Why didn’t I listen to my mum?

When I was growing up in the 1970’s & 80’s, we were bombarded with information about changing our diets if we wanted to cut the risk of heart disease etc.

Fats were denounced as the ‘evil’ food and to be avoided at all cost whereas carbohydrates were definitely the ‘healthy option’.

“Eat more carbs”  “Bin the butter”  “Margarine is the way forward” “Cut out eggs” …

My mum didn’t agree with the ‘experts’ and I can hear her now saying:

“nonsense – you should eat all things in moderation” “Fresh food is key” “margarine is full of cancer forming chemicals – stick to butter and cream” “start your day with an egg for breakfast” …

Well like most teenagers, I certainly wasn’t going to listen to my mum and I disregarded her advice as ‘old fashioned’….

There was no internet or Google Search in the 70’s & 80’s so I listened to the ‘experts’ and paid attention to what I read in books, magazines or on TV about the ‘healthy diet’.

How wrong I was! I really should’ve listened to my mum….

I realise now that the diet we were encouraged to follow by the ‘experts’ contributed to my gradual weight increase over 3 decades and to my eventual diagnosis of type 2 Diabetes. I’m not shifting blame and I accept that I put the food in my mouth.. however, I thought I was doing the right thing cutting down on fat, eating less red meat and eating more rice and pasta.

The impact of the dietary advice we received from apparent ‘experts’ across the globe since the 1970’s has significantly contributed to the epidemic increase in obesity and related illnesses including diabetes etc.

In my recent quest to find out whether it is possible to ‘reverse diabetes’, I’ve done the obligatory Google and Bing Searches (not that I believe everything I read on the internet) and I came across a recent and ongoing study underway at Newcastle University which is fascinating and I would recommend anybody who is considering changing their diet or who has been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, to read this article and links within it: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal.htm

Hang on – I’m listening to another expert….. Yikes!!! (However I’m still going to follow this particular experts guidance as so far it’s working!) I’ll let you know if I have to ‘punch myself in the n*ts’

Whilst I’ve not gone down the full route recommended by Professor Taylor who has led this research into reversing diabetes i.e. to initiate rapid weight loss by cutting down to 600 calories per day (I wasn’t confident I’d stick to this level of extreme calorie reduction), I am following the advice to cut carbohydrates significantly and to lose the excess weight. (just don’t look at my post earlier tonight about the Lamb Curry we had for tea – I really did only eat a VERY small portion of rice – oh and a poppadum…oops!)

My goal is to lose at least 3 stone and in the last 3 months I’ve lost over a stone (about 18 lbs) so I’m more than a 1/3rd of the way to achieving my goal  and am hopeful that the blood test results I’m due to receive in 2 weeks time will also evidence some improvement in my blood sugar level.

My mum never changed from using butter to margarine and would regularly tell us how much better it was to eat butter as it is produced naturally without complex chemical processes. Now I read evidence in my Google searches that completely backs up what she continued to say for years.

I realise now that my Mum was a living example of how to eat healthily and maintained a steady weight of between 9 and 10 stone throughout her life. From when I was born in 1960, she never went to the Doctors until she suffered a small stroke 52 years later. Yes, her medical record was blank for over 50 years!! She continued throughout her life to eat all things ‘in moderation’ and she loved her fruit and vegetables – I don’t think a day passed where she didn’t ‘eat her greens’ in the form of broccoli or cabbage!

Why oh why didn’t I heed her advice instead of listening to the ‘experts’?

Yes sometimes mums do know best!!! SORRY MUM…

(All images found on Bing Search under search term: Mum Knows Best)