I guess I'm getting old. My doctor informed me that I'm at the point of my life when things start falling apart. I always thought I'd be a lot older when the center started not being able to hold, but there you have it. Considering I am also getting to the age when I am the same age as my doctors (when did that happen?! doctors are supposed to be old, and grandfatherly, and have gray hair! They aren't supposed to be young and pretty!), I suppose it's time to start considering the rest of my life.
It's time to start pondering death. Trying to avoid certain types of death. Those which can be avoided.
Of course, if Calvin were to be believed, there's really nothing I can do to change my death, because everything has been preordained. I've been spending too much time studying old apologetic philosophies, trying to comprehend modern day religion.
Now as a good post modernist, I know that trying to find meaning is, in itself, a fruitless enterprise, because even if meaning does exist, it doesn't change anything. The meaning is something we assign and does not intrinsically exist. Meaning can be found, and negated, anywhere, in anything. Just ask Jackson Pollack fans.
I am in great health, overall, but the subject I've been studiously avoiding is this: I have high cholesterol. This is kind of tragic news for someone who thinks fish tastes best when it's cooked in lard and that bacon has its very own set of blocks in the food pyramid. To someone who routinely eats ice cream for breakfast and is flat-out creeped out by the thought of skim milk (don't even bring up soy milk), discovering I have to limit my dairy products is almost worse than being told I have be become a vegetarian. How can vegans face a future without delicious delicious (full fat) dairy? What is the point of existing?
So my doctor (who is awesome, by the way) sat down with me and my numbers and made a few suggestions. I had an idea I was in trouble when she asked me how many times a day I eat meat. Incredulous, I said "I don't even eat meat every day!" Then I started to ponder my dairy intake...
Based upon my triglycerides, my doctor thinks my high cholesterol is a result of diet and not heredity (I'm adopted, and therefore have basically no medical history). Ergo, no medication and instead, the Mediterranean diet! My doctor then set about creating a list of foods she swore up and down that even a food snob would love (sprouted grain bread, soy-based ice cream) and promised that fat-free sour "cream" really isn't "that horrible." Even my beloved yogurt should be fat free! Don't even get me started on the eggs I won't be eating. Oh, the eggs with bacon and buttered toast...
oh the humanity!!
My doctor told me to keep tight control on my saturated fat intake. Up until now, I haven't really paid any attention. Turns out, the world is full of saturated fat.
I suppose the good side to this is that I really do need to lose weight, and certainly following this diet plan will knock off a few pounds. Also, I do love Mediterranean foods, I love olive oil and vegetables and beans and stuff. I love seafood, even though it's a little cost-prohibitive to eat more than a once a week (fresh, anyway), and of course, I love red wine (we'll work on curbing alcohol consumption in another post. One thing at a time people!).
My doctor suggested I replace the butter in baked goods with olive oil. I wonder if there are any good recipes for olive oil chocolate chip cookies...
So, is anyone with me? Anything you love to eat that could use a lightening-up? Anyone else trying to limit their saturated fat intake? As we get into spring and summer, now is a great time to start healthy eating. In a few months we'll be up to our ears in local and delicious fruits and vegetables, and we can plan to put some away for next winter so that we can continue healthy eating all year round.
Come on, it'll be fun! I promise!
By the way, I also found out I have a pretty severe Vitamin D deficiency! I thought that was rather strange, but it is apparently very common in women, especially fair-skinned women who tend to avoid the sun or use lots of sun screen. So get your Vitamin D levels checked kids!! Vitamin D deficiency can lead to all sorts of things, and is thought to be a contributing factor in some cancer development. Below, please find a picture of the Mediterranean diet pyramid. Gotta love a pyramid which includes wine...
