As those of you who have been reading a while have figured out, I'm a healthy chickadee. I was once realllllllly (that's 8 "Ls") unhealthy when I was younger. I was overweight, barely exercised, smoked, drank a lot, ate enough craptastic food to sink an ocean liner, and was sick all the time. About ten years ago, I got lucky enough to realize that I was committing slow suicide with my lifestyle. I went cold turkey from my old ways and am eternally grateful that these changes stuck. So, for many years, my health has been a huge focus. I know some friends who think my focus might be a little obsessive, but I don't care. I never want to go back to the way I was and frankly, I like myself now - something I NEVER felt before I made these changes.
So, when I see a show that promises secrets from "Blue Zones" - or areas in the world where there is an inordinate amount of healthy people living over the age of 100 - I'm like a kid in a candy store. A kid in a candy store where they only sell vitamin supplements and exercise equipment.
Today's episode tickled me. I'm always interested in cultures where health reigns. A lot of the focus - regularly making positive food choices, doing daily cardio and strength-based activity, and finding joy in life - are things we've all heard lots and lots. BUT one item I don't think I'd heard much before was about how the people in your community help to determine your level of fitness and health. This is probably common sense, but I hadn't thought much about it. And in retrospect, the folks I hung about with when I was a wreck were in the same boat. And now I work at a yoga studio, my friends eat well, take care of their bodies, minds, and spirits. I guess that's not a coincidence. Of course, I live in Chicago, where you can get just about anything deep-fried and dipped in cheese. Not a Blue Zone.
I recommend visiting Oprah's website if you want to learn the details of each Zone's culture. (It'd be reinventing the wheel to transcribe everything here.) While surface choices might all look different, the similarities are glaring.
A few notable moments in the show for me:
- Oprah turned Dr. Oz around so we could look at his butt in his jeans. He giggled.
- Oh my lord, I was really amused by poor 99-year old Jose in Costa Rica. Dr. Oz was grabbin' and pinchin' and squeezin' this old man to show us how muscular and healthy he was due to his manual labor. This old dude was squeezed more than the Charmin. Back in Chicago, Dr. Oz also grabbed Oprah's legs and told us she had strong quads.
- Oprah told us to "Get rid of your toxic friends." I've got to be honest. I don't think I have any anymore. I did in the past. I used to be a card carrying member of Team Toxicity (our team colors were black on black). I might have friends who aren't as gung-ho about diet/exercise as me, but they don't have contagious bad mojo. I'll think on this though...if I need to remove anyone from my life, I will.
- Oprah told us to "So, everybody needs to stock their shelves with beans." and "Add more beans to your diet. And they're cheaper, too." Boy, Oprah has totally gotten the point. Americans are waaaaaayyyyy pooooooor right now. I know many of you have questioned her motives, which I think is completely valid, but I'm gonna give credit where credit is due: lately, she's all about giving affordable tips. Does she follow them herself? Probably not. If I was a gazillionaire, I probably wouldn't either. But at least she's not giving us advice as she's being fed bonbons while being carried around in a diamond-encrusted sedan chair.
I need to watch the show again - probably first thing tomorrow as I'm EXHAUSTED and achy. Apologies if I'm babbling or talking in circles today. I've been traveling most of the day and was just able to watch the episode once through, but I wanted to post before it got too late. I think there might have been more Oprah-advice to follow, but I need to carefully reassess when I am thinking clearly.
And finally....WOW...it looks like "Best Life Week" (which starts January 5th) might show a more vulnerable side to Oprah than she's shown us this year. I wish it had fallen within the boundaries of my project, but I'll be watching with much interest and can't wait to discuss it with you. What did y'all think if/when you saw it promoted?
Have a good night y'all.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
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18 comments:
Hi LO,
I immediately thought of you when I saw that promo for the Best Life week. I'm glad they are going to do a week on this since a lot of people will be making resolutions for the new year. It will be interesting to hear what Oprah has to say.
I also thought it was hysterical the way Dr. Oz was poking that man in Costa Rica. The look on his face was too funny. Can you imagine having some stranger speaking a language you don't understand all of sudden start hacking at your corn with a machete then immediately following that start poking at your chest & stomach while basically trying to take off your shirt?!? lol
I noticed that having organized closets and fabulous clothes has nothing whatever to do with living a long healthy life!
Oprah did about the best teaser ever for Best Life week. I'll totally be watching to see if she gets her mojo back.
Looking forward to tomorrow's possible train wreck too.
Totally curious about your cold turkey experience...when LO is over and you're back to RO, it would be a great post if you feel like sharing!
Susie, you crack me up and as usual are totally right.
I'm also a health junkie, so I love to see this on Oprah. I have to give Oprah credit as she always tries to bring new information to viewers. Sometimes it feels repetitive or common sense, however it seems that many people really need this information.
I guess it was a coincident, as today one of the news stations commented that cancer rates (breast, lung, colon) are down, as well as rates of diagnosis. Could this be due to increased health awareness and therefore more healthy eating and no smoking? Healthy eating and no smoking would do it, however we don't have that data to know what caused it. Hopefully, the economy won't screwed this trend.
Sorry, I was supposed to write that the rates of death and diagnosis are down.
I called my mom today when she happened to be watching Oprah, and she said "I'll have to talk to you later, Dr. Oz is on talking about old people." My mom is very fragile and on kidney dialysis, but is only 70 years old, which is young today for such ill health. On her father's side of the family, there is a third great-grandfather who lived to be 114, a second great-grandfather who lived to be 109, and a great-grandfather who lived to be 99. Her own father lived to 84, and I doubt my mother will see that number. Our family longevity trajectory seems to have a bell curve, if you count back to cavepeople days, when average life expectancy was 30. So that's a bell curve describing longevity as it relates to lifestyle from one extreme to another. As our cavemen ancestors show, there is a point of diminishing returns in the healthy lifestyle area. I know those hundred-plus-year olds ate from limited supplies of beans, cabbage, and black bread, got heavy exercise in pure mountain air, but they also had wives who lived a fraction of that long on the same diet and exercise regime. And, they all started smoking at age 5. But it was their own organic homegrown tobacco.
I think our knowledge of what constitutes optimum, or ideal lifestyle for health is still evolving. Genes have an enormous role, too. I have a dear friend who smoked unfiltered Camels from a long holder until 12 years ago, is a poor eater and gets no exercise who is 87 and counting. Her 98 year old friend was extremely healthy, had all her own teeth, and just died of lymphoma after a brief period of illness. I remember Jackie Onassis was quoted saying that she had always lived a healthy life, she exercised regularly, ate moderately and well, so why did she get lymphoma? Who knows what is going to befall us in our future?
I look forward to the day when I have the ability to control my time enough to pay the attention that I need for better health. But one thing I know for sure, if I die before then, but my family have been launched successfully onto their own lives, I will have lived my best life.
I found it ironic that most of the people in these blue zones seemed to have little money and little formal education, and yet it seems they have the secret to life. I thought it was interesting that old people and young people live together in some of these communities. The mind-body connections may be stronger than we realize so perhaps making the elderly feel like a valued member of the community has something to do with longevity. I also think there’s a lot to be said for living a simple life with a strong sense of place; something that has increasing vanished in the age of cell phones, emails, and web surfing. It’s great to have the whole world at our fingertips, and be able to communicate instantly with strangers on every continent, but I sometimes long for a simple existence, where the only people I’ve heard of are my neighbours and extended family; and there’s no Internet and no newspapers, except perhaps the local village times.
The other thing I found striking was how naturally exercise came to these people. Nobody was getting on treadmills or lifting weights at the local gym, instead exercise was integrated in the daily routines of everyday life (simply cooking dinner was a workout). By contrast, in North American culture exercise is often an isolated activity we pencil into our appointment book. I was fascinated by the notion that whine, cheese, and bread could be considered a healthy diet under certain circumstances and would love to learn more about that so-called attorney scrubbing whine.
One thing I wonder though is how does Dr. Oz know that the longevity of these people is from their life styles and not from their genes? People who live in the same geographic region tend to be genetically similar, and to some extent are large extended families. So perhaps blue zones are just pockets around the world with exceptionally good longevity genes and their life styles have little to do with it? Of course Dr. Oz doesn’t have the time to clarify all the research on a one hour entertainment show, and on the whole I think he has a genuine interest in helping people; especially after reading this article:
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/35017094.html?page=2&c=y
Meant to say artery scrubbing whine, not attorney scrubbing whine, though some in the legal profession could use a good ethical cleansing :-)
I missed most of the show yesterday; what was this promo about? And why did it look so interesting?
mkc, oh my gosh, it made me laugh - i am SO ticklish, i thought if dr. oz tried that on me, i'd be on the ground, laughing...of course, i'd probably stop laughing once the rich american doctor started hacking up my crop!
iamsusie, TOUCHE, lady! brilliant.
memgrl, you are so right...that was the best teaser ever on the show. sure, i can post more about the cold turkey, post LO.
sam, true - the more people who get the info, the better. for all of us, really. the healthier our communities, the more the quality of life goes up in general, i think. it's really holistic.
paula, it's very true. and i don't think that my definition of my "best life" is the definition of the next person's. for me, my health is my hobby of choice, basically. :) thanks so much for sharing all of that!
morepower, definitely thought it was interesting, too, that the non-USA blue zones combined food harvesting/prep with daily exercise. in loma linda, california, it was the usual exercise - gym-based stuff - that we're all used to seeing. i'm not sure i think education has anything to do with it (take the elderly surgeon in cali, for instance), but i do think education can tie into stress level and the desire to climb up the social/economic/corporate ladder. so, it might have some corrolation. i think more likely is that the communities we saw had populations with very similar socio-economic situations. there weren't wealthy areas vs depressed ones. they looked far more even-keeled. AND big old LOL on the attorney scrubbing. that was great. :)
teresa, it looked - although i'm reading this into the promo, so everyone else, please chime in - it looked as if oprah might have been speaking very honestly, unguarded about her health - maybe her weight? i'm sure they'll be playing it thru the end of the year...or even on her website, possibly?
thanks y'all! i'm actually gonna go jump on my mom's stationary bike and rewatch yesterday's show. favorite things is on later. most of my family will be gathering to watch with me. it'll be a little party!
xoLO
LO, omg, i'm watching "favorite things" right now, and I can't help but think that this project, coupled with the crap economy, had some direct effect on this episode. i'm watching this amazed...so far, everything is free or under $10. whoo!
eb! ooooh, i can't believe this is the week that i chose to be away from the 9am airing of oprah! i won't see it for HOURS. i can't wait. please let us know what you think. xoLO
LO- Favorite things was pretty good! They did spend a lot of time cooking which is pretty much what I do at the holidays.
I have observations right away and I can't stand it that you have to wait until the afternoon to see it!
I think you'll have one definite assignment of something to purchase, but it's not too expensive.
LO
I thought of you the instant Oprah gave that promo - and agree with others that it sounds like she might talk about health/weight issues. More power to her!
On that topic, I would like to encourage, urge, plead, beg...ahem, gathering myself for a second...happily support you in talking about your 'cold turkey' experience. I'm considering just such a choice as a new year/new president/new life sort of move.
Love the blog. Look forward to the book!
susie, i can't wait. i'm losing it! : ) the anticipation is getting to me.
lucy, i will totally talk at some point about the old cold turkey. i just knew i was at a huge crossroads: either keep going the way i was and live a short, unhealthy life, or take the bull by the horns and suck it up and change just about EVERYTHING. i can't tell you how grateful i am that the timing was right and it stuck. i am definitely of the belief that the changes we make have to be longterm. i didn't do anything so wild that i wouldn't be able to maintain it for the rest of my life. i'd done to many "crash" programs in the past which ended up failing and i knew i needed to set myself up to win.
ok - i need to go roast some carrots for tomorrow. we're doing as much Oprah Thanksgiving prep as possible today.
have a great day!
xoLO
I just had to stop by to give you credit for actually watching the shows everyday!! I just don't know how you do it. I dvr oprah and then decide if i'm interested, i never watch the Dr Oz ones. I know how to eat right and exercise, I don't like watching the two of them interact.
I am insulted at times by Oprah and how she seems to think the public is not very bright. Many times she has been surprised by things that I (and many others)have known for years. I often wonder what world she lives in.
Friday live is ridiculous, no one ever lets Mark talk and everyone just wants to sit and agree with Oprah. That might just be me though, if there is one thing I can't stand its listening to wealthy people sit and give their opinions like we are all gathered around waiting with bated breath.
I really enjoy your blog!
tina
I would have been sooooo disappointed at this Favorite Things show if I was sitting in the audience. What about those crazy audience reactions? What about the joy of giving and receiving? If Oprah has the money and the kindness to give big, then why does she have to be "thrifty"???
disappointing. It didn't feel right to me.
Betty
I watched the Blue Zone show with interest, but got annoyed. I wanted to know what kind of health care access did the Costa Ricans have? Also, I thought the Japanese group was rushed through.
I also thought all that outdoor activity is great for those lucky enough to live in temperate climates, but what about the New Yorkers, and the Chicagoans? And those of us in desert cities, where you could die if you exercised outdoors during the day? I bet it's nice to live on your own land, but most of us live in cities. We get excited about a window box or a potted plant.
I kept thinking about all the people for whom these things couldn't apply.
I don't like Oprah much.
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