Day 8 - Secondary Benefits

I noticed as it may be obvious that my teeth have not been bleeding as much these last several days.  I go to the dentist pretty regularly, if nothing else so I will not have to see him more often.  However, throughout my childhood and adulthood, I've had this off and on problem with bleeding gums or gingivitis, a common form of gum disease.

It may not be well known, but I learned African Americans and Mexican Americans have a disproportionate higher rate of gingivitis than other groups.  I would guess this has to do with socio-economic status, access to dental services, and, of course, diet.

Since I have been excluding sweets from my diet, my gums have not bled as severely in the last couple of days. As of today, there is no bleeding at all.  Of course, flossing and good dental hygiene help.  I do wonder how cutting back the sweets has made a difference.  It may seem obvious, but this is not something that I hear about regularly.

I grew up with family where it was very common to expect that you were going to lose many, if not all, of your teeth.  I presume pulling teeth was the cheaper option to have a bad cavity removed instead of getting a filling or repairing it.  I grew up watching young men and women with missing teeth.  In pictures, you'd see them getting older and have more missing teeth in their mouth.  These are some of the same people with other major health concerns such as heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Growing up into young adulthood, I did not connect their health problems and dental issues.  Dental issues, I guess, was not a health issue per se.

I have two crowns on teeth I lost to poor dental hygiene and resulted in me being far more diligent about brushing and flossing because I hate the dentist.  They're nice and all.  My kids love the African American dentist they have now located in my part town - the sunny Eastside (Austin's hood).

I expect my kids will have a different experience than my older family and I experienced.  They do far better managing their teeth than I did at their age.  I also believe the connection between good dental hygiene is linked to the other positive health messages I communicate to them.

I plan on keeping the rest of my teeth.  I have a dental appointment coming up also.  I'll be a bit nervous.  But, hey, I'm not a kid and going to the dentist is not going to hurt any more.  It's a whole lot easier and cheaper taking care of my health.

Day 7 - Freedom Riders

On PBS tonight, there was a documentary covering the events related to the Freedom Riders, who traveled through the Deep South to fight against segregation in 1961. The gray shades flickering on the TV brought to life very clearly the horror from our past.

The personal stories resonated the sense of horror and deep desire to achieve success to turn the tide toward greater freedom in America.

I am reminded of the sacrifice each man and woman made across racial lines, who came from nearly every state to fight against racism in Alabama and Mississippi in 1961.  I also am rewarded with the affirmation to hear once again how people felt compelled to make a difference through action.

Today, I continued doing relatively well following my commitment to cut sweets from my diet.  I called the life coach and had to leave message to receive a return call.  I felt a bit impatient having to wait until tomorrow to hear anything back from the life coach.

The mere fact that I could sit in my office, waiting for a paid service, no different that anyone else's, paid into by the state and shared with other individuals, allowing me the convenience to wait a day for a wellness coach.  Yeah, I think I can wait.

I still feel the desire to slip and eat candy.  The good feeling is that TODAY I felt quite capable of ignoring the impulse, drinking my water or eating my fruit for a snack instead.

Day 4 - Fat, Sugar, and Salt, Oh, My!

It's only been the fourth day.  As I cut out sweets and cut down on the junk that comes with it, I am experiencing a powerful god in three persons: fat, salt, and sugar.

I am not trying to disrespect the Trinitarians found in Christianity or the concept of Trimurti in Hinduism. However, it seems perfectly descriptive of what the makers of  fast and junk foods alike attempt to inject in everything they create.

As I attempt to avoid and cut out sweets, I find my desire to eat fatty and salty foods increases.  I'm not sure if it is any more than before or maybe I am more acutely aware of it in the absence of high sugar intake.

Think of any of your favorite, guilty pleasures related to food.  I can almost guarantee whatever your top ten foods are they probably include more than half or all high quantities of fat, salt, and/or sugar.  I'm not mad at you.  It is part of our shared biology.

I know that I'm no better than that dim witted Pavlovian dog salivating after a treat. Our brains get activated and stimulated by catchy phrases and music, bright colors, and a charismatic spokesperson for the thousands of products found in any store, restaurant, food truck and dispensing machine around every corner, found in nearly every kitchen, tucked away in our schools and colleges, and paraded across TVs and during movie previews - not to mention throughout the internet.

Even in the no carb, no fat, no trans fat, low sodium, and sugar free foods include a contrary intention to maximize the cooresponding aspect. For example, seek out the nutritional information of any of your top five healthier treats with any of the aforementioned nutritional phrases.  You may already be a savvy consumer and aware of this, but I am continually left with my mouth wide open in response to how they replace the sugar and fat with higher amounts of salt.  As they cut the fat, they instead up the sugar.  All of this food engineering is done to add flavor and respond to most consumers want to eat healthier while maintaining good taste.

Think about ten or twenty year ago and consider those foods that were part of the wave of diet foods.  They tasted pretty much like shit, cardboard, and tasteless waste. They simply did not appeal to our biological response to any one of the fat, sugar, and salt trifecta. Currently, food companies seemed to have perfected  the trifecta science to allow us to find these "diet" foods tastier and perceive them as healthier, better than other junk foods.

Today, I found myself talking and damn near dreaming of salt and fat foods during the day.  Add to the fold a weekend fraught with a bit more unplanned time.  Although I've stayed with drinking my water, I did not get started until around late morning.  Instead of having a taste for something sweet, I wanted to have water since I could feel my throat getting dry.  I ate plenty of fruit and vegetables, but it was not during typical times of eating.  Even after eating a highly nutritious dinner, I desired a bit more fat and salt.

It did not take much time to find a food that would satisfy me even though I had dinner and a full stomach.

Yes, it was Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) to the rescue.  I could have helped it, but I did not want to find a reason.

So, I drove the five minutes it took to purchase a four piece dark meat, thighs and legs, meal with sweet corn and slaw.  After the second piece of chicken, I think I found myself coming out of the food coma.  All was not clear until I finished the amazingly small pieces of non-organic chicken pieces and began feeding the bones to my two labs.

I noticed I was a bit annoyed with myself, but I slowly began to laugh about it all.  I tricked myself and allowed myself to be vulnerable during the predictably unorganized weekend.  The wonderful thing about it all is that I feel good about my plan to deal with this glorious fat, salt, and sugar dilemma.

I won't cut fat and salt.  However, I will keep watch on those foods with high fat and salt.  Generally, I do a pretty good job of managing it. Actually, no I don't. So, I will need to take care and be mindful. I also need to avoid the fast foods and junk.  I'll make certain to have a balanced amount of fat and find foods that provide the fat and salt needed along with the other nutrients.

The trifecta is quite powerful.  I also know there are plenty of other options available to manage its influence on my life.

Tomorrow is the First Day

It's the day before I start my personal mission to cut sweets from my diet, at least during the month of February, which is of course, Black History Month.  Although I feel strongly about my commitment to honor those who struggled and died for my freedom, I am cautious about moving forward.

The good thing is that I have a plan of action.  I know staying hydrated is very important for me.  Many times when I am eating sweets I am actually thirsty.  Instead of water, I find myself drinking punch or my favorite, zero calorie, Powerade or fruit flavored sparkling water.  The problem with both of these options is that they're somewhat of a set up.  While I am satisfied partially from liquid, the artificial sweetener leaves me wanting more. Meaning, I am still conditioned to have something sweet tasting when I am really, most likely, dehydrated.  So, later in the day and night, I'm still not drinking enough water to keep me hydrated.

The other real problem is the sweets and junk food from brownies to baked corn and potato chips, candies like Twizzler, Snickers, M&Ms, and Laffy Taffy.  I use to pretend eating the low sodium, baked, or multigrain chips somehow made a real difference.  It was not likely if I was eating the whole bag, by myself!  Another favorite is the no trans fat candy.

I've been a "victim" of the smart marketing ploys so many of us are persuaded by time and time again.  You have to give it to them.  Even when we know it is crap, they package it up, put on some bells and whistles, tell you how cool, fantastic, and hip you could be, and lo and behold, you are caught up.  You are not delusional.  You and I know the truth.  However, habits are hard to break.

I watched my mother die from diabetes nearly six years ago, on Christmas Eve. She could not break her "habit" of eating junk food.  She really was a victim.  She is also like millions of Black and Latino/as (disproportionately more than White Americans) across this country slowing dying from a diet that kills us softly.  The time, money, emotions, and all else lost behind our health is staggering.  I do not want to continue this legacy for my children and loved ones.  It's time to make a difference.

So, I have my water, calculated the number of cups I need for the day, track them on my smart phone, talk to friends and family announcing my journey, and go forth cautiously optimistic about what I will discover.  I hope you may find this journey a meaningful one for you. Tomorrow is the first day.

Blessings and Be well.