I readily admit that I'm not the most health-conscious person in the world. I generally don't watch what I eat, rarely remember to take my vitamins and have never been in the weight room at the Berry Athletic Center. I did run a few times, but I ended up in muscle pain for about 72 hours after logging only a mile. I know that a lot of people find exercising fun, running to be invigorating and weight lifting to be a hobby, yet, probably unfortunately, I just find all of those things boring.
Now, my eating habits are not stellar either. I really think that diet Coke tastes horrible, and I enjoy drinking regular Coke for breakfast. Buffalo chicken sandwiches taste better to me than humus does, and if I had the choice, I would probably eat a porterhouse steak, cooked medium, for dinner every night.
I do know that I'm very lucky that, for now, my metabolism allows me to do all of these things, and not look like John Candy. In fact, it would probably be a good idea for me and my heart if I stopped putting butter all over my bread, sour cream all over my baked potatoes and hot fudge all over my ice cream.
So, earlier this fall, I decided to try eating better in the interest of feeling healthier and, hopefully, extending my life expectancy. Now, I eat salad more often, and I try to skip dessert. I've cut back on the butter and the french fries and have stopped heading to McDonalds at least twice a week. I was proud of my progress, and figured that I was doing something good for myself. Then, I read yesterday's New York Times.
I had heard the conflicting reports that perhaps butter really was better for you than margarine. Margarine contained too many fatty acids, and, because of their protein, eggs weren't nearly as bad for us as we had thought. It seems, according to the Times, that many of the studies that have influenced our thoughts about what is healthy, and what is not, are often released after only preliminary data has been studied. Some findings are overstated, and many of the processes used to garner diet and health-related information are "crude and inexact".
So now, I'm pretty confused about what exactly constitutes a healthy diet. Should we all drink red wine to decrease our chances of having a heart attack? Should I use butter or margarine on my potatoes?
Now I don't mean to sound absolutely ridiculous. It's probably not a good idea for me to drink Coke for breakfast, and I'm sure it is a good idea to eat some salad now and then, as opposed to only hamburgers or fries. But with all this confusion about what's healthy and what's not, I don't think I'll worry too much any more if I put a little extra sour cream on my baked potato. And I thank the scientific community for a good excuse.
