Comment on article in the NY Times “The Fat Pack Wonders if the Party’s Over“, published March 19, 2008 by Kim Severson
Whatever we like (food/alcohol/cigarettes/heroin/cocaine/unprotected sex, etc) is about brain chemical messengers such as “anandamide” (Sanskrit for ‘bliss’) or “2 AG.” These are in the chemical family called “‘endocannabinoids,” literally cousins of marijuana. To a realistic point, that which we like is about getting stoned. Now what about the runner’s high, the joy of family, or the correctness of monogamous sex? There are no absolutes, but when we do that which we like, it is all too frequently “illegal, immoral, or fattening.” And this article discusses “fattening.” The natural human design involves breathing clean air (not smoking), drinking clean water/herb tea (not coffee or more than four alcohol drinks a week), eating a 90 % whole foods Liv-it as opposed to a die-t (with anything once in a while), keeping a positive, serving, we-shall-overcome attitude, and exercising to the point of abdominal “clear lines of definition/demarcation” = CLODD (we should all be CLODDS). However, as fat cells begin to fill up, cholesterol/blood-pressure/diabetes propensity/cancer risk/gallstones/sleep disorders/bad self-image increasingly begin to appear, along with elevated levels of nasty body chemicals such as tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-6, PAI-1, caveolin, MCP, etc. What’s best? See the above and reconsider the “foodie” malaprop. Having been there/done that, with no aspersions, it really is a particular kind of “druggie,” and with those similar results.
Respectfully submitted,
H. Robert Silverstein, MD, FACC.
Preventive Medicine Center