Eat, Drink, Be Merry then DIE?

by Chef Nancy

Skip and I hear all the time from people who say they would rather eat and drink all the things they want and when they die, they die, but is it that simple? We would like to think so, but that is not the case. Yes, you can eat and drink whatever you want and no one is going to stop you, but you will have to suffer the consequence down the road with your health. You feel infallible, especially if you are young, but don’t forget how fast time goes by and what you are eating and drinking now is already affecting your health down the road as you age. These health signs may not be visible on the outside, but don’t forget our inside organs especially our arteries, which already have been scientifically proven to show signs of plaque in as early an age as 10, so yes that should concern YOU.

We understand how hard it is to give up all the foods we have grown up to love and now are being told they are detrimental to our health. We have to educate ourselves for sure, as there is so much conflicting information out there on this diet or that diet, but realize they are diets not lifestyle change. There is a difference. We all know diets are not sustainable, but a plant-based lifestylediet is. You won’t have to guess calories consumed, or tally up points in order to lose weight. When your lifestyle changes by the foods you consume and you begin to exercise, health comes naturally.

I saw on Facebook we work for 30 or more years and then retire and live only 11 years. There is a lot of truth in that, perhaps we should be an adult at birth and when we retire our youth returns (Kind of like Mork). It makes more sense. How often do we think of quality of life? Many of us just assume were going to be in that wheelchair one day or in a nursing home. How many think about how our diets will affect us down the road? Cancer, radiation and chemo, heart disease, stents and open-heart surgery, Diabetes, kidney disease and limb amputations. The list goes on. How many of us think about living in our new apartment, a hospital bed hooked up to machines that help us breath and keep us alive for a few more days.

We can change so much of this and have great quality of life until the end but it takes work and determination. We have to want to live, don’t we? Procrastinating that tomorrow I will make changes and yet tomorrow never comes. Making lifestyle changes not only benefits each and everyone of us, but also family members. None of us want to be a burden on others. We can avoid the bankruptcy that nursing homes and hospitals will cost us and family members. So yes, we do have to change our lifestyles for the better. Were never to old to begin a lifestylediet change.

The Choice is Yours.