Things Byron ate six weeks ago - Part Five: Tying all the loose ends

I don't have a good picture of "tying loose ends", so I'm just going to show you a picture of Thailand.
We've spent the past little bit talking about things Byron can do to make his diet healthier - not eating as many meals out/preparing more meals at home, eating breakfast, and not drinking as much calorie-containing beverages/drinking more water. As it currently stands, Byron often takes in more calories, fat, saturated fat, alcohol and sodium, and less fibre than the current recommendations. Byron's sugar intake is pretty high too, but there are no set guidelines for sugar intake because it is difficult to differentiate between added and naturally-occurring sugars.

I can see why there isn't really a sense of urgency for Byron to change - He is at a healthy weight and since I don't think he's had a check-up recently (bad), I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that his bloodwork looks good and that his blood pressure is normal.

But this stuff can creep up on you - our metabolism naturally slows with aging, and although the calories are not packing on the pounds now, they can in the future. Similarly, Byron's blood pressure may also be normal now (I don't know) but if he continues to take in so much sodium and stress his body by drinking caffeine, not getting a lot of sleep and working a high-stress job, he's more than likely to become hypertensive. High blood pressure directly increases your risk of stroke, but it can indirectly increase your risk of other cardiovascular events as it makes your blood vessels more susceptible to inflammation and damage caused by LDL ("bad" cholesterol). What increases your cholesterol? A diet high in saturated fats and lack of exercise, essentially. High intake of refined carbs and alcohol raises triglycerides, which have a similar effect to cholesterol in plaque formation. Alcohol also directly causes damage to the liver.

Increasing fibre intake by eating more whole grains, vegetables and fruit not only keeps things moving in the digestive system, but soluble fibre (the kind of fibre you find in oats, barley, psyllium and most fruits) also has the effect of lowering cholesterol. It does this by capturing bile and excreting out of the body, forcing the body to use the cholesterol in our blood to make more. Whole grains, vegetables and fruit also impart other health benefits by being a source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals.

Even though the damage may be undetectable by the standards we have today, that does not mean that the damage isn't happening, and it's certainly a good idea to make the good lifestyle changes now before you're on dozens of medications for different conditions and wondering if you'll ever be able to get off of them.

Change is hard. Dietary change is especially hard, because the instant gratification of a Bacon Cheeseburger at Five Guys or the time savings from grabbing "breakfast" at Starbucks (or not eating breakfast at all) is so much more tangible than the benefits of eating a healthy diet. I mean, you're not going to be gripping at your chest when you're in your 80s thinking, "Man, I'm so glad this is happening now instead of when I was 70!"

Completely overhauling your diet is overwhelming. The bad habits you have might have been ingrained for years and years. I don't expect you to change completely in a day, a week, a month or even a year. I don't expect you to have a "perfect" diet (because it doesn't exist). Even if you choose one teeny, tiny thing to focus on until you are comfortable with it and ready to take on the next thing, that's great! Eventually, you will find your own reasons to continuing changing/maintaining a healthy diet - yes, nutrition is about preventing disease and helping us live longer, but more importantly, it's about making sure we can get the most out of life while we are still living.