Sometimes it's hard to smile and push forward when it seems like everyone I know intentionally works against my efforts. The lecture in my Pathophysiology class tonight was about Atherosclerosis, Hypertension, and Cardiac Pathophysiology. Having it broken down for us on a higher level was interesting, reaffirming, and also extremely frustrating for me. I'll never understand why I just get it and so many others don't. These diseases that so horribly affect the condition of our precious heart and blood vessels are directly related to the amount of saturated fat we consume in our diets, which accumulates as plaque in our vessels. It's simple biochemistry really. Saturated fat = animal products = solid at room temperature = solid in your blood vessels. Poly and monounsaturated fat = plant based fat = liquid at room temperature = does NOT stick in our blood vessels = NO PLAQUE. I don't understand what is so incredibly hard for people to understand about this concept. Hyperlipidemia = Heart Disease = Death. Why then, do we continue to chow down on meat and dairy products loaded with saturated fat, even perhaps being taught that it's healthy for us, while in reality it's the #1 killer of both men and women today.
Even worse, we learned tonight that the statistics of how we diagnose and treat atherosclerosis is evolving in America. We are now diagnosing and treating SEVEN YEAR OLDS for plaque in the arteries. Children are starting to show signs of atherosclerosis in their first decade of life. Where does everyone think these statistics are coming from? Could it be the 70% increase in American meat and dairy consumption in the last 100 years? Someone please tell me how is this acceptable?
And here's the kicker, that sent me over the edge. My colleagues in class, the ones studying to become YOUR future practitioners, heard the exact same lecture that I did tonight. They then proceeded to complain about how doctors have set the standard too high for what constitutes as a healthy diet. One of my fellow students spoke up, asking "isn't it normal to expect that as a middle aged adult, we're just going to have vessel damage?" While I asked myself, "Why is causing this UNNECESSARY damage to our bodies considered acceptable and to be expected in this country?" Why would anyone just assume that it's fine, to damage our bodies to the point that it eventually kills us, without caring about how it can easily be avoided? He then came to the conclusion of "great, now we all have to eat like rabbits to save our blood vessels." Well, guess what, sir. Have you ever seen any rabbits running around with Coronary Heart Disease and blocked vessels? That guy could be your future practitioner someday. And then, of course, half the class went outside to smoke.
So I'm going to bed now, with a stomach full of a vegan sub from Subway which will NOT be stuck in my blood vessels in the morning, and a strong faith that karma will continue to support my daily fight to help change this downward spiral. The same faith that makes me so determined to walk this walk, every single day.
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