The Bulletproof Diet (book and cookbook)
The more you know… Remember the series of ads that ran on tv a while back (on NBC, I believe). Heck, they may still run, I don’t know. Our television seldom ventures from baseball, the History Channel, National Geographic Channel, Discovery, and TVLand (Come on, how’re you expected to get through the week without Gunsmoke and Andy Griffith?!)
I was talking with my youngest daughter, Stephany, recently about seeking out information and hunting down truth. We were talking, at the time, about the big brouhaha surrounding “fake news.” While we both agree that news sources are entirely in too big of a hurry to “break news” before double-checking their facts AND while we certainly feel… well, KNOW… that the media’s number one goal is sensationalism and trying to get a reaction…. ALL the blame cannot be placed on them.
Individuals who take a news item or see a picture without actually looking into the situation (or date of said picture, even) are possibly even more to blame.
After all, they (the media) have an agenda – get ratings, sell papers – we don’t. Our only motive should be to educate ourselves and keep ourselves abreast of what’s going on around us. If we take one person’s word for something, without taking a few minutes to verify what we’ve read, we’re failing to “adult” properly.
What’s worse is that many people will take a sensationalist bit of news and will run with it – spreading the false story everywhere. That’s not just stupid – it’s dangerous.
I don’t want to bring up any particular cases where this has happened, but if you live in America (as I do), you’ve seen a DANGEROUS amount of this over the past few years.
Yes, the media carries a large amount of the blame, but so do we when we don’t look into something before shooting off our mouths on social media or anywhere else.
The more you know… also rings true on a more personal level. If you want to eat healthier, live longer, avoid as many diseases as possible, and feel better – you have to put in a little work seeking out information. Of course, you have to do more than just read… you have to respond.
My personal suggestion is to find several reputable sources and read everything you can get your hungry eyes on. Why several? Again, it’s kind of like the media – if you limit yourself to one source of information, you are completely at their mercy. However, if you have multiple sources who are in agreement, you’re in a pretty good position!
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For example,many of my own personal sources of health information have been touting the benefits of healthy fat in your diet lately. Their information is all in agreement and I feel confident about my big juicy grass-fed burgers.
Naturally, when you follow a nutritionist, doctor, or health-field researcher, you may not agree with everything they say and you certainly won’t follow their every suggestion to the letter – but each step you take toward a healthier you is greatly beneficial. For example, some of my favorite sources… ahem… would be positively aghast if they saw me eating my beloved gluten-free fried catfish but this gal has zero intention of stepping away from it. Zero. As far as I’m concerned, fried catfish is the fifth food group. However, I do follow their teachings and preachings and eat crazy amounts of veggies and fruits and have cut just about all added sugar out of my world.
But… yes… I’m clinging to my fried catfish.
Below are a few of my personal favorite websites and books for health information, listed in no particular order.
- Doctor Mercola (website)
- Bulletproof (website)
- Dr. Mark Hyman (website)
- Dr. Axe (website)
- Berkley Wellness (website)
- Health.com (website)
- Tox-Sick by Suzanne Somers (book – read my Tox-Sick Review)
- The Bulletproof Diet (book and cookbook)
- Eat Fat, Get Thin (book and cookbook – I’ll be reviewing these soon on Self Help Daily)
When you find your favorite websites and authors, subscribe to their e-mail newsletters, follow them on Twitter, and (by all means) read their books. Let them help you carve out a healthier you and a better life.
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My Beloved: A Huge Salad with My Crunchy Faves
When reading about a new “diet” (which is, more times than not, simply learning a healthier way to eat), don’t make any snap judgments. Give the process time and see where it takes you – you may be in for a shock. This is exactly what happened to me with the Bulletproof Diet (you can read my initial review – Bulletproof Diet Book Review). I happen to have a freaky little condition with my blood sugar. It’s low and, if I go too long without calories, I find myself in a world of hurt. The feeling defies description – but suffice to say it feels like you’re on death’s doorstep with one weak hand on the doorknob. Because of this, I didn’t believe I could actually make it through the morning with simply a “bulletproof coffee.” I believe I even say in my review that I “know” I won’t be able to do this.
Ha! I cannot explain the science behind it, but I am absolutely able to have my bulletproof coffee each morning without a typical breakfast and I am perfectly fine for hours. I’ve even gone all the way to lunch many times without even thinking about food… let alone stepping on doom’s doorstep. You have to make the bulletproof coffee the way the author, Dave Asprey, says too, however. You can’t get creative or tricky. If you follow his instructions to the letter, you’re going to be amazed at the energy and lack of morning and mid-morning hunger you experience. Let’s be honest, this could be a life-changer.
I guess I need to go edit that review sometime.
One more suggestion: When my oldest daughter, Emily, and I had to give up gluten years ago (health reasons), we didn’t have the downward mental spiral that a lot of people seem to have. Sure there was a little shock at first, but there were no tears or overwhelming sadness. We didn’t really suffer from a feeling of loss and I believe it was primarily because we both focused on the foods we COULD eat instead of the ones we COULD NOT eat.
To this day, we don’t sit around and talk about the doughnuts or fast food meals we no longer have or the restaurants we can’t visit anymore. We talk about how cool Jimmy John’s is to have “Unwiches” and how amazing a big chopped chef salad is!
The same approach will help you in any endeavor to get healthy. Focus on the good foods (heroes) and turn your back on the bad (villains). If you keep looking at and longing for the baddies, you’ll simply go right back to them.
Keep your eyes laser-focused on those veggies, smoothies, grass-fed hamburgers, mashed cauliflower with bacon, and baked salmon with compound butter.
Hope you have a beautiful Christmas or Hanukkah! Christmas is my favorite time of year – it’s a beautiful holiday and, who knows, I may eventually get all of my shopping and menu planning done… may! ~ Joi (“Joy”)
P.S. I am obsessed when it comes to salads. They’re the perfectly delicious and deliciously perfect way to “sneak” in a lot of the foods that make you healthier and to “up” your veggie count all at meal. My favorite salad is a chopped salad – although it takes longer to prepare, the fact that you get so many different veggies on one fork makes it the most scrumptious salad in my opinion. Be sure you don’t ruin it all by tossing on unhealthy dressings, though. Oddly enough, I’ve found that my favorite way to dress a chopped salad is simply to drizzle a little olive oil on top, splash on a little lemon juice, and then grind black pepper over the whole production. Trust me.. it’s Heavenly!
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