I want to share with you some very special and bold people who have ideas that may be of value to you now. It is never too late!

One of my favorite families that works hard to educate people on how to avoid heart disease. The Esselstyn family is being honored! November 7, 2023 at the Press Club, Washington, D.C., USA. This event is the acknowledgement of the Esselstyn family’s work . You can listen to it through the Exam Room Podcast.

As I have gone through 80 years of life, experiences have been exciting, saddening, joyful, entertaining, educational, health promoting and led me to meeting many fascinating people. As I go into my 80s, I see so much that could be handled by a preventive approach to health. It makes me sad to see people dealing with health problems that they didn’t have to encounter such as heart disease, cancer, obesity, eye diseases, diabetes, dementia, depression and other problems. Yes, I know, but it is my genes I’ve been told. But wait a minute. It is my genes that loads the gun and it is the lifestyle that pulls the trigger. We have time to change!

What I’ve seen as I age is that many friends have suffered ill health due to lack of good information and poor information from companies involved in medical care just to make money to keep selling pills and procedures rather than educating people to make lifestyle changes which are less costly. Not once has a doctor asked me or my family “What do you eat?”

Below are books that I have read and cook with. The China Study was the first book I read after seeing the movie “Forks Over Knives.” I have no desire to die the way my parents did!

The Standard American Diet is full of processed food, too much oil, salt and sugar and quite unhealthy. Remember when we grew up, we ate real fruits, vegetables and whole grains and legumes and meat. I’ve since learned that I do not have to eat meat and have learned that it is one of the most important foods to avoid to save our environment. I loved the split pea soup that my mother made. We’ve slipped away from that and need to be reminded to return to the simpler and more active lifestyle. It includes visiting and getting to know my neighbors, walking places, swimming laps, chatting with person on the phone, getting together with friends, etc. Some of the best benefits are the new and exciting recipes that I have tried and some that I am about to try. Jane and Ann Esselstyn show delicious recipes being made on YouTube.

Semester at Sea, the University of the Seven Seas in 1963, was an opportunity that was given to me by my parents. I was 21 and have always been fortunate and have gone for the exceptional and unusual experiences. It has broadened my perspective and educated me in many areas. Being a thinker from the time my mother told me to “think” when working on a project and being able to find solutions to an activity or job, I noticed there were many solutions, not just one answer. Being involved in “critical thinking” is useful. Not being gullible is protective. So therefore I have followed the best possible approach to aging that I know.

You wonder why you should listen to me. I don’t have an M.D.. I am not a researcher, I do have two college degrees (BFA in Illustration, BS in Animal Biology), but I do have an analytical approach, am curious and am a keen observer. I have sorted through information on nutrition and lifestyle and selected the valid and well researched information to share with you. Make your own decision and choice about your lifestyle.

Until the next personal sketch, PEACE and HEALTH, Heather