Friday, April 27, 2012

Healthier Than Thou


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?

18 comments:

  1. Have you read any of his other books? I haven't read anything he's written, but my brother loves his books. He's been trying to get me to read both of his other books for years--says they are hilarious. Was this one funny?

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    1. hysterical and maybe I didn't convey that (was late writing this post this morning). Enjoyed the funny/nerdy approach. I would love to read his biblical book too. I wasn't familiar with Jacobs before Drop Dead Healthy.

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  2. How funny...I just had my ice maker fixed yesterday. It's a sign...

    This books looks really good...maybe I will check it out this weekend.

    Have a great weekend Lauren!

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    1. really fun read. And your ice maker is in business, awesome.

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  3. No kidding: I read "We Must Floss" and immediately got up, shut my door, grabbed the floss and flossed while I read the rest of your post!

    You sound like the sort of person who might enjoy www.goodreads.com. I didn't think I would need yet another web site, but this is one I think is truly useful. I keep track of my books as you are doing on your BB and I get to see others' recommendations.

    I currently have 32 books on my to-read list including Sugar Nation. Lastly, I don't like ice. I try, though.

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    1. flossing while reading my post, I just got chills :) I will check out good reads, I love the suggestion part of it. As for ice, I'm not super inclined to ice but I may push the issue.

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  4. I saw that book last week at the bookstore, sounds like a fun read! I didn't know about that ice cube fact, love learning something new.
    I've been reading so many nutrition books lately that I swore my next one would be different. So last week I picked up Imagine - How creativity works by Jonah Lehrer. And so far, i'm loving it. But I guess I'm vulnerable to info too, read in my book that the colour blue promotes creativity...and now I'm thinking of making over my workspace.
    Next on my list is Why calories count, looking forward to it too.

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    1. Blue for creativity, interesting it's also an appetite reducing color. Agree you have to take a break from food/nutrition but there's so much to read. Haven't heard for why calories count, will look into.

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  5. Thanks for the suggestion. I just bought it...sounds fun.

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    1. I think you'd really like it double workout a day Marie.

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  6. Sounds like an interesting book! I've thought sometimes of turning my treadmill into a desk. It's not like I use it for running or anything. But it gets really staticky and gives shocks...so yeah, might not be a good idea to stick a computer on there.

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    1. I think you of all people could make a treadmill desk and a clay one too, let's see it, c'mon.

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    2. So I brought up the idea of a treadmill desk to my husband, whose alter-ego is Captain Safety. After a long (reeeeeaaaaally boring) conversation about how he'd be afraid that the static would injure me and wreck the computer, we decided it's not a good idea. (And by "we decided", I mean that Captain Safety droned on until I fell asleep. Victory for him!)

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  7. This book sounds very interesting (and fun!). I think it's so true about superfoods....since when did apples and oranges (and other normal fruits and veggies) get nudged off that list?! I'm sticking with ones I grew up with, thank you. And yes, I do try to drink my beverages very cold (other than my coffee, which I like to have very hot!)
    As for sitting, I never do it. I even stand at my desk at work. I think that's some of the best advice I Ever give my clients....don't sit!

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    1. I think it's good to be aware of interesting/unusual foods but let's not forget about apples and oranges. You "ice" and stand, ahead of the curve. I am fairly active outside of working out but there is a fair amount of sitting. Always something to work on, right?

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  8. I try to sit as little as possible, but I know I could come up with more creative ways not to sit...

    Sounds like an interesting, informative, and funny book. I am a bit worried that it may cause me to worry too much though... And I worry already quite a bit... :)

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    1. I worry too Andrea but it's a fun read and not aimed to scare. He's quick to point out where our fear is best placed too.

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  9. Interesting book, and, if it's funny, I'd love to read it, but hope its not preachy, which I wouldn't like. I remember my dad telling me that ice water burns more calories, when I was a kid. (he was losing weight at the time). Then I recall hearing that this wasn't true, only to find out agin a few years ago, that it really is true (Dad was right!). I definitely could be a better flossed, burnout way am I going to add another load of laundry to my already overworked washer and dryer!

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