This I Believe: Happiness & Unhappiness are Viral - Fruits & Vegetables Can Change Your Health

"This makes me feel so much more responsible that I know that if I come home in a bad mood I'm not only affecting my wife and son but my son's best friend or my wife's mother.  When I'm heading home I now intentionally put on my favorite song!"    Remember These Words, Folks!

-James H. Fowler, UCSD professor & author of "Dynamic spread of happiness in a large-social network: longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study"  BMJ published online 12/5/08-

I believe that we are all so intricately bound up with each other that our happiness & our unhappiness affects everyone we encounter:  our family, our co-workers, store clerks, and people we pass on the street.    (Happiness is Viral - click here)

I believe that appreciating each other with honest compliments, recognition for small acts of good work or kindnesses, genuine thank yous, and positive feedback has more power than we can imagine.

OK--I know that no one wants to watch a YouTube video that last 16 minutes.  No one.  But somehow I thought I needed to see this one to the end.  You might think you've seen enough after the first 4 minutes.  I know I did.  But I was wrong.  Take the time.  (Thank you Kurt Kuenne, Hugh Newman & Theater Junkies Productions)

If you aren't seeing the video just click on this here!  

This I Believe:  Eating more fruits and vegetables isn`t hard to swallow

-Gwen Mergian  Albany, NY-

Gwen Mergian writes a blog called Low Life for the Times Union newspaper in Albany, New York.  Here's how she got started: 

"In early 2007, I was a middle-aged, sedentary nurse with a family history of sudden cardiac arrest and a cholesterol level of 303. Profound changes in nutrition, exercise and stress reduction did more than lower my cholesterol to 177--they transformed my life."

Gwen's a big fan of NPR's This I Believe radio essay series.  And I am, too.  On a whim she sent in her essay, "Eating more fruits and vegetables isn`t hard to swallow".   She didn't get picked to broadcast it--but her essay got posted on the This I Believe website.  If you want real-life motivation to get healthy, read her post here.

Here's an excerpt:

"Last year, when my cholesterol shot up into the 300s, my doctor urged me to take a cholesterol-lowering drug. With a family history of sudden cardiac arrest, I was a walking time bomb, she said. But I pushed back, opting instead to try an extreme lifestyle makeover.

Initially, my new dietary landscape – often called plant-based nutrition – looked utterly alien. But before long I was eating eight or more servings of fresh produce a day, from dark green salads made with Swiss chard, collards and kale, to such exotic fare as sweet potato and curry soup, quinoa-squash pilaf, and marinated kabobs, guaranteed to please even the most tofu-squeamish."

Gwen grew up in a household like mine.  Vegetables meant potatoes, cooked carrots, and iceberg lettuce.  Her mom served frozen peas.  My mom served canned peas.  Her mom seasoned only with salt.  My mom was much more exotic.  She used paprika and garlic salt.  We were meat-centric at every meal.

As I've heard said: 

We like what we eat all the time.  You can change your taste preferences by changing your diet and having patience.  People in Thailand prefer Thai food.  People in Argentina prefer meat.  People in Japan prefer fish.  And nutritarian-style vegetarians prefer fruits, vegetables, beans and grains.  Tastes can change!

It takes 3 weeks to change a habit.  It takes 14 weeks to change your tastes.  The reward of good health is worth the effort.  Make it an experiment & give it your best shot!

Comments

[Barb]

When I did parent groups we always talked about the two fictitious children - one who had nice,validating limit setting parents who sent the kid off in the morning with a hug,kiss and nice words and another child who was criticized,belittled and ignored. Their day in school was played out and it was interesting to see how the kids reacted to their day so differently based on their home environments and the messages that they internalized from their parents. Each kid had a very similar day outwardly but reacted to it so differently.