I admit it…I do occasionally go lacking for ideas for this space. After 34 years, that’s inevitable. Most of the time it’s just that I don’t want to repeat myself. I wrote the same piece on Mrs. Geraldine Upton at least three times before my wife reminded me that I had already covered my story with her.
This time it’s sort of the same thing. I’ve written about
nothing but Covid-19 and returning to school and sports for three straight
weeks.
I usually write about is whatever is on my heart and that’s
been foremost since it looked like there would be a fall sports season. And I
would be lying to you if I told you returning to sports wasn’t still weighing
heavily on me. But the fact is, we’re in it, with games about to commence.
I don’t worry about volleyball and soccer as much as
football. In football, the contact is more, the numbers are much higher, and I
honestly believe the chances of getting Covid-19 are much higher.
I understand the overwhelming desire to return to some
degree of normalcy and I know what the senior season an athlete dreams of means
to them. So, I’m there. Every day. Doing what I can to keep them safe. Because
that’s my job.
To protect my family, I’m putting my clothes directly in the
washing machine and heading for the shower every day when I get home. I wear a
mask, I wash my hands. I maintain social distancing whenever possible. But if I
have an injured athlete, social distancing goes out the door.
Back to the original dilemma: What to write about that isn’t
about Covid-19 (obviously I’ve already blown that one). I asked a patient of
mine for suggestions about what I should write about this week. He had already
admitted to being a regular reader—looking for my column on Sunday morning
every week.
He said “write about what we should be eating to stay
healthy.”
OK. I can do that. I’ve been down that road before but I’ve
been told you have to hear something seven times before it really sinks in. So
here is my opinion.
If it contains white sugar or white flour, stay away from
it. You don’t have to completely eliminate those food culprits from your diet,
just limit your intake of both of them.
I just don’t understand those that drink several sodas every
day. The average soda contains about 8 teaspoons (or 30-40 grams) of added
sugar. Each. The American Heart Association recommendation on added sugar is
about 25 grams a day. That’s just too much sugar.
And we can’t ignore that there’s a lot of sugar in other
foods. Ketchup. Salad dressing. Sports drinks. Barbecue sauce. We get plenty of
sugar in our diet so we need to look for ways to cut back. All of us.
In general, Americans consume way too much in the way of
simple carbohydrates. My personal path was that my problems with hypoglycemia
(low blood sugar) went away when I dropped my carb intake considerably. Complex
carbohydrates are OK but even then, we need fewer carbs and a more balanced
diet.
We all need to eat more simply. The items in your grocery
cart should have one name, not a list of ingredients. There are good fats and
bad fats. Know the difference.
Eat smart. Eat healthy. But food is meant to be enjoyed so
don’t beat yourself up for the occasional lapse.
