Do you have a list of books you want to read? I have a lengthy one in the memo section of my
Blackberry. Some books I save for a vacation or weekend away, others I never
get around to. And there’s a third category that don’t make the list because I
purchase them immediately. That’s what happened with A.J. Jacob’s Drop Dead Healthy.
In this book Jacobs, a writer for Esquire goes “on a quest to become as healthy as humanly possible.”
After all, as he says, fifty percent of health is determined by behavior. In
two years, this New Yorker, husband and father tries everything from barefoot
running to raw foodism. However, this is not just an account of all the things tried, this is entertaining and very
informative.
Sit Less
The reason sitting is bad goes beyond the fact that when
we’re sitting we’re not doing more active things. Lipase helps muscles absorb
fat. When we sit, we don’t produce
lipase so fat can “go off and do naughty things”. Sitting is a problem even for
those who go to the gym . Sitters have 64% increased chance of fatal heart
disease. Even standing is better but
Jacobs takes it one step further and gets one of my longtime dream items, a
treadmill desk. Actually, he gets a treadmill and fashions it into a desk.. He
logged many miles writing this book.
Ice, Ice Baby
While some tips are straightforward, as Jacobs says “diet
defies reductionism”. In commentary on superfoods, readers are encouraged not to
forget about Clark Kent foods apples and oranges are still super. I love advice
that doesn’t take that much to
accomplish. How’s this one…ice. Your body expends energy to heat an ice-cold
beverage. It’s about 1 calorie for every icy ounce. If you drink 8 glasses a
day that’s 70 extra calories burned. I
cranked up our ice machine after reading this. Next, I’m switching to iced tea.
Down with John Harvey Kellogg and the Potato
While most of us know the “whites” such as white bread,
white potatoes, white rice aren’t healthy, if you’re like me you put the baked
potato in its own category. It’s a whole food, has some fiber, notable
potassium, I can clearly make a case for them. One of Jacob’s salient dietary
lessons listed in the appendix includes
avoiding potatoes. We are told “the venerable baked potato increases blood
sugar nearly as fast as table sugar”
And if there were parts of the book that made me rethink
certain things, there was lots of confirmation for health behaviors I
support. Jacobs jovially points to John
Harvey Kellogg for causing obesity epidemic. The truth is, we would all be better off we’d be without cold cereal. I’ve
long been a fan of protein breakfasts and the cereal aisle, with the exception
of oatmeal, is probably one to skip.
We Must Floss
As I was reading this book, I had a client come into the
office suffering from periodontal disease. She’s a health nut, watches
everything she eats but says “with all the things I did I didn’t floss.” Sure
enough, Jacobs tackles dental health even checking out a “dental spa”. Flossing
can add 6.4 years to your life. And if you need some motivation how about “you
need to clean your tooth cracks before thousands types of bacteria migrate into
your bloodstream”. For the overachievers reading this, you should floss before
brushing. This way you dislodge the bacteria and then brush it away.
BPA Poetry
There’s lots of food information about toxins and germs.
After reading, I removed showerheads and cleaned them with wire brush. I also washed
my hands the way you’re supposed to wash them versus the quickie version.
I have yet to wash underwear separately
from other laundry but I’ll let you surmise why that’s suggested. As for BPA’s
in plastic, try this poem “four, five, one, and two/All the rest are bad for
you.”
As Jacobs adopts more and more healthy behaviors, he
observes himself judging others. He
becomes self-righteous glaring at Europeans smoking Gigantes and correcting
people’s eating. In the course of
experimenting Jacobs also lost weight, improved his blood lipids and decreased
his body fat. I really enjoyed this book but I would caution reading it if
you’re vulnerable to this sort of advice as I am. I am now thinking about my
Blackberry and brain cancer, noise pollution and whether I’m harming myself
running on the West Side Highway breathing in car fumes (you are more
vulnerable to fumes while exercising). Perhaps I need to reread the chapter on stress.
Do you floss? Drink icy beverages? What health behavior could you focus more on? And what books are high on your reading list?
