Doctor

I went to the doctor on Wednesday for a check up.  I don't go to the doctor unless I'm sick or injured, but because I don't want to be one of those guys who drop dead 20 feet from the finish line of my next marathon, I decided that I would take the advice of health care professionals get an annual check up.

Guess what... I'm healthy.

What struck me was the doctor... no he didn't hit me, which kind of surprised me... he didn't check my reflexes.

The nurse checked my blood pressure, pulse and weight and recorded the vitals; he checked my blood pressure and pulse again.  I had to insist on blood work, which I had to schedule for next week.

The interesting part was the other 40 minutes of the appointment.

Before he checked my blood pressure, he started a discussion about what he had heard on talk radio, namely conservative talk radio.  (Note- not a good topic of discussion when having your blood pressure checked).  The topics ranged from politics to politics, especially health care and medical insurance.

Now this is the important part.

I made a point about healthy eating, specifically that the government officials who are in charge of making policies regarding the american diet are actually former officials in that industry.  So, the people who make the recommendations and decisions on what is healthy for Americans (i.e. food safety, pesticide use, and corn content) are the people who benefit the most from favorable decisions.

I read the book The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.  Interesting book and worth a read, but beware, it will change the way you think about eating.  Much of the information presented in that book is shocking, but what struck me the most was what he presents about corn.

I told the doctor about all the corn byproducts that are in processed foods and that learning how to cut unwanted corn from my diet has really made a huge impact on my health.  He said, "yeah, that's really hard to do.  We don't have much of a choice, though."  

Huh?  Doctor?  I didn't quite get that, can you repeat yourself?

We have such a problem with obesity in this country.  Is it at least possible that the "invisible corn" byproducts in processed food is largely to blame?  

Think about it, in order to make cows fatter, quicker, the beef industry feeds cows corn... which in turn produces the need to prevent e coli with antibiotics and chemical washes (cancer? well the FDA doesn't think so, and we know they do not have any conflicting interests).

Back to my point.  The beef industry is feeding cows corn to fatten them up... the "food" industry uses corn to preserve, process, and flavor its products.  Do the math... WE ARE CATTLE!

I'm here to tell you, whoever reads this, that cutting corn from your diet is easier than it seems.  It takes a little upfront work and a slight change in lifestyle.  But stick with me... it's simple.

Wednesday's run- 5 miles easy in Vibrams

Today's run- 8 mile tempo at a 8:30 pace in Kinvara 2s