All carbs are not equal. On rare occasion, out of total desperation, I forage a grocery store for a fast lunch. Whether at a natural foods or mainstream market, if I end up with a sandwich, the bread is a pappy disappointment. I’m used to eating bread that doesn’t stick to my teeth or the roof of my mouth. At home, I skip bread completely and prepare whole grains - wheat berries, bulgur, kamut kernels, millet, spelt berries, quinoa. For the most part, these are living seeds not milled-to-nothing dust. I’ve actually planted the same wheat berries I cook with, resulting in a fine crop of grass for my cat.

Preparing whole grains, the kind of carbs worth consuming, is not as labor intensive as you’d think. Like any mindful way of eating there’s a learning curve coupled with a bit of pre-planning. The best whole grain guide for purchase and prep I’ve seen recently is Whole Grains, Every Day, Every Way by Lorna Sass. In addition to technique and instruction, there are many easy, exciting recipes to explore. However, the recipe I just posted - Egyptian Rice & Lentils, is not from that book.

It is one of my tried and true, faves from Martha Rose Shulman’s Mediterranean LIGHT (1) published seventeen years earlier. I’ve substituted other grains for the rice with the most successful stand-in being an equal amount of millet. “Millet is a good source of protein, B vitamins, iron, phosphorus, manganese, and copper. It is a staple in many parts of Africa, where it is primarily made into a thick porridge…” (2)

(1) Mediterranean LIGHT by Martha Rose Shulman, Bantam Books, 1989
(2) Whole Grains, Every Day, Every Way by Lorna Sass, Clarkston Potter/Publishers, 2006

A Dutch study released this week, lead by Pieter van Baal, an economist at the Netherlands’ National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, “found that the health costs of thin and healthy people in adulthood are more expensive (costing $417,000, from age 20 on) than those of either fat people ($371,000) or smokers ($326,000). From age 20-56, obese people racked up the most expensive health costs. But because both the smokers and the obese people died sooner than the healthy group, it cost less to treat them in the long run. Mr. van Baal described his paper as ‘a book-keeping exercise’, and said that governments should recognize that successful smoking and obesity prevention programs mean people will have a higher chance of dying of something more expensive later.” He cited this example: “Lung cancer is a cheap disease to treat because people don’t survive very long. But if they are old enough to get Alzheimer’s one day, they may survive longer and cost more.” (1)

Greg Critser (Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World) wrote in a 2002 Los Angeles Times Op-Ed “hardly a day passes now without a new study or warning about the medical consequences of obesity. Unfortunately, such proclamations will likely have little impact on changing the behavior that causes us to be fat. Why? Because they do not address a prime reason so many Americans stay fat these days. It is this: Being fat – at least so far – makes economic sense.” Sure does! Think pharmaceutical profits to treat obesity and its related illnesses. And until these folks die young, there’s tons of money to be made “refitting airplane, subway and bus seats, as well as, the redesign and manufacturing of clothing to accommodate them.” (2)  A New Jersey based company offers “The Goliath” a casket, for the 300-400 pound dearly departed. 

As a fitness professional, I often feel like I’m beating my head against a wall. The American Council on Exercise (ACE) says, “Get behind Healthy People 2010!” What happened to Healthy People 2000? Guess we didn’t make it. Last November, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) announced a new campaign “Exercise is Medicine” partnering with physicians to encourage patients to exercise. Wonder what’s with that program. Bottom line: self care is the only care regardless of where you fall on the actuarial tables.

(1) Preventing Obesity and Smoking Saves Lives – But Costs Big Bucks, Associated Press, 2-4-08
(2) ACE FitnessMatters, May/June 2002