Wellness

As of nine this morning, I had no clue what I wanted to write about. Whenever this happens, I call my mom for ideas or check the newspaper to see what is going in the world. 

But I could not find inspiration today. 

 Insert Laura, my best friend.

(This was taken at Thanksgiving a couple of years ago. That is why we have a wish bone...)

I called her and she came to the rescue with an article from Amazing Wellness Magazine. 

So, even though she didn't plan it, Laura becomes a guest blogger today (although I will insert information for clarification). 

This is what she emailed me: 

This is from a magazine called Amazing Wellness (winter 2011 issue).  The article is called, "Total Heart Health: Keeping Your Heart in Shape", by Johnny Bowden, PHD, CNS.  Here is an excerpt from the article:

"Several years ago, explorer Dan Buettner visited four regions in the world where the inhabitants consistently lived longer and healthier than anywhere else.  These areas also had some of the highest numbers of healthy centenarians in the world: Sardinia, of the coast of Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, California; and the Nicoya Peninsula, off of Costa Rica." 

The article goes on to say about how these areas eat meat, sparingly and they are local, farm-raised animals feed grains with no hormones, steroids, or antibiotics.  They eat low sugar, lots of fruits and vegetables (some eat tofu), and lots of nuts and beans.  They don't really worry about saturated fats because their diets are so rich in high fiber foods, and foods with antioxidants and anti-inflammatories that come from whole foods and other things that they naturally lower their risk for heart disease. 

Isn't that a contrast from the typical American way of eating? Imagine if we all subscribed to this way of eating...the world (particularly the U.S.) would have much fewer cases of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

Wouldn't it be great if eating healthy was naturally ingrained in our minds? Imagine not having to worry about how many calories I consumed or how many grams of sugar I had that day....because it all evened out.

One day, that will be me. Until then, I will continue to struggle with the choice of eating a carrot or eating an Oreo.