Today while I pushed my grocery cart into the line to check out the man in front of me, a nice guy really was haggling over some sale price on paper towels. The young female cashier was very polite yet pointed out to him that he was wrong re the sales price. I didn't pay all that much attention to what happened as I was busy sorting my own stuff and getting it on to the conveyor belt. But the one thing I do pay attention to is what people buy in terms of groceries. I'm always tempted to tell them the six large bottles of soda isn't going to do good things for them nor is the processed packaged foods that purport to be healthy but in fact may add to an over all problem we now have here in this country, which is growing obesity in the young as well as older American. I usually keep my mouth shut.
When it was my turn to check out the young cashier picked up my container of hommus and tells another cashier this is what it looks like! Immediately I knew this young person had some knowledge about healthy eating. As I put out my stuff which basically consisted of veggies and fruit as well as fixings for my soup such as beans and fat free chicken broth, she picked up my bag of avocados, which I have to admit were kind of pricey at this store (2 for $3) and I had six of them. She looked at me and said, "I hate peeling these but I love them!" Wow, I thought. Someone her age had to have been raised by some very conscientious parents who taught her about nutritious foods and fed her foods that could add to her overall health. I mean I haven't come across too many young people who "love" avocadoes unless they were in a fat filled dip like guacomole.
I say this because last year my cholesterol numbers were high...the highest they've ever been. For me that is scary especially since my triglycerides were at an all time high. High triglycerides is never a good sign. My late husband struggled to get his numbers lowered even though his total cholesterol fell within the normal range. A high triglyceride number is not good simply because it tells us we are good candidates for a heart attack. At my age that raises more than a bit of concern. It tells me at my age I need to be even more mindful of what I'm eating.
From that point on I decided to do it Dr. Oz's way! Everytime 'd go grocery shopping I would do it more mindfully keeping in mind all the good things he told us about and what we should or shouldn't be eating.
I was never a true avocado eater but have come to enjoy them. Yes, they are very high in fats and so I keep in mind the caloric content. The fat content is healthy, and what Dr. Oz refers to as MUFA. Monounsaturated Fatty Acids.
One every other day with a bit of squeezed lemon for me has now become a treat in and of itself. Throughout the year I concentrated on eating more of the good fish like salmon, sardines, and yes on Dr. Oz's recommendation, Baramundie fish. I made soups consisting of vegetables like kale, escarole, chard, collard greens, along with beans, such as those white beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and of course what Dr. Oz calls a superfood -- lentils.
I walked my dog and no one can tell me it's a coincidence that since she came into my life last August, that my cholesterol as well as blood pressure (yes, that was up as well) are all well within a normal range. She doesn't even need to have her nails clipped because of the walking we do every day!
I also started to have a glass of wine several times a week. Not every day but more often than I did before. Specifically I drank red wine, preferably a Cabernet Sauvignon, which I've read is great for helping to lower cholesterol and is heart healthy because of its reservatrol content.
I've gone through at least three boxes of Quaker Oatmeal (not instant because I was eating instant last year and that only raised my blood sugar levels which now are below 100.)
I've been eating more nuts, specifically almonds every single morning. I grind these along with sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. I spread a couple of tablespoons over the oatmeal. I also throw in ground flax seed, as well as hemp seeds, and recently have been adding Chia seeds to the mix. A little cinnamon for blood sugar control along with a cup of rinsed blueberries (either fresh or frozen) and almond milk does the trick for me. I never get too hungry throughout the day.
I've also been making frozen yogurt pops using Activia yogurt. I purchased these pop makers through Amazon and these are working out better than expected.
What Dr. Oz tells us works! It truly worked for me. When the bloodwork results came in the mail from my doctor's office I couldn't open it at first. When I did I was quite pleased to see that I had lowered my cholesterol from 289 to 200, and I am still working on getting it lower.
Yes, I could have gone on statin drugs except I don't do well on meds because of side effects. Some people can take meds for cholesterol and blood pressure and not be bothered by the side effects I have never been able to tolerate meds that produce any side effects. I knew I had to believe as Dr. Oz does that getting healthy is a matter of becoming mindful about what we ingest into our bodies.
We are essentially feeding machines. I'm not sure when it started, probably with the advent of industrialized food processing that we may have been led to believe we can ingest all the processed foods that is produced into our systems. Unfortunately, our bodies don't know this and do much better on whole foods that has not been processed in any way. If you think about it, organic foods, foods that come from the earth is pretty much all we need to thrive. A package of Twinkies, or a package of processed hot dogs is not going to do that. Whole foods produce certain chemical reactions deep within our cells that processed food can't come close to providing. It's like running a car on alcohol and not gas and hoping the right interactions are taking place, when in fact none takes place and the car eventually no longer works.
When you think about it, we probably could do without at least 90% of what is sold in terms of food in our grocery stores. As Dr. Oz tells us by doing our shopping around the perimeters we in fact need very little if anything from the inside aisles.
I recently read 180 billion dollars is spent on the treatment of diabetes, a condition that is caused by diet and lifestyle. I'm not only hoping but I'm praying that more young people like the young lady I met today in the grocery store will make it a point to learn about what their bodies really need, what they should be eating, and what they can do for themselves in terms of mindful shopping as well as mindful eating.
Only then will we see these astronomical figures of healthcare costs go lower and to a saner level. I'm also thinking what our country could have done with that 180 million dollars. First on my list is educating ourselves on getting healthy and staying healthy by eating the correct foods and living an active life.
Thanks Dr. Oz!
