DEADLY MODERATION

I’ve heard it all my life: “Everything in moderation.” or “Oh come on--just try one bite!”   Well, I know from my own experience that moderation does not work. At least in my life it never has. Maybe my brain is wired differently but my brain doesn’t know what moderation means. 

“The science on food addiction has now established that highly palatable foods (low-nutrient, high-calorie, intensely sweet, salty, and/or fatty foods - those that make up the majority of the Standard American Diet) produces the exact biochemical effects in the brain that are characteristic of substance abuse.” -- Dr. Furhman -- 

Even now as I eat a plant-based vegan diet I still find myself at times craving certain foods and wanting to eat things I shouldn’t--but I don’t. Not even that “one little bite” because I know the results will be disastrous.  

Most of my friends look at the type of changes I’ve made in my life as radical or extreme. They just shake their head and wonder why. But, when you consider that they are the very people who have health problems like I’ve described in my last few posts you will see why moderation is deadly. 

In the book The Pleasure Trap author John McDougall, M.D., asks the following question: “How many cigarettes is a “healthy and moderate” amount? The answer--the extreme position--is none. Similarly, how much cocaine is “healthy and moderate” amount? The answer is again, none. For materials that do not have a natural and healthy relationship to the body the “healthy and moderate” amount is none whatsoever.”  It is the same for the unhealthy eating habits like most people I know who eat the Standard American Diet which is high in animal protein, white flour, high fat, highly refined processed foods, and sugar. 

I’ve said it before that the reason I have made these changes is for my health and well being. When you consider that each and every unhealthful decision one makes impacts our bodies in someway or another choosing to eat a plant-based vegan diet is not radical. It is the most beneficial thing I could do. “It is worth doing because it means living in a way that treats the body and mind the way they were designed to be treated, using our gifts the way they were designed to be used. As a result, health and happiness, the twin cardinal of values of life, do not have their natural integration disrupted.” --John McDougall--

In regards to my own health there really is no such thing as moderation. Because moderation is the very mindset that will perpetuate heart disease and high blood pressure. I have chosen a radical change and one that is necessary for my health and quality of life. 

“Moderation kills because disease starts at the cellular level and year-after-year, the effects accumulate.” -- Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn --