BODY ISSUES TO AVOID IF POSSIBLE, AND HOW TO DO IT

When it comes to body issues, America leads the pack.

From fat shaming to thin shaming, tall shaming to short shaming, we’ve got it covered from coast to coast.

But, have you ever wondered why California’s nut and berry lettuce eaters feel so superior to the fried diet of meat and potatoes still popular in the mid-west and southern regions?

Probably not, but let’s take a look anyway.

First, think of convenience.

If you’re a midwestern cattleman, or corn farmer, what’s for dinner? Beef and corn? Maybe?

Compare them to a California beach community with year long farmers markets offering up the bounty California is famous for.

What’s for dinner? I’ll have the roasted vegetables in garlic sauce with mushroom in a wine sautée over organic quiche, please.

Both can be organic, but one comes from industrialized farming, the other from hand sewn boutique gardens.

In general the beef-centric diet produces body issues no one wants.

Eat This, Not That says:

While it’s true that red meat is a source of high-quality protein and fuels your body with important nutrients like iron, zinc, and vitamin B12, eating too much of it has been linked to negative outcomes like increased risk of cancer and heart disease.

Cancer And Heart Disease Risk? Boomer, Please

Don’t think I’m bragging, but I’ve had a touch of heart issue and cancer.

I don’t like admitting it, but those are body issues I’m wary of since I’ve been cleared on both counts.

Did I get diet related cancer? Not exactly.

Was my heart affected by diet? Again, not exactly.

It was more a lifestyle issue, not diet, though diet is a large part of lifestyle.

The MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas warns:

Research shows that eating too much red meat can increase your risk of colorectal cancer. Some evidence suggests that excess red meat can increase the risk of pancreatic and prostate cancer as well.

So how much is too much? The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends eating no more than 18 ounces of cooked red meat a week. Less is better. Red meat is any meat from a mammal. That includes veal, mutton, beef and lamb. And yes, that includes pork, even though it has been marketed as “white meat.”

The less red meat you eat, the better. A serving size of red meat is about three ounces, or the size of a deck of cards. It’s best to eat it only occasionally, as part of a plant-based diet.

Colorectal and prostate cancer will definitely give you a different relationship with your lower body, and if the relationship is bad to start, you’ll be in for a rough ride to recovery.

Keep recovery in mind above everything else, because you will recover.

But why get started?

Neck Cancer Relationship Affects Body Issues

I’ve always had a good relationship with my neck, but who really thinks about it? I’ll tell you who thinks about it all the time:

Ear, Nose, and Throat specialists. The ENT. And people with neck cancer.

At one time I was proud to be able to swallow nine vitamin pills at once, chug a beer in three gulps, and eat like a horse.

The amount of chemo and radiation to kill the f#ck out of neck cancer reduced my intake skills quite a bit. Eventually I couldn’t eat anything solid, barely able to sip water. Even breathing air into the radiation raw target zone was a challenge.

I don’t write about a cancer experience for sympathy. The experience was miserable and after listening to the stories of others who’ve gone through the process, it can be life altering.

If you like your life as it is, be aware of cancer risks, but more aware of the harsh treatment you’ll need to endure for a cure. That’s where people give up all hope, but somehow survive, and live out their lives as a bitter quitter.

Don’t quit on yourself, and if you do, plan on making a comeback, because you want to be ready to rise up from the spiral down.

California Dreaming For Health And Fitness

Growing up in a small town on the Oregon coast put California in sharp contrast.

My place was constantly chilly and a dip in the ocean came with turning blue from the cold.

California was all clear skies and warm oceans. And bikini beach babes.

Oregon? Not so much for any of the Big Three.

And California always seemed on the forefront of health and fitness.

More from MD Anderson:

Why plant-based?

It supports your immune system. Plants have essential nutrients that you cannot get from other foods. The vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants in plants help keep your cells healthy and your body in balance so that your immune system can function at its best.

“Plants give your body what it needs to help fight off infection,” says Andrea Murray, MD Anderson health education specialist. “A plant-based diet strengthens your immune system to protect you against germs and microorganisms.”

A healthy immune system is essential for reducing your risk for cancer because it can recognize and attack mutations in cells before they can progress to disease.

A Strong Immune System Is Essential

A plant-based diet helps maintain a healthy weight. Staying at a healthy weight is one of the most important things you can do to reduce your risk for cancer. When it comes to cancer, the only thing more important than maintaining a healthy weight, is not smoking.

This is because excess weight causes inflammation and hormonal imbalance. If you are overweight or obese, your risk is higher for 12 different types of cancer including colorectal, post-menopausal breast, uterine, esophageal, kidney and pancreatic cancers.

If body issues and fat shaming aren’t bad enough, now it all leads to cancer, and lots of it?

During the treatment phase of curing cancer I spoke to everyone about everything. Mostly to tamp down the fear of death that seemed more likely each day of radiation.

My goal in conversation was to let my health care peeps know I was 100% in for treatment 100% of the time. It was an enthusiastic 100% that wore on more than a few.

I was enthusing about the course of treatment to the Radiation Pro who reminded me:

“People can do everything right and still turn out wrong, just like someone can do everything wrong and turn out right. I had a ballet dancer who was the most conscientious person about everything in her life. Constant weight, good diet, and still cancer found her.”

I didn’t ask how they turned out. A man in the waiting room was the opposite.

“I’m taking cancer a little more seriously now. This time I even quit smoking.”

Path, Or Pathology For Body Issues

The future is in our hands.

We can roll the dice and follow all of the good advice of keeping a constant weight, eating a more plant based diet, and exercising.

Or, we can ignore it all because what the hell, you gotta die of something.

Instead of crawling into a hole occupied by others who feel as bad as you about body issues, stand up and celebrate the life you’ve got.

Whether you know it or not, whether others acknowledge it or not, you are important to the people who know you. With busy lives speeding up everyday it’s easy to feel like you’ve fallen through the cracks and disappeared.

If you get that feeling, try doom scrolling for recent celebrity deaths and you’ll find yourself remembering them in shows and movies like it was yesterday.

Even when a stranger’s body is dumped in your neighborhood, someone misses them from better days.

Embrace body issues and work toward better results.

And that my friends is the meaning of life today.