A lot of people have been asking my thoughts on the new World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines linking red and processed meat to an increased risk of cancer, specifically colorectal cancer (by the way, that’s what I have!). If you google this topic, it seems that everyone has their own take. Of course the dairy farmers are all up in arms that it will hurt their business. You have the medical community taking the hard line, then you have the NY Times that’s like, “Eh, what’s a little red meat?! The risk is small.” (by the way, isn’t being at risk like pregnancy? Either you are or you aren’t).
So, my thoughts are these: there are A LOT of things that we all know aren’t good for us; cigarette smoking, overeating, eating too much sugar, drinking excess alcohol, eating a diet high in fat and sodium, not exercising, etc – but yet, for some odd reason, we do them anyhow. I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out that certain habits and behaviors simply “aren’t good for us.” A diet consisting of too much red meat and processed meat is really no different. Anything that is bad for us to begin with really shouldn’t be done at all. But if you insist on doing it, do it in moderation. I mean, I could sit here and preach to you, but will anyone really listen to me? I personally hate bacon (I’m told I am in the minority). AND I have colorectal cancer. SO, it would stand to reason that I give these things up completely. And YES, that’s what I’ve done. I would say that if you are a person who is “at risk”, either through a history of GI cancer especially in your family and/or GI ailments, you should probably do the same. The rest of you are on your own to make an informed decision.
Today’s takeaway is: don’t you owe it to yourself to give your health the best chance possible to succeed? You have ONE life (here that we know of…) and ONE body – do it some justice. If you are smoking, stop. If you aren’t exercising, start. If you are overeating, stop. Your body and your loved ones will thank you. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing these things. And stop making excuses! Get your shit together and DO IT! Focus your mind and abilities towards these goals and START RIGHT NOW! I’m not saying buy a professional juicer or purchase one of those high profile exercise programs. Just do better than you did yesterday in one of these 3 areas. You’ll be very proud of yourself. And I’ll be proud of you too.
Peace in your world tonight,
Stacy
