How much do you think proper nutrition and exercise plays a part in our health, especially as we age?
Are Americans near the bottom of list concerning diet and exercise?
I think about past generations and how they ate. Were they healthier or not?
There weren’t any GMOs, food dyes or preservatives, no processed foods in our parents and previous generations era. Was there food safer for the most part?
Was food poisoning common in the past?
I remember hearing old people saying that they drank milk straight from the cow. Was that safe? They had free range chickens and eggs. They hunted and went fishing. They grew their own veggies. Food was fresh!
Do you think an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise contributes to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc?
Nutrition isn’t taught extensively in medical schools. There are studies for dietitians or nutritionists.
Do you feel it’s important to continue eating well into our senior years or at some point to allow the elderly to eat whatever they want?
What about obesity? When did it become so common for people to battle with their weight?
Didn’t we always have overweight and underweight people? Is being underweight as dangerous as being overweight?
My husband was given instructions about a diet to follow being a cancer patient.
What is your opinion on supplements? My doctor told me they were not necessary and she said if a person had proper nutrition, the only thing she recommends is vitamin D. I did start taking D.
My husband was told to take vitamin D also.
Anyway, I would love to hear from all of you.
Tell me if you garden and grow your own food. If you eat organic or not.
Tell me if you have or have not maintained a healthy diet.
Is diabetes preventable? Daddy and my oldest brother had it. (Both are deceased) My mom is 95 and does not have it.
My doctor leans more towards following a plant based diet.
I am not a vegetarian but I don’t eat meat at every meal.
My doctor says that it is beneficial to eat vegetarian or vegan two or three times a week.
There are always exceptions. Vegetarians get cancer too. People who eat junk and smoke live to be 100!
I follow a healthy diet but I am not perfect! I indulge in dessert from time to time.
I give away excess to neighbors. It’s only the two of us at home now so we can’t finish larger quantities of food.
I also growl at my family when they refer to the growing medium as "dirt" - I was taught "dirt is what you get under your fingernails. You grow stuff in soil."
I still mutter "soil" when people use the term "dirt"...
I do think that in certain under served areas of this country, poor access to med care, fresh fruits and veggies, etc., does have an affect on longevity.
I don't need and seldom have 3 meals a day. I recently read an article about a 109 y/o gentlemen who attributes his longevity to as many as 9 cigars a day and a little whiskey. Certainly his lifestyle didn't contribute to his 109 yrs.
I think vitamin D is a good choice for people throughout the winter because of the lack of sun, especially in northern climates.
So I'll just soldier on taking one day at a time. "Que Sera, Sera”
First I have to get this pet peeve off my chest - the term 'GMO" or "genetically modified". It has become a catch-phrase and the insinuation is that it is evil. Well, my grandparents were farmers, and I was "genetically modifying" plants in their gardens when I was a little girl - but it was called "cross-pollination". It's how you can account for that wonderful yellow and white corn you get in the market, among other things. We would take the stamen from healthier plants and dust the pistils of another plant with the pollen to make the plants stronger, healthier and more bountiful. That's modifying the genetics. It's not necessarily something cooked up in some mad scientist's lab...it's how you can grow crops in areas that were never able to sustain those crops in the past.
So, rant over.
I think that, while food might have been "purer" in the past, the ability to keep it fresh for much longer is better today than in the past. I use pomegranates as an example. I love them. When I was a kid, you could only get them in the market for about 3 weeks around Halloween; now I have them in my grocery store from November-ish until late February/early March. So that's an improvement. You can get a lot of fresh produce year round that we just couldn't get as kids, because transporting and refrigeration has so improved.
I think the biggest obstacle facing us - and by us I mean the general population - is more the sedentary life that people lead now, rather than their diet. It wasn't all that long ago that we were a farming country. But family farms are becoming less and less, a lot of work that used to be done manually - both farming industries and others - is being done mechanically, and we are becoming more sedentary.
I remember my grandmother preparing the large meal of the day for the afternoon (usually during the hottest part of the day, when you would be less inclined to be outside working) and doing a lighter meal at suppertime.
Another issue is the cost to "eat fresher". Much much cheaper to buy canned/frozen than fresh. So the ability to eat healthier is definitely tied to your economic status. When I used to volunteer at our local food pantry, getting fresh meat/produce was much more difficult and more expensive than canned.
You bring up an important point about labels.
We really have to educate ourselves on how to read labels because marketing will mislead us.
I don’t buy anything if I can’t pronounce the ingredients in the product!
I actually don’t buy much that is packaged.
I try to shop the outer isles of the store most.
Fresh ingredients are best.
I agree that moderation is key.
I don’t eat liver either! Yuck 🤮!
As far as diabetes goes? Do you avoid most sugar? Eat agave, honey, maple syrup?
I don’t consume a lot of sugar. I never drink sodas. I don’t add sweeteners to my coffee or tea. I don’t add sugar to cereals.
I do like a bit of honey on a bagel now and then. I put a bit of maple syrup and almond butter in my oatmeal.
My habits have definitely changed over time. I eat less than I used to, feel awful when I overindulge and don’t like it, and try to be more wise in my choices. I don’t give a lot of credence to organic or other trends because I’ve seen too many reports of how those standards are not what people are led to believe is true. There are some good documentaries on how misled we are on labels like free range, no hormones, organic, etc. Growing up there were many times my parents were eating something I couldn’t stand (liver, ugh!) and after my required “try it” I made a beeline for the peanut butter. There is diabetes all over my extended family, so I’m checked regularly, exercise daily, and am on the lookout about it.
I’m also a fan of an old Nora Ephron quote that’s something like she didn’t want her last thought, right before she was run over by a bus, to be “I should have eaten the doughnut!” Life is short, and sometimes it’s okay to enjoy a treat
I am the same. I don’t always eat three meals a day.
I can’t eat if I am not hungry. Some of us do eat less as we age.
I remember my grandmother eating only a boiled egg for lunch when she got older.
I don't eat three meals a day anymore. I don't tolerate eating and bending down gardening--GERD is the result if I do. I don't drink milk or eat ice cream anymore. Still love chocolate, but practice moderation. I don't really THINK about it all that much anymore. Just eat what I want and when I want it.