Don't eat your tractor

[GershonSurge]

Those who have followed, or perhaps ignored me, know I'm a big fan of Dr. McDougall and others who recommend a starch based diet with some fruits and vegetables with no animal products or added oils. Those who have paid attention know that small amounts of animal products are OK. 

Today, while shopping at King Soopers, I saw an Asian looking man and woman with a cart of healthy food. They both looked like they were in great health, and after 21 years in sales, I wasn't afraid to strike up a conversation. I asked them where they were from, and the man said "San Francisco." Then I asked them where they were originally from, and they said their family was from southern China. 

I told them I was interested in healthy eating and asked if the people in China ever ate meat. He told me they sometimes use meat as a garnish, which is the same word Dr. McDougall used for the people from Guatamala who used fish as a garnish. The man also told me they ate meat when the tractor died.

Obviously, I looked confused, so he went on to say they had water buffalos for tractors and they only ate meat when the water buffalo died. 

We talked about the Chinese diet, and he said in southern China they ate rice and lightly steamed vegetables. In northern China, they ate wheat and millet and vegetables. He went on to say people weren't healthy by choice. They were healthy because they were poor.

"They were healthy because they were poor." Let's reverse that for people from the United States. "We are unhealthy because we are rich," at least compared to many other places in the world. Now that other areas of the world are getting rich too, they are becoming unhealthy.

The woman was 82 and looked like she was in her fifties. Her son, who is 57 looked like he is in his late 30's.

[USAF-Larry]

That is very interesting, @GershonSurge.  It doesn't completely agree with what I learned from Chinese people I have worked with. I was told that pork was served in nearly every meal, and when it wasn't, there was poultry, beef, mutton, or other meats. Rice is a staple in the south, and noodles in the north, as I recall, and they make lots of dishes with eggs. I am sure there is a difference in diet between the poor and rich in China, though, just as there is in the U.S. and other countries. One thing that I can't stand, and they consume heavily, though, is Tofu.

You are correct, though, that people in the U.S. need to get a lot more serious about healthy eating and exercise. Whether they consume meat or not, is a personal choice, but they need to eat healthy foods and not processed foods. I have always been disappointed that U.S. healthcare in general, and health insurance in particular, is focused on "fixing problems" and not on preventive care. Only one company I worked for in my long working life even included insurance payments to doctors for preventive care - if you had a heart attack, they covered 100% of the cost, but if you wanted to tests and PT to prevent a heart attack, there was no payment at all.

[shipo]

Three comments:

• To my eye, folks from Asia seem to age very well almost regardless of how they've eaten.
• I've worked extensively in China, Taiwan, and Japan, and meat and fish are in virtually every meal from breakfast to dinner; admittedly the folks I worked with were relatively well off (but far from wealthy).
• Most of the folks I've worked with in Taiwan and China were heavy smokers, and even into their 70s they looked pretty darn young.

[Ukase]

I can agree that some people are healthy because they are poor - but their poverty is not the root cause of their healthy status. It is the work that they do, day in, day out. More specifically, it is their movement. 

In the same way - it matter little how often any of us Americans (or any other set of people) go to a gym and work up a sweat for an hour. It is the other 23 hours that will have more impact on our health. 

Thus the reason for these sayings we hear so often:

"You can't out-exercise a bad diet" 

"Abs are built in the kitchen" 

Different people will do will on a diet such as the one you referenced. Me, I would suffer for it, for if I could not eat meat on a somewhat regular basis, I would probably become incarcerated for killing some poor soul for just being in the way when I'm grumpy for not having had meat. 

In all seriousness - aside from fish, I haven't had meat since April 20th. I miss it every now and then - especially when Ruby Tuesday's sends me a coupon for a free burger - which they seem to do twice a year. 

There are two paths we can take if we are going to be purposeful about a healthy diet. We can strive for longevity or performance. Since my IRA is woefully underfunded, I'll strive for performance. This means I'll plan my meals to nourish my muscles which will aid in my movement. I could not, at this point, care less if I make it to 50 or 100. I just want to live well. And, sometimes, a steak is living well. Certainly not every day, not even once a week. Just sometimes. 

If you have a moment, take some time to read or listen to Katy Bowman. She has numerous books out - and although she focuses on bio-mechanics, her major points are that we have outsourced most of our work. 

Our kids need braces because we've outsourced a lot of our chewing to food processors and blenders. 

People need orthotics because we wear shoes when we don't need to. Feet can get callouses which would eliminate their necessity. 

People have pain in their knees and lower back and other areas due to the many strange positions we put ourselves in - sitting in chairs for hours a day - or conversely - standing on our feet in a fairly stationary position all day. 

All we have to do is go back to basics - get some goats, chickens, pigs, plant some crops  - work for our food - and we won't need to exercise. We won't need to buy organic. And, since we'd be outside more often than not - we'd be exposed to a lot more germs and such and would probably have healthier immune systems. 

At least, that's the theory.