What to Serve When Company is Coming Over?

Yesterday we celebrated my oldest birthday with a party of our friends and family. I have wrestled with what I serve in my house when we have company over. (Heck, I struggle with what to feed my family on a daily basis.) So finally, this past month, I have settled one of my struggles. I decided that I will not prepare meat when company comes over.  This is not an easy decision for me because I don't want to push my choices on others. My purpose is to set an example, to show it can be done. Because if we could cut into some pharma profits by getting healthier I'd be happy.


I can only think of two people over the age of 55 that are not diagnosed with some chronic disease in my life. I've started to realize that the change needs to start somewhere. That change needs to start with me. If I really love those around me I will do my best to provide the healthiest opportunities for them I can while still enjoying the fruits of life… so to speak. It started a couple of weeks ago when I had a couple of the girls from my soccer team and their families over. I tested the waters with my idea that I could provide a plant based meal for more than 15 people and have everyone enjoy it. The feedback I got was positive, so I repeated most of it for my oldest birthday celebration. I did bend and get pizza along with the roasted vegetables I served make-your-own fajita style. And of course there was birthday cake. I choose not to do goodie bags because I honestly was lacking creativity this year. I did not want to fill bags full of candy and hand them out to the kids, and I didn't want to buy a bunch of cheap, lasts-only-for-a-minute toys. The later because I feel it is wasting the resources and money. I typically throw the stuff out within hours that it arrives in my house.

Chronic disease is an umbrella term that encompasses: obesity, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, diabetes mellitus. There are other chronic diseases such as different types of arthritis, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, even some mental disorders which are thought to have a diet/lifestyle connection.

According The World Health Organization (WHO) report of Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Disease, "79% of all death worldwide that are attributable to chronic disease are already occurring in developing countries." (WHO 4) WHO also projects that by 2020 "chronic disease will account for almost three-quarters of all deaths worldwide…The number of people in the developing world with diabetes will increase more than 2.5-fold, from 84 million in 1995 to 228 in 2025." (WHO 5).

Most experts agree that chronic disease is largely preventable (WHO 5). "Modern dietary patterns and physical activity patterns are risk behaviors that travel across countries and are transferable from one population to another like an infectious disease, affecting disease patterns globally." (WHO 5)


 

 

Cause of Death	Death
Diseases of the Heart	710,760
Cancer (Malignant Neoplasms)	553,091
Medical Care	225,400
Stroke (Cerebrovascular Disease)	167,661
Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases	122,009
Accidents	97,900
Diabetes Mellitus	69,301

Table 1 - Leading Cause of Death in the United States (Campbell & Campbell 16)

 
According to Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell,

Both diabetes and obesity are merely symptoms of poor health in general. They rarely exist in isolation of other disease and often forecast deeper, more serious health problems, such as heart disease, cancer and stroke. Two of the most frightening statistics show that diabetes among people in their thirties has increased 70% in less than ten years and percentage of obese people has nearly doubled in the past their years. Such an incredibly fast increase in these "signal" diseases in America's young to middle age population forecast a health care catastrophe in the coming decades. It may become an unbearable burden on a health system that is already strained in countless ways. (Campbell & Campbell 14)

 
In 1972 a community based CVD prevention program began in the province of North Karelia in Finland due to their high CVD mortality rates. The initial goal was to achieve a substantial decline in coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality, especially among middle-aged men through promoting cholesterol lowering dietary changes and a stop smoking campaign. A massive community approach was initiated through health services, voluntary organizations, local media, businesses and public policy. There was a considerable decline in CVD (and cancer) mortality (over 60%) among the male population in North Karelia throughout the program and beyond. "The experience of the North Karelia and Finland as a whole is a major demonstration that premature mortality from modern epidemics of CVD and cancer can be greatly reduced" (Puska et al. 424).


 
Reference:

Campbell, T. Colin, and Thomas M. Campbell. The China Study: the Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health. Dallas, Tex.: BenBella, 2005. Print.

World Health Organization. Diet , Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. Rep. The World Health Organization, 2003. Web. 5 Apr. 2010.