The genesis of healthy living

In the early 1960’s good living was associated with eating rich and tasty foods such as prime rib with Yorkshire pudding, apple pie with ice cream, lots of wine or beer, followed by a good smoke. In many cultures, if you were slim at age 40, people would ask with some concern: “are you sick?”
The world changed in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Medical researchers discovered that smoking and eating fatty foods can be hazardous to your health. Over the past 40 years we have been exposed to a wide range of diets, such as traditional, religious, cultural, weight loss, weight gain, weight management, disease fighting, healthy living and individual choice diets. Web site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diets lists over 80 different diets which have been invented to guide us towards healthy living.
While researching the historical development of healthy living, nutrition and diets, I came across a humorous description of lifestyle evolution (author unknown or just simply wouldn’t admit to it) which I changed slightly for suitability for this article.
At the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and Hungarian paprika. So that Man and Woman would live healthy lives.
Satan, being jealous of God’s goodness, created creamy ice cream, fast food donuts and milkshakes. And Satan said to Man and Woman: “you want coffee with that?” Man said “yes” and woman said “make it double-double for me”. They gained 10 lbs and Satan smiled.
God seeing this, offered Man and Woman a healthier alternative: yogurt so that woman can keep the figure that Man found so pleasing. But Satan brought forth white flower, sugar and chocolate-rich deserts. And Woman went from size 6 to 14.
Now, God offered again a healthier alternative to Man and Woman and said: “try my fresh green salad”. But Satan was determined to win the battle with God so he created Thousand Island dressing, buttery croutons, and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened the belt following the feast.
Then, God created running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. But Satan was quick to the draw and invented cable TV with remote control. Man and woman gained more weight!
Then, God brought forth the potato, low in fat and full of nutrition. But Satan peeled the healthy skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep fried them. And Man and Woman gained more weight!
God then created lean beef so that Man and Woman might consume fewer calories and still satisfy their appetite. Satan responded by creating double cheeseburger and deep fried chicken. He then said to Man and Woman: “do you want fries with that, too?” Man said “yes”. Satan smiled and Man went into cardiac arrest.
God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. Satan responded by creating long line-ups in hospitals and medical centres…
Well, while this may appear to be a fairy tale story, there are some elements of truth to it.
After a bout with prostate cancer, I started to focus on healthy living, including some weight loss. I wanted to increase my energy level and immune system in order to ensure that I beat cancer and be there for the graduation of my grandchildren. A recently published book by Roslyn Franken “The A List: 9 Guiding Principles for Healthy Eating and Positive Living” offered a solutions that I like more that fad dieting: making healthy choices and balancing my servings of various food groups for proper nutrition. By making healthy choices in appropriate proportions, I am losing weight gradually and increasing my energy level to the point that even my highly energetic 4 and 5-year old grandchildren are impressed that Papa can keep up with them.