Public health advice can be confusing. Within the last 20 months, we have learned that official statements are usually misleading. Also, many studies regarding optimal dietary patterns are often biased. It is not uncommon that scientists write studies in a way that they satisfy the expectations of the funder and/or support the current thing.
I’m not a doctor, but when I was a kid, we dared each other to eat gross things, hung out with our friends to keep them company when they were sick, played in the dirt, drank creek water, never checked expiration dates, ate things that fell on the floor and refused to bathe unless we were covered in mud.
Maybe that has something to do with us not being soy bugmen.
Seems like being disgusting dirty boys made strong men.
To add, we all knew that one kid, who’s mom babied him, and he never did any of those things we did, and he was always home sick, with a nebulizer running, and a pile of OTC meds and tissues by his nightstand…
Good advice. But don’t pick on kale too much. It’s more important to eat a broad *variety* of vegetables, and make sure they’re organic and local if possible. Growing your own is even better.
I always argue that socialization is a "want" rather than a "need," but it does appear after many discussions, that for most people, being deprived of social connection does do them various forms of emotional damage.
My experience indicates that extended lack of normal socialization can desensitize one to the idea of human interaction being a necessity.
I only bring it up due to 1) being called out on my opinion on this issue on another substack today, and 2) because the statement "Everybody who says otherwise is a blatant liar" annoys me.
I'm functional, more physically healthy than the majority of others I have interacted with, and mentally I maintain both a decent level of personal comfort and adequate functionality as societal gear in the Machine.
I do appreciate pleasant human interaction, I just see it as a bonus rather than a have-to-have-it-to-be-happy item.
I get the impression that in this case, the analysis of the socially-trained majority is used to invalidate those of us who are introverted enough that playing the Game is usually more unpleasant than justified by the potential (NOT guaranteed) rewards for participating.
I totally understand that many people feel differently about that.
I’m not a doctor, but when I was a kid, we dared each other to eat gross things, hung out with our friends to keep them company when they were sick, played in the dirt, drank creek water, never checked expiration dates, ate things that fell on the floor and refused to bathe unless we were covered in mud.
Maybe that has something to do with us not being soy bugmen.
Seems like being disgusting dirty boys made strong men.
To add, we all knew that one kid, who’s mom babied him, and he never did any of those things we did, and he was always home sick, with a nebulizer running, and a pile of OTC meds and tissues by his nightstand…
Good advice. But don’t pick on kale too much. It’s more important to eat a broad *variety* of vegetables, and make sure they’re organic and local if possible. Growing your own is even better.
Thank you Dr. Simon.
I always argue that socialization is a "want" rather than a "need," but it does appear after many discussions, that for most people, being deprived of social connection does do them various forms of emotional damage.
My experience indicates that extended lack of normal socialization can desensitize one to the idea of human interaction being a necessity.
I only bring it up due to 1) being called out on my opinion on this issue on another substack today, and 2) because the statement "Everybody who says otherwise is a blatant liar" annoys me.
I'm functional, more physically healthy than the majority of others I have interacted with, and mentally I maintain both a decent level of personal comfort and adequate functionality as societal gear in the Machine.
I do appreciate pleasant human interaction, I just see it as a bonus rather than a have-to-have-it-to-be-happy item.
I get the impression that in this case, the analysis of the socially-trained majority is used to invalidate those of us who are introverted enough that playing the Game is usually more unpleasant than justified by the potential (NOT guaranteed) rewards for participating.
I totally understand that many people feel differently about that.
Prayer, Sleep, Diet (including sunlight/vitamin D), Exercise, Socialize
This post rocks! I would change number 5 to “eat good food, not too much“. (slightly misquoting Michael Pollan). Dietary prescriptions rarely work.
Great advice! Especially re: kale...because I'm not a fan 😂