More New Guidelines

Once again there are more new guidelines from the AHA. Sigh. It seems that if you don't start eating right at the age of five, you should start digging your grave.

Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but really, sometimes the guidelines do make you feel as if working at getting healthier is a lost cause because you've already done so much damage. And sometimes, you feel like they're your grandparents who are just learning to work their VCR when the rest of the world has moved on to DVDs. Or like my mother, who just got e-mail, but hasn't yet learned to reply. She claims she enjoys reading my e-mails, though.

Anyway, the new guidelines are for women are focusing on being healthy before you get diabetes, heart disease, etc. They also stress a need for fresh fruits and veggies, 60 - 90 minutes of exercise each day and an aspirin to prevent heart attacks. In short, they recommend what the rest of us have been trying to work into our lifestyles for some time.

So that's my angina for today: Why do the big associations (heart, cancer, FDA) feel like a healthy lifestyle isn't valid until they weigh in on it? And why does it take them so long to change their guidelines? With science and knowledge evolving every day, their recommendations almost seem like old news.

However, on the bright side -- Ed made a great low-cal chili last night. We bought a Weight Watchers cookbook. It's in a binder so you can lay it flat on the counter and it's full of low-calorie, low-fat recipes. While I'm not on Weight Watchers (I find counting points makes me think about food more) they do find a lot of sneaky ways to insert lots of flavor into meals in a healthy way. If you can, their recipes are worth a look. Especially if you have an Ed that's willing to help out with the cooking.