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Alexa Fleckenstein M.D.

Blog: On Health. On Writing. On Life. On Everything.

My Neighbor Is Sick

June 22, 2011
Tags: food, order, abdominal pain, addictive, aging - premature, appreciating, artificial molecules, book, bowel, cancer, car, cell phone, chewing, cholecystitis, colors, computer, constipation, Conversation, dairy, diet, dinner table, dispute, distraction, eggs, fiber, fish, flavors, food - inflammatory, fork, fruit drink, gallbladder inflammation, game, Grace, HFCS, high blood pressure, high fructose corn syrup, high-protein diet, hunger, inflammation, ipod, iron-fortified, kidneys - compromised, kidney stones, meal, meat, mindful eating, mouth, My Neighbor Is Sick, nature, neighbor, newspaper, osteoporosis, pounds, preservatives, protein, public transportation, Radio, religion, roughage, savoring, sitting down at the table, soft drink, spoon, starch - white, stress, sugar, supermarket, table – set the, taste enhancers, Tibetans Alternative, TV, vegetable, vitamin-enhanced, water – drinking enough, weight gain, Weight Loss
My neighbor suddenly has abdominal pain – on the right, under his rib cage. Now there are many reasons to have that kind of pain, and he of course needs a check-up with his doctor – very soon. Today. The doctor will hopefully soon find out what ails the neighbor - but here are some ideas. Because the other piece of information is that he has been on a diet for a while - a high-protein diet. After having made sure he sought an immediate appointment with his doctor, I gave him a piece of my mind: No diet is a short-cut for good, healthy, everyday eating habits. “But I already lost eight pounds!” he said. Eight pounds lost weight does not prove that one is healthy! It always puzzles me: People who would never feed their car the wrong octane fuel, seemingly give little thought to what is healthy fuel for their own bodies and thus constantly violate the laws of Nature. These are the most frequent bad consequences of the ill-advised high-protein diet (and I have seem them all!): • Constipation. The bowel needs roughage to function according to plan. Protein is digested more thoroughly than fiber, leaving little substance in the intestines lumen to push matters forward, which will lead to impaction can lead to a plugging-up of the whole plumbing system. • Gallbladder inflammation (cholecystitis). High protein diets are often also high in fat, which may drive the gallbladder into overdrive. This can cause inflammation and/or move stones. • Kidney stones. High protein can lead to kidney stones, especially in already somewhat compromised kidneys – which come naturally with aging. At any rate, drinking enough water is always advisable. A high-protein in the long one has been shown to promote premature aging, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and cancer – neither of which plays a likely role in my neighbor’s present affliction. Whatever he has, he needs to reassess what he is doing to his health. And I am sure after this scare, he will. We have talked about diet and healthy eating here often, so I can make this short: • Vegetables, vegetables, vegetables! • No artificial molecules (sweeteners, flavors, colors, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, taste enhancers, vitamin-enhanced, iron-fortified, soft or fruit drinks, etc.). • No dairy – because it is the most ubiquitous inflammatory and unnecessary food there is. • No sugar and white starch; they are addictive and put the pounds on you. • Have a modest intake of meat, fish and eggs. In order to turn around your eating habits, it is useful to practice mindful eating – the way of slowly savoring and appreciating everything that goes into your mouth. • Sit down at a table when you eat – set the table in a nice way, even if you are alone. Especially if you are alone. • Say grace for your food - even if you are not a religious person. Because millions of people go hungry every day. • Have no distractions – no TV, computer, cell phone, game, radio, newspaper, or book. • Have no stress – avoid disputes at the dinner table. But have a lively conversation about important things in your life. • Never ever eat in the car or on public transportation; teach your children that NOTHING can be eaten in the supermarket because it has not been paid for (and one should sit down for eating). • Chew thoroughly; put fork or spoon down between bites. The How you eat might be more important than the What you eat – at least for a while. If you live alone, go back to the Tibetans Alternative: Where one eats one food at each meal, and rotates, instead of filling the plate with everything at the same time. Whatever the neighbor has, let’s wish him a speedy recovery!
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