Community Magazine May 2021

62 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Did you know that about one half of American adults suffer from a chronic illness associated with poor nutrition and a lack of physical activity? That translates into about 117 million American adults whose chronic disease could be positively altered by adhering to a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, together with an active lifestyle. Americans’ S.A.D. dietary choices contribute to cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks, high blood pressure, strokes, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, as well as some neurological conditions such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and depression. This is not to be taken lightly. We are talking about life-altering diseases that can be curbed, pushed off, or even completely prevented if we make healthy diet and lifestyle choices.  Some Sad Statistics Let us honestly consider these statistics: which American can say he is unaffected by this astounding reality? How many spouses, children, siblings, colleagues, or students are one degree away from a relative or peer with a preventable chronic illness? How many people are suffering daily due to poor nutrition and lifestyle choices? Howmuch money is spent on medications and attempted cures, and how much productivity is lost? Nearly two-thirds of all adults and one-third of children fall into the overweight or obese categories. Hundreds of thousands of youths struggle with weight issues. What will become of a generation that battles rampant health issues from a young age? Numerous components of this eating pattern contribute to the infamous SAD title.  Most importantly, there is overconsumption of foods high in calories and low in nutrients, combined with underconsumption of foods containing sufficient nutrients.  More specifically, the American diet usually does not include enough fresh vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, and includes too many foods that are high in calories, saturated fats, refined grains, sugar, and salt.  Put simply, most Americans are eating toomuch junk food and not enough real food. The Good News and the Bad News Yet, on a refreshingly positive note, scientific research shows reasonably strong links between nutritious eating patterns and decrease in the risk of the chronic diseases mentioned above. Moreover, making healthy lifestyle choices leads to an immediate increase in our standard of health and in our productivity.  Specific dietary recommendations by theDGAC (DietaryGuidelines Advisory Committee) include eating more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, fish, and nuts, combined with eating less red meat, processed foods, sugar, and refined grains.  But it seems the general population has not taken these recommendations to heart, even though people are aware of the real possibility that they could reverse the likelihood of chronic disease by adjusting their diets. Current trends in national eating patterns over the last decade do not show any major shift away from the SAD diet, and toward healthier eating. If current research strongly suggests that proper nutrition can have a massive impact on the national burden of chronic disease, why are national dietary trends not changing?  Perhaps the general public lacks knowledge about proper nutrition, and/or has limited access to healthy options.  But even with knowledge and access, change is still not guaranteed.  As we know, behavioral changes are tough, especially if done on one’s own.  In fact, the DGAC emphasizes the need for a revolution in national health consciousness to permeate every aspect of society. They call on partnerships between parents, families, schools, food retail, health care institutions, and health providers, in order to create a revolution that will be self-sustaining. Sounds great.  A Solution: Achdut Yet, there is still one critical component of this ideal plan that is missing, and that is national unity.  Success on a national level is possible only if eachmember of society feels a sense of responsibility for the well-being of every individual within his shared social strata. The Jewish people are one nation, and we are unified by our unique essence.  The lofty national goals set by the DGAC are actually quite reasonable and attainable for the Jewish community.  We are small, organized, creative, and motivated.  Furthermore, we have an inherent sense of responsibility for each other.  If the DGAC believes in the American public, then all the more so, we can surely believe in our own abilities to create this positive change, thereby adhering to the Torah’s principle of “ v’nishmartem me’od l’nafshoteichem ” – “And you shall very carefully guard your lives” (Devarim 4:15). Optimism is the belief that things will work out in the best possible manner. Optimists tend to believe that they will successfully overcome obstacles and will achieve their goals. For example: optimists under-estimate their risk of getting sick and over-estimate their chances of getting better. Optimists believe that failure is caused due to situations that are passing, specific, and external to them. The pessimist will mostly claim what happened was his own fault. Many extensive studies show that optimists tend to deal better with pressurized situations, recover more quickly from acute medical events, and adjust better to chronic illness. After having bypass surgery or a biopsy, optimists heal faster and have a lower risk of being re-hospitalized. Optimists generally have less psychological stress when undergoing fertility treatment. One study that measured heart and vascular functioning of optimists found that optimists did better than pessimists for both heart and vascular functioning. This study, which measured 5,100 people’s blood pressure, weight, height, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels, revealed that the optimists w re 76% more likely to have good measurements. Another study shows that people with a positive life outlook had a healthier heart and immune system, a higher tolerance for pain, and recovered more quickly from cancer. Researchers in Ben-Gurion University found that optimistic women had a lower risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer and women that went thro gh trauma (w ich can lead to a loss of optimism) h d a risk fa tor for breast cancer tens of percentage points higher. More than that, a long-term study that included 900 seniors fou d that the higher their optimism was the lower the chance was that they would die within the next ten years. The imp ct optimi m has ph sical health is especially strong and the benefits of having an optim stic outlook are considered equal to quitting smoking! Okay, I’m convin ed. Now how can I adopt an optimistic approach to life? Recognizing the Good – Are you a are of the good things in your life? Write up a list and identify all the positive things in all your various circles of life. Give thanks and share your experience with your friends. Make Lemons into Lemonade – Negative experiences are an unavoidable part of our lives. Reframe them in a positive light by asking these questions. Can this be interpreted in a more positive way? Could any good come out of this? Is there an opportunity hidden here? What can I learn from this that I can use later? Sort out your Thoughts – Focus your thoughts on things that are difficult for you. What thoughts crop up in your mind? Are there many thoughts running around up there or is it one constant nagging thought? Try to think about these problems in a rational manner instead of responding emotionally. Worries and Fears Are the Enemies of Optimism - Treat debilitating thoughts like background noise, like voices coming from a radio in your vicinity. You can hear them but do not focus on them. Show yourself that you are not listening. Got a Pessimism Attack? – Do n t fight it. Do ot judge your thoughts. If you relate to them with curiosity and forgiveness you will cope with them better. Even so, try to steer your mind back on track, focusing on the good. Every time your thoughts go to negative places recognize it and refocus your attention with mindful contemplation. You Can Take Charge of Your Thoughts - It’s Worth It! What are the health advantages of optimism and how does one adopt an optimistic approach to life? 3 ommunity magazine 1. It hints to us that there’s nothing that happens in this world without it being decreed on high. Just as a person spinning the dreidel can’t know on what side it will land, so too he can’t know where his fforts will lead him. Spinning the dreidel harder doesn’t get you any closer to r solving this. Likewise, in life, the extra effort often just means a few more turns than necessary before getting to the result decreed on high. Gd runs our lif in a s milar way. A man can’t change what was decreed on him from on high and all the extra efforts are just meandering off the path Gd plotted for you. 2. Just as the dreidel spins only when you spin it from above, so too our world spins around by Gd spinning it from above. 3. A pers n who spi s a d orients himself inward t ward Gd will merit that e will spin out of and will escape th tr ubles that envelop him. 4. The Bnei Issachar explains: “…p ople spin the dreidel with the letters gimmel, shin, nun , and heh – and each faces a different direction with the dreidel spinning around a central point. These letters hint to the kingdoms of Rome, Babylon, Greece, and Madai, which oppose the four powers of man. Gimmel for “ guf ,” the body, shin for “sechel,” human intelligence, nun for “nefesh,” the soul, and heh for “hakol,” all of them. They all spin on a central axis, which is Israel, that unites all the far away extremes. All the outside extremes are subservient to the middle they all spin around, and all the nations will nullify themselves to the nation of Israel and acquire a clear language (with which to come to Gd).” Dreidels are a beloved par of Hanukah celebrations the world over. And they’re far from being simple playthings; dreidels symbolize de p spiritual concepts. Below re four lightening messages that can be learned from the dreidel. The Dreidel ’ s Message Rabbi ElimElEch bidERman 1 2 3 4 5 6 28 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE MORDECHAI KATZ The Standard American Diet Is S.A.D. for More Than One Reason Mordechai Katz has a master’s degree in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine and is the founder of The Jerusalem Center for Functional Medicine. You can find him at:  functionalmedicine.co.il & nutrition@functionalmedicine.co.il .

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