Diet for Death

Earlier today, on the heels of my post about Bacon Camp, my friend, Pam, sent me this article about the dangers of eating processed meat. As you might expect, some of our favorites--bacon, hot dogs, sausages, and more--may be rather bad for us. The real culprits might be the high levels of salt and nitrates that they contain, but no one knows for sure. In fact, the study is not a causal one but rather a correlative effort; we really don't know.

This study reminded me, however, that there is something we absolutely know for certain: something is eventually going to kill you. We all die.

Years ago, I saw within one week two studies on the effects of certain substances on health. One focused on heart disease; the other's topic was cancer. Each showed concentration levels that seemed associated with its disease. As it turns out, the concentrations overlapped.

The conclusion seemed quite obvious to me: You should diet for the way you want to die. Think about it: everything you eat has some negative consequences, so you might as well pick the ones you want to get you.

I could go on, but I won't, because I fear some folks will think I'm making light of the obesity problem or the importance of a healthy diet or the need for plenty of exercise; I'm not. All those things are important.

So, too, though is some joy in your eating. That's why I don't eat red meat during the week, but damaging or not, sometimes I'm going to chow down on bacon, hot dogs, cheese, bacon cheese dogs, and other dangerous substances.