As anyone who had ever spent a minute and a half here at the chai knows, I'm a hypochondriac and I spend a fair amount of time thinking about my health or worrying about my health or obsessing over how I feel or what I'm eating. I have achieved a certain level of acceptance regarding this stupid and pointless behavior, as I think we all come to accept, as we get older, quirks that used to bother the hell out of us in years past.
Having disclaimed personal responsibility for this shit, I am now going to obsess about it further, thank you very much. One of the things that makes me crazy is the daily news story about what's good or bad for us now, yet another guideline for living that either contradicts or simply conflicts with yesterday's important bulletin. Here's the story I read today: Nine factors that affect your heart's health
Here's the summary:
1. If you have belly fat, get rid of it.
2. You should have one alcoholic drink a day.
3. You should have less bad cholesterol and more good cholesterol.
4. If you have diabetes, your risk for heart disease is higher.
5. You should eat lots of fruit and vegetables.
6. You should exercise, even a small amount.
7. If you have high blood pressure, your risk for heart disease is higher.
8. If you smoke, stop it.
9. Reduce stress.
Now ladies and gentlemen, I am on board with most of this stuff. I'm making slow progress with the belly fat, but I am aware of it and I'm working on it. I take medication for the cholesterol and the blood pressure, which are pretty much genetic traits. So far, I've managed to avoid diabetes. I stopped smoking. (Really, I think.) I eat fruits and vegetables, and I'm working on the exercise.
I should have one alcoholic drink a day? This is considered medical advice?
This is the one I just can't do, won't do. For one, I take medication that says to avoid alcoholic beverages, for which reason I haven't had so much as a beer for years. (I used to enjoy the occasional beer.) Not to mention that I just don't happen to enjoy alcoholic beverages; I don't care for the taste very much and I don't especially enjoy how they make me feel. I'm just saying this for myself. I don't happen to enjoy it.
So I'm at increased risk for a heart attack, if I understand the article, because I won't be pro-active and take a damn drink. I can exercise, I can not smoke, I can do all that other stuff, but I'm still at risk because I'm not following one of the 9 recommended steps. I really can't see forcing myself to take a drink each day that I don't want. I've got enough aggravation to start with.
This kind of thing just makes me mad. Is it in my control or is it not in my control? Can I help myself, affect this, or not? All this does, really, is increase my stress level.
Then there was this one that says that medical tests miss heart disease in women anyway. Greeaaat.
And then there was the person at lunch today talking about how she and her husband have decided to stockpile food in case the bird flu strikes, as some expert suggested on Oprah yesterday. I told her that this was a topic I prefer not to discuss. Then she tells me that the people who will be at highest risk (according to this expert) are people in their twenties, especially those with weak immune systems. Yes, that's what I want to hear. The bird flu is coming, we'll all starve because we won't be able to get food, and by the way, one (or both) of my children are most likely to die. I really must find a better place to have my lunch every day.
So I'm having a fearful-of-death day, for the most part. And my back went out.
Damn.
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I'm watching Golden Girls
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