried a plant-based diet, but then later went back to dairy and fish and saw the numbers rise back into the 190s.  Since my activity levels are always basically the same,  I can easily conclude that giving up the rest of the animal products lowered my blood cholesterol significantly.  Sticking with this plant-based diet, I will be curious to see if the numbers continue to decline over time.  It’s really important for me to say that I DO NOT FEEL ANY SENSE OF DEPRIVATION!!! Quite the contrary, actually.  Each and every meal, the choice is mine, just as each and every meal, your choice is yours.