“Competition puts hurdles in front of you that you have to clear.”
OKC Thunder coach Mark Daigneault
Here’s the same chart I posted from last year that is attributed to the New England Journal of Medicine. I could never find the original source article.
Take Home Lesson
“God speaks to us through signs. It is important to allow angels to act. When we see ourselves repeating our ordinary routine, we realize how much wealth surrounds our life. We understand each step, each attitude. We discover important things, and useless thoughts. At the end of a week – discipline is always fundamental – we are more conscious of our faults and distractions, but we also understand that, at times, there was no reason to act the way we did, that we followed our impulses, our intuition; and now we begin to understand this silent language which God uses in order to show us the true path. Call it intuition, signs, instinct, coincidence, any name will do – what matters is that through “conscious attention” we realize that we are often guided to the right decision. And this makes us stronger and more confident.”
Replacing one serving of red meat a day with a serving of plant-based protein sources like nuts or legumes decreased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 30%, and substituting a serving of red meat for dairy decreased the risk by 22%.
The study featured in the articles above was published on Thursday, October 19, in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
My Personal Opinion
If you eat meat, eat less. If you don’t eat meat, consider the occasional meal with meat for its nutritional benefits. My diet is approximately 75% meat-free, I do not have diabetes.
Yesterday was haircut day and Kevin the Barber being typically Kevin asked again how old I was. When you run a busy shop with lots of customers I’m sure the personal details of all of us just sort of run together. When I confessed my age Kevin complimented me by saying I was the youngest looking almost 69 year old he’s ever seen. Of course a comment like that sends me straight into overthinking mode.
Having spent nearly a half century researching and understanding what kills people I’ve come to the conclusion (like Bill Bryson) that the majority of us tend not to do the simple small things that make a big difference. Since this blog started as a food blog here’s a simple observation about my dietary habits. I had pizza last night for dinner. This morning I was two pounds heavier than I was yesterday morning. This variation in weight for me is eerily predictable. Can you imagine how much I’d weigh if I ate pizza 2-3 times a week? I can, so I don’t.
One of the upsides of my blog writing is connecting with my readers. Ol Red Hair sent me a link to an interesting article on lifestyle habits. I already had a version of the article saved for future reference and unlike my usual spur of the moment let’s blog this link I started to overthink (again). But Kevin’s compliment made me think more about overall lifestyle and despite the observational construct of the study I’ll claim causality exists. I’m 8/8, batting 1000% on this list.
A new study involving over 700,000 U.S. veterans reports that people who adopt eight healthy lifestyle habits by middle age can expect to live substantially longer than those with few or none of these habits. The eight habits are: being physically active, being free from opioid addiction, not smoking, managing stress, having a good diet, not regularly binge drinking, having good sleep hygiene, and having positive social relationships.
For the study, scientists used data from medical records and questionnaires collected between 2011-2019 from 719,147 people enrolled in the Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Program, a large, nationally representative study of U.S. veterans. The analysis included data from adults age 40-99 and included 33,375 deaths during follow-up.
The estimated impact of adopting different numbers of healthy lifestyle factors on additional years of life expectancy among men as compared to men with none of these habits. While adopting more healthy lifestyle factors at a younger age is associated with the greatest gains in life expectancy, adopting even a few of these factors or adopting them at an older age can still bring significant gains. Image Credit VA Million Veteran Program
“Habits can be changed, if we understand how they work.”
“This process within our brains is a three-step loop. First, there is a cue, a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to use. Then there is the routine, which can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally, there is a reward, which helps your brain figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future.”
“To change a habit, you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine.”
Charles Duhigg from The Power of Habit
All of this overthinking has reminded me I need to write the Changing Habits chapter in my future Best Seller. But first I need to work on my procrastination habit.
Studies point to the health benefits of beans, backing up what people in blue zones have long known, Buettner said. The soluble fiber in beans can cut cholesterol and help prevent type 2 diabetes by stabilizing blood sugar. A 2001 study found eating beans four times a week cut heart disease by 22%. A 2004 study found people lived approximately eight more years for every 20-gram intake of legumes — that’s about an ounce.
So far, it’s been a pleasant summer. We have had temps in the 80’s until recently.
What happens in the summer when it starts getting hot?
BEER happens. Willpower gone. There’s beer in the house.
I’ve been holding steady at 172 for a few months. But the arrival of beer weather does concern me.
The Boss has been working tirelessly in the yard and it looks the best it has in years. New shrubs, flowers, perennials and rose bushes were added this year. As for me, I try to find plants that I can’t kill. Meet Pepper Plant #4.
Readers with sharp eyes will note this tiny thing already has two peppers. Yeah, I cheated and bought a plant that already had fruit. I still remember the horrors of my last Pepper Plant 08.02.18. So I cheated. Pepper Plants #3 and #2 are in a pot and about twice the size of #4. No fruits yet, but I remain hopeful.
There’s basil on the patio too. I taught myself how to prune basil properly and hopefully I’ve learned something from watching hours of basil pruning videos on YouTube. Upon careful inspection today the plant needs to be pruned. So tonight’s meal will be Pasta with Vegetables, Olive oil, and Garlic. I don’t think I’ve ever written this recipe down but One Rotisserie Chicken, 50 Meals – #6 Pasta with Chicken, Vegetables, Oiive Oil and Garlic is close enough. No chicken or squash tonight. I’m heading down the broccoli route with lots of fresh basil and garlic. Go 4 cloves. Or more.
The basil is healthy and my new pepper plant has peppers. Hopefully this summer will be better than The Tomato Plant – 2014 Final Update. My basil didn’t’ do well that year either.
Time for a beer and to give thanks for not living in Texas anymore.
The study, published online Wednesday in the journal Cell Metabolism, found eating a snack high in fat and sugar every day alters the reward circuits in human brains to create lasting preferences.
Fatty and sugary foods train your brain to hate healthier options: Yale study — New York Post, March 22, 2023
HT to Sally Feltner for the original post. Link to the original post is provided above. I’ve also credited the New York Post because I’m not sure who wrote the sentence I’ve quoted.
What I am sure about is my cerebral reward circuits still function very well if I have to choose between a piece of fruit or a cup of ice cream. Or a piece of pizza versus a salad. Or french fries rather than a plain baked potato.
Are healthy habits worth cultivating? One recent study and a previous similar study suggest healthy habits may help people tack on years of life and sidestep serious illnesses, such as diabetes and cancer. Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that five low-risk lifestyle habits are critical for a longer life expectancy. The more of […]
Well, it was a good plan until it wasn’t. No boneless chicken thighs at the store, the bone-in thighs I bought need to be frozen and I refuse to drive around town looking for chicken thighs. Tonight is a night out with the guys so there will be no cooking tonight. Several of us meet monthly to go out for a burger and a beer. This started many years ago when our significant others gathered monthly for bunko (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunco). Rather than sit at home separately we started our own monthly get together. We call this monthly gathering Anti-Bunko.
“The surprising finding is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health,” said Robert Waldinger, director of the study, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “Taking care of your body is important, but tending to your relationships is a form of self-care too. That, I think, is the revelation.”
garyskitchen.net 