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- Notes on Health, Wasted Food, and Communication
“I am a kind of flawed mirror, by no means wise or actualized, but willing to be in the endless discomfort of asking ‘Is this life?’”
Three Articles and a Book I Like
A Different Perspective on Health
When I think about health, I like to think back to what our ancestors did. It’s highly unlikely that they thought about “getting in shape,” working out, lifting weights, or going for a run (unless being chased). But they were most certainly active most days, for most of the day. I imagine they were always outside getting sweaty or fighting the cold.
When it came to food, processed food wasn’t invented yet (yes, processed food is an invention), so they ate whole foods, meats, veggies, nuts, and berries. But they also indulged in foods rich in “simple carbohydrates,” sugar, and butter. Breads, pastas, and pastry are a historical part of every culture. But the difference is that they knew where their food came from, and what ingredients were in it. It was either made in their home, or by someone they knew.
There’s a growing movement to know where your food comes from. To know your farmer. But it’s not just the farmer. You should know your baker, your pasta maker, and your confectioner. If you know who’s growing or making your food, you’re way more likely to know what’s in it, and what’s not (i.e. preservatives, gums, artificial ingredients). Because when food is fresh and local, there isn’t much it needs to be good.
And for most of us, I don’t know if it’s much more complicated than that. If you can get outside every day to move and get to know the people or places that your food is coming from, health will take care of itself.
Cheers to your practice.
James.
Food Waste is Wasted Food
When I hear the term “food waste” I envision moldy produce, rotten meat, and food scraps. Even though I know that’s not what they are referring to, I can’t help but have that vision. But when I think of wasted food, I picture discarded leftovers, perfectly good produce left to rot, or food thats thrown out for being “past” it’s best by date.
For companies like We Don’t Waste, whose mission is to rescue food wasste and provide it to people suffering from food/nutrition insecurity, it means pallets full of ripe organic produce like carrots, potatoes, shallots, and broccoli. It means frozen pork shoulders and ground beef. Trays of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits, and mac n cheese. And it means loaves of fresh bread and pastries. This is “food waste” which is not at all what many of us picture.
Which is why we need to start calling it by its proper name. Wasted food.
Food gets wasted at every stage of its life cycle. Production (16.8 percent), processing (14.7 percent), and grocery stores/restaurants (20.2 percent) account for the fair share. But most of good food gets wasted at home. A staggering 48.2 percent of the 80 million tons of wasted food occurs at home! That’s an insane number, but it means we have the power to impact change, if we can shift our mindset.
When it comes to waste, the root cause is always the same. Cost and abundance. When a resource is cheap and readily available, the more likely we are to take it for granted. We can “afford” to throw out leftovers. We can “afford” to let those vegetables turn and wilt. Because we can get more. Reducing food waste comes down to a shift in mindset.
Here’s two strategies that I use to cut down on my wasted food:
How much food are you buying? We have an inclination as humans to buy food before we even need it. Only two bananas left? Better buy another bunch. We cooked all the broccoli? Let’s buy a couple of more crowns.
Don’t be afraid to run out of your favorite foods. If we’re lucky enough to be able to waste food, we also have easy access to buy more. So, running to the store is always an option. Also, letting your favorite foods run out is a good way to vary your diet and force yourself to try something new.
Ask yourself, what would I do if I had limited access to food? Would I just throw out those leftovers, or would I repurpose them? Would I toss out that last bit of food from my plate, or store it as a snack for later?
I know I’ve encountered this mindset during the pandemic or when I’ve been out backpacking (there’s only so much food you can bring with you). In those scenarios, when food is scarce, we take better care of it. We need to adopt that mindset to our everyday lives.
Why it matters: Landfills produce 1/3 of all human-driven methane and wasted food accounts for 58 percent of it. 44 million people suffer from food insecurity creating stress, poor food choices, poor health, and reduced productivity, creating a drain on our economy and the healthcare system. But with 40 percent of food going to waste it’s an unnecessary chain of events that people need not face. If we can figure out how to get more of this food into the hands of the people who need it and keep it out of the landfill, we’ll kill two birds with one stone and do a lot of good!
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Understanding Your Health Markers
I think it’s normal to question what somebody tells you. Not because people are dishonest. But because people get shit wrong all the time. So why would you accept one person’s opinion, even if they are an “expert?” It’s the main reason I liked this article.
In this post by Levels Health they provide insights into the importance and optimal ranges of 12 different health metrics as told by eight highly credentialed MDs and PhDs. The advisors agree in principle that metabolic health, how well your mitochondria perform in response to the stress of living and eating, is the key to being healthy, and metabolic dysfunction, caused by an ineffective healthcare system and an environment filled with fake foods, leads to chronic disease.
But each one of them has a slightly different opinion on what is optimal when it comes to the health markers, why they’re important, and how to interpret them. I decided to take my most recent blood work and see how my results compared to their advice and see if I could learn anything new.
My main takeaway: Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America, which makes understanding these metrics of extreme importance. I also have a family history of heart disease, so it’s always my main concern. While my LDL-C and Total Cholesterol are above the optimal range, my HDL and triglycerides are in a healthy range. Most reassuring to me is that my Triglycerides-to-HDL ratio, the one marker that all the advisors on this panel agree is the best predictor of heart disease, is well within optimal ranges.
When I had my blood panel run in January and learned that my LDL and Total Cholesterol had climbed, I made several changes to my diet and lifestyle. I reduced my red meat intake from daily to 1 - 2 x per month, and began incorporating more soy, green tea, and legumes into my diet (recommendations from InsideTracker). While I don’t believe that red meat causes heart disease, my cholesterol levels have been rising ever since I reintroduced red meat into my diet a few years ago. So, I figured it’s better safe than sorry.
I’ve also focused on getting a high volume of quality sleep (inadequate sleep interferes with your body’s ability to clear cholesterol), and better stress management. Both of which have been greatly improved by reducing the amount of caffeine I consume each day. Recently I’ve also introduced high-intensity aerobic exercise into my routine that should improve my cardiorespiratory fitness, VO2 Max (I’ll be publishing a post about it this week).
Whether or not these changes will be enough to make an impact remains to be seen, but I plan on having my bloods run again in April to find out.
Why it matters: We’re living in an age of endless information, where everyone is an “expert,” and the amount of contradictory information is endless. This post gives you a range of voices to listen to, while providing clear information to take with you to your next doctor’s appointment. One of the experts, Robert Lustig, MD recently published a book Metabolical, which I’m about 1/3 of the way through. He tackles the healthcare industry head on. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in learning about metabolic health and the effects of processed foods.
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The Reason to Exercise and Why You Don’t
Last week I shared a couple of articles about being evolutionarily prone to opposing exercise. The theory is that the human brain evolved to favor rest so that energy could be stored for finding food or fending off predators. But while food is abundantly available (to most of us), and we are the apex predator, our brains still haven’t figured out that over-eating and being sedentary is the new threat. But I wanted to add an addendum to that post.
Part of the untold reason that over 70 percent of Americans fail to get the recommended dose of weekly exercise (120 - 150 minutes of aerobic exercise and two weight training sessions) is because they don’t know how to. And who likes doing things that they are bad at? Mostly no one.
The reason we don’t do most of the things we dream of, is because we don’t know how to, which makes it uncomfortable and challenging. Take bouldering as an example, a sport I’ve dreamt of getting into for 3 years now. I would love to be out bouldering, but aside from practicing at a climbing gym, I’ve didn’t grow up doing it, I’ve never been taught, and therefore it seems like a big undertaking.
I need the right climbing shoes. I need to know where to go. Where to park. I think I need a bouldering mat. Some chalk. A climbing partner for safety? What do I do once I’m out there? Try the same boulder, or try a bunch?
But the difference between bouldering and exercise (i.e. running, weight training) is that there’s an inherit assumption that we all “know” how to do the latter. But we don’t, and therefore don’t see any progress, assume we don’t like it, and stop. But it’s not true. You were never given the tool. You never got to explore what you like or were given the opportunity to learn. And that’s the truth.
Why it matterss: Exercise has been shown to improve nearly every health outcome (even Parkinson’s disease), and reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. Exercise also plays a vital role in reducing anxiety and eliminating depression. Resistance training improves balance and flexibility (key to aging), strengthens bones and joints, and reduces age related muscle loss (sarcopenia).
In short, if you’re interested in your health, exercise is a good place to start. And as the article points out, and as I alluded to above, it doesn’t have to be complicated. “Even everyday tasks like moving one’s body weight in and out of chairs, climbing stairs, or carrying heavy groceries and full laundry baskets count.” (check out: How to Make Your Life Harder to Live Longer for other recommendations)
Everyone deserves to feel their best. Forget about the disease fighting benefits and all the complicated reasons and ways that people want to convince you to exercise. The main and only reason is because you want to feel your best and exercise will help you get there. And the health results will follow in time.
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Learn How to Communicate with Charles Duhigg
Some books teach you something new. Others offer a reminder of what you already know. And some do both. That was the case for Supercommunicators, by Charles Duhigg. We all know the importance of good communication, yet very few of us are ever taught how good communication is facilitated. As George Bernard Shaw said, “The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion it has taken place.”
Charles Duhigg is the author of The Power of Habit, a book I reference and recommend often as it profoundly changed my understanding of habits, their formation, and how to change them. In Supercommunicators, he takes on our inability to communicate with one another, highlights the key to good communication, the ability to connect, and emphasizes that a successful conversation starts with knowing what kind of conversation we’re having. In short, do we want to be helped, hugged, or heard?
Why it matters: I’ve found that most ill will is the result of misunderstandings, which is the result of miscommunication. We’re never really taught how to communicate, the way we’re never really taught how to run, but we’re expected to just know how to do both. When we get hurt running we automatically think running is bad, instead of questioning our gait. The same goes for communication. So often we think we know what kind of conversation we had, when we have no idea. Knowing how to communicate is especially important in today’s world of social media where things like verbal cues, which are paramount to good communication, are completely lacking. This book will provide basic tools and fundamentals to have better conversations and achieve more.
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