Rush Limbaugh Should Be More Conservative
Meatless Monday is the perfect day to take a look at the connection between our health and diet. Read on to learn more about the state of America’s health and Neal Barnard, MD’s prescription for wellness.
Rush Limbaugh was rushed to a Hawaii hospital in late December, reportedly suffering from severe chest pains. The concern was a possible heart attack, but fortunately, tests showed no such problem.
This health scare should still be a wake-up call. As a doctor, I’m offering one bit of advice, not just to Rush, but to all Americans: We need to be more conservative. As conservative as possible, in fact.
With our diets, that is. Many Americans are far too liberal with their servings of meat, dairy products, eggs, and other less-than-healthy foods. And they are getting more so with each passing year. Per capita annual meat intake has risen roughly 70 pounds in the last century, and cheese intake has jumped by nearly 30 pounds in the same time period.
This huge load of cholesterol, fat, and calories has fueled epidemics of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other health problems. And these diseases are taxing our health care system like never before. As a nation, we now spend $147 billion on obesity-related medical costs every year. During these tough economic times, we should be tightening our belts. But let’s face it: Our belts are rapidly moving in the opposite direction.
In our grandparents’ day, people knew the value of humble beans, vegetables, and fruits, often growing them in their own family gardens. These foods have essentially no cholesterol and very little saturated fat. It pays to give them renewed respect. Indeed, people who stick to an entirely plant-based diet, as part of an overall healthy lifestyle, can do more than just prevent heart disease; they can actually reverse it, as was demonstrated in the now-classic studies of Dean Ornish, M.D.
A plant-based diet can also help you slim down, improve diabetes and hypertension, and feel like yourself again. It can also fight some types of cancer. Fruits and vegetables are packed with antioxidants and other nutrients that boost the immune system. And fiber-rich vegan diets help quickly flush carcinogens and other toxins from the body.
The only good thing about a health scare is that it reminds us how important our diets and lifestyles are to our well-beings. It’s time to trade our cheeseburgers for veggie burgers, beef tacos for bean burritos, and remote controls for tennis shoes. Yes, that’s my prescription for Rush—but it’s also my prescription for us all.
9 Comments
Agree!! Mindless eating will slowly kill us all ! People need to be aware of WHAT they eat and how it affects their bodies…Rush, I hope you read this.
very good and motivating article!! thank you.
heart attack for Rush… i wish, i wish…
Wow! Just read the other comments. Wishing a heart attack on someone is a bit harsh. Regardless of what you think of their politics.
Amen! So true!
Nothing better than a plant base diet.
Thanks!
I thought the lipid hypothesis in heart attack/disease had been questioned in recent years? At any rate, I don’t think things like eggs and butter are the problem, especially if they are from healthy, pastured animals. I’d look more to the processed foods, GMOs, pesticides, proceesed soy, transfats, and other modern additions to the diet. I do agree Westerners eat too much meat, mainly because animals are treated like product rather than living beings who deserve good lives in order to produce enough for people to eat meat at every meal cheaply.
yes, Sally it is hharsh, i agree. but my heart bleeds when i see what he is doing to country and people!i only wish, but he really does evil things to people that cause them direct harm
Lipid hypothesis in cardiovascular disease questioned? By whom?
And saturated fat content isn’t affected much by the environment in which the animals where raised, especially if we are talking about butter and eggs.
The only well rounded scientific study I have heard of comes to a different conclusion. I don’t have the link on hand. It was a study across many of the world’s cultures comparing diets and diseases of industrialization (cancer, heart disease, etc.) Incidence of these diseases was directly related to each culture’s intake of refined foods, specifically refined grains and sugars. There are vegan cultures and also cultures that exclusively eat meat and drink blood, all without these diseases. The cultures like the U.S. who eat large amounts of refined foods experience widespread occurrence of these diseases.
It is much more simple than worldwide studies. All we have to do is eat what we could in nature. Could we eat meat? Of course, but those animals would eat a natural diet. Milk products are debatable. Could we eat vegetables, fruits, nuts, and legumes? Of course, but they would grow in natural conditions. However it is not practical to process grains and sugars on an individual scale, only on an industrial scale. These are the only food that doesn’t stand the test.
Simply put and well said….we all need to be more aware of what we are putting in our mouths !! It’s the only way to reverse this unhealthy trend.
February 1, 2010