Preventing Preventable Disease...again

Back in March, (DONATING TO THE CAUSE, SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2009) I was struggling with being asked to donate to certain "causes" for the purpose of finding a cure, and since October is upon us and Breast Cancer is in the foreground, I thought this was interesting and pertinent.

Michael Pollan's column in today's OP-ED section of the NY Times speaks to this topic indirectly, with concern over our government's push to reform health care, but continue to subsidize farmers and industrialize agriculture.

I'll not say much more other than this is a good article and makes good, valid points that are difficult with which to argue. So where do we go from here? BIG FOOD VS. BIG INSURANCE NY TIMES OP-ED by Michael Pollan Thursday, September 10, 2009

Eggs or Egg Beaters

I certainly have regard for our governments' caution flags related to general health metrics, recommended levels of nutrients, and clinical studies from which they base their recommendations. Mind you, I said "regard", not high regard. I believe these guidelines and recommendations are truly based on scientific research, but I also believe there are political influences on that research, and therefore we may be swayed in one direction or another to benefit, say, The American Dairy Association or The National Cattlemen's Beef Association. It is for these reasons that I heed the information provided to us as Americans, but also do my own due diligence with a critical eye.

One of those areas I'm mindful of, but still cautious of, is dietary cholesterol levels. Should I eat eggs or Egg Beaters?...and if I choose eggs, how many per week?...and what happens if I eat too many eggs?... The issue with eggs is the saturated fat (and hence, cholesterol) contained in the yolk. Here's a little breakdown on our friend, the egg: Of the 5.5 grams of fat in the average large egg, 2-3.5 grams (depending on the source) are saturated and found in the yolk of the egg. Saturated is the kind of fat we're supposed to limit in our diets to less than 10% of our calories per our "American Authorities". Additionally, of the 210 mg of cholesterol in the average large egg, all of it resides, again, in the yolk.. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that we consume no more than 300 mg of cholesterol per day, and if you have heart disease, no more than 200 mg per day. Dietary cholesterol, or that which we get from food, is considered a non-essential nutrient because our bodies (mainly our liver) manufactures all we need on its own. If you're interested, you can read more about what the AHA has to say about cholesterol at their website.

So, for those who consume cholesterol containing foods throughout their day (meat, poultry, fish and dairy) and who regularly have 2 eggs for breakfast (=420 mg of dietary cholesterol), you're exceeding the recommended limit before lunch...that is if you personally subscribe to the recommended limit. Now, enter the egg substitute.

I think Egg Beaters was the first, or one of the the first, "brands" on the market, although now there are several. Each grocery chain probably has their own generic version as well. The egg substitute concept made loving the taste of eggs without the yolk possible for many Americans. By taking just the white of the egg and adding coloring (of course, because if it's yellow it will taste like an egg), flavoring (to simulate the palatable, umami-like fat "feel" we get from the yolk) and, of course, preservatives. For most of us, the scrambled egg substitute takes hauntingly like whole eggs when served up scrambled.

The questions that arise from making this change to better our health by, once again, eliminating an alleged disease-causing natural food from our diets are:

1. Are we truly concerned that it is the saturated fat in the yolk of that egg that contributes to heart disease. Unlike other saturated fats (butter, animal fat), that yolk isn't solid at room temperature...heck, it's not solid at refrigerator temperature.
2. Are we at all concerned that whoever created the chicken that laid the egg we want to eat may have intended for us to ingest the nutrients from that yolk? I've only commented on the bad so far, but there's a lot of good in the yolk of that egg, specifically a decent source of phosphorus, selenium, folate, B12, vitamin D and Riboflavin, among others.
3. Why were our grandparents, who had less of an incidence of heart disease, able to eat whole eggs daily for breakfast and not suffer the same incidence of heart disease that our generation(s) do?
4. And finally, why do other countries who consume whole eggs daily, not have the same fear of the yolk as we do, and don't have the same incidence of heart disease as we do?

All of these are questions you need to wrestle with on your own, and determine what you feel is accurate, health-oriented and honest research/data. Personally, I hate wasting the yolks by cracking the egg and separating it just to use the white. But I hate using a man-made egg substitute even more. And really, I'm not so sure about the whole yolk/cholesterol thing. We're running our own little test case on this, as my husband, with a history of heart disease on both sides of his family, has returned to consuming whole eggs in addition to the other sources of saturated fat in his diet. Prior to this change, his cholesterol levels were perfect, certainly after a huge correction in his diet and activity level (See "Congratulations Hubby"). So, in about three months when he has his annual physical, we'll see what the results are.

In the meantime, use what we are given by the government as guidelines, throw a few egg whites in from time to time for balance, search for quality sources of eggs when eating the entire egg (organic, free-range/cage-free, antibiotic free, etc., etc., etc.). You have to feel good about the reason you make your choice, not because a label says "our chickens are raised in Ritz-Carlton-like facilities with rolling green pastures on which they run and are fed only the most natural foods". The choices you make for the food you eat and the food you feed your family are 100% within your control.

Packaging Human Motivation

Whenever someone figures this one out, license it because it's worth a bundle!

Human motivation is not objective. It is about as predictable and controllable as the weather! Individual personalities, preferences, ground-in lifestyle habits (both conscious & unconscious), hormonal fluctuations (men, too)...all affect our daily, and at times, hourly motivation to accomplish our goals. Think about it: you start with a planned day at work - a list of accomplishable goals for the day. Invariably, one or two items get pushed off to tomorrow because they either weren't important enough to complete today or because you just didn't feel like tackling that task today...not necessarily because you didn't have time to complete it/them. It's funny how yesterday when you planned today's list, that task was more important then than now. And why? Perhaps yesterday you were motivated to have that task off your list and today you changed your mind. There was a different motivation when you came to that item today. I do it all the time: my schedule indicates several things to address or do today, and those I don't get to, I "slide" to the next day with the touch of a finger...Apple makes it so easy to procrastinate!

Now, I know that there are a thousand - OK, well maybe just hundreds - of terms to describe the phenomenon I just illustrated, but I like human motivation, or the occasional lack thereof. A friend of our family's who happens to be an accomplished orthopaedic surgeon and entrepreneur tipped me off to the problems associated with human motivation as he worked diligently to perfect a home exercise program for patients with post-op total knee replacements - not that the program wasn't perfect, but patient compliance with the program was always the variable and that which could not be predicted. Patients are being instructed on the importance of this type of program from medical professionals. They are being told that the degree of their recovery, specifically how much they can bend and straighten their knee, pain and stiffness levels and overall daily functionality, is dependent on their compliance with the program. But, everyday patients rationalize within their own little brains why they just didn't have the 10 minutes to complete their exercise this morning and/or this evening. And now they wonder why they don't have the outcome that their physician predicted and that they expected...and they probably blame their doctor. Human motivation. Personal responsibility? Connecting intention with execution. We can't predict outcomes if the subject is non-compliant. It was this specific orthopaedist who stated "If you figure out how to package human motivation, it's worth a million".

I also remember several years ago after attending a seminar on Fat Cells and Disease - I approached a friend with all of the facts I'd acquired. I told her how excited I was to communicate these facts to potential clients, friends and family, because once they knew the health-related consequences of how metabolically destructive fat cells are (in excess), they'd surely WANT to change their behavior patterns, exercise and eat right. Her response, though crushing, was an eye opener. "Knowledge does not equate to behavior change. How many nurses do you know that smoke?". She was right, but I just couldn't fathom why. And I still can't. Although, our occasional trip to Hooters for wings and beer still thrills me, and I indulge, even though I know the potential effects of the deep fried wings on the health of my arteries. I also still harbor ill-will toward people who've wronged me in the past, even though I know that type of stress is dangerous. I still don't get enough sleep, even though I know it's critical to my health. And I still occasionally avoid hard workouts, even though I know they are what will take me to next level. Why? Lack of motivation to progress or to do the things I know are right? Naaah - why would I lack motivation for those things? Why would anyone? Rather, perhaps, I lack motivation to do those things because I can.

This all remains a mystery and a highly studied topic in the realm of behavior modification. The only conclusion I can make is that we lack motivation in certain areas because we can. If the US was not democratic, but rather socialistic or totalitarian, we may be more "motivated" to do certain things, as there would be mandates and government control, not just oversight. Health has begun to be patrolled in some less democratic countries such as Japan, as the government began measuring waistlines and enforcing mandatory nutritional counseling to manage their rising obesity problem (partially created by our "western" fast food infiltration of their society). I bring this up with caution, and will be brief in ending. With the state of health in the US where people are allowed to make poor lifestyle choices related to nutrition and physical activity, and where taxpayers who make good choices in those areas end up paying higher taxes due to rising insurance, medical and pharmaceutical costs (among other things) as a result of the poor health of those who chose poorly (long sentence! whew!...and drum roll...I can't believe I'm going to say this:)...would it be so bad to have more government involvement in "motivating people" to make the right choices? Human motivation to be healthy...do we have a right to choose not to be healthy?