A Simply Healthy (& Opinionated) Nikki lecture!

I've had a rant spinning through brain over and over again for the past few weeks. It's nothing new- the importance of health and nutrition are always on my mind, especially when I come across new research. I love research (insert nerd comments here). You can't fight the facts, I like definite things. I am a control freak, and I am very aware of it. I like to control the things that are controllable, my health and that of my children's (of course, until they are grown and no longer under my roof) is a top priority of things that I intend on controlling to the best of my abilities. Yes, I understand things out of my control can and will happen but at least I can rest easy knowing that I've done all that I can do to keep my family in top notch condition. 

I recently read on forbes.com some statistics that I'd like to share. 

"In 2008, total sales for prescription drugs reached $291.5 billion, a 1.4% increase from the previous year. Lipitor, a statin used to control cholesterol, was the top-selling drug, followed by the acid reflux medication Nexium, and Plavix, an anti-platelet agent that reduces the risk of heart attack or stroke. Sales of cardiovascular and gastroenterology medications, as well as ones that regulate central nervous system issues like seizures, depression, pain and Alzheimer's, accounted for half of all drug sales in 2008."

That was in '08...Now in the year 2012 those numbers have only continued to drastically climb...and the saddest part of it all is those are all unnecessary expenses if we as a society could take control over our diets. Cholesterol is controllable, yet it's the top-selling drug. Acid reflux is more often than not, induced by our own body's inability to digest all of the processed and highly preserved GARBAGE (because it's not really "food") that we force it to digest, that along with not eating enough live raw foods that give our digestive system a break by utilizing the enzymes that are only found in non-heated foods. Yet Nexium is the second highest prescribed drug. Then Plavix to reduce the risk of heart attacks is listed as number 3. Every single fruit and vegetable contains vitamins and minerals that can naturally heal our bodies of ALL of those issues without having to just "control" the symptoms with highly expensive medication. The biggest health benefit that I believe comes from eating a plant based diet, is that when you remove animal products from your diet, you have to replace those calories, so what ends up happening is that you end up replacing those calories with more fruits and vegetables.  Seeing as two out of every three adults is overweight, and 40% of their calories come from animal byproducts, that is a whole lot of calories to replace... So you can eat 3 times the amount of food on a plant based diet for the same price (in terms of total caloric intake). Which means 3 times the micro nutrients to fuel my body, and fight off free radicals. Now how is that a bad thing?! Why do we keep adding more chemical concoctions to our system that just cover up one symptom but often create many other side effects, which then takes another medicinal cocktail to hide those issues? Do you really want to be lethargic, weak, in pain, and broke all the time? Why don't we actually HEAL our bodies, fix the root problems, and get rid of those extra expenses and drugs all together? This can and should be done naturally (for those religious readers, and as I believe, that this is the way God intended). And my blogs purpose is to prove that a whole foods, plant based diet doesn't have to be intricate, bland, or boring. It can be simple, flavorful, and exciting.

If I had a buck for every time I get a health nut joke cracked on me, or the rolling of eyes, or the remark that I am "extreme"...I'd be using cash as a form of toilet paper. As passionate as I am about these type of subjects, I try not to get too uppity with people too often, usually I just give my advice, and pray for their ignorance. But inside, I want to reach over slap some sense into these people. When I am 75, medication & pain free, and running marathons with my great grand kids, odds are that those who thought it was all fun games will be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on cardiovascular surgery or chemotherapy, and wont think it's quite so funny anymore. I know this sounds extremely harsh, but it's the cold truth. Heart disease and diabetes runs in my family, but it will not run in MY family. I am standing up against the crooked food industry and changing the odds so that they are in our favor. Call me crazy, or extreme...but I was put on this earth to live a life...and LIVE is exactly what I intend to do. 

Maybe this little rant has helped you see the importance of healthy living. Maybe you can now recognize that it doesn't only improve your odds of a longer healthier life, but it will improve your QUALITY of life. Maybe it has made you roll your eyes at me. Maybe you will never read another blog post. If I can at least influence one life for the better, than it has served it's purpose. Not to mention I feel a whole lot better! 

Lastly, I recently revised a previous recipe for my sweet potato chia muffins that I had posted here. They can be made vegan simple by replacing the 2 egg whites with 1 flax egg...which is just 1 tbsp of flax seed mixed in 3 tbsp of water. I usually let my flax egg soak for about 5 minutes before putting it into the recipe. I made them this morning and they worked out wonderfully. Enjoy!