EKG by rwk, on Flickr

Some changes come easily, some come with great fear and trembling. Choosing healthy fats falls into the second category for me. Being a kid in the 1960′s, a teen in the 1970′s, a young adult in the 1980′s, a parent in the 1990′s and middle aged in the new millenium has taught me some very loud, insistent lessons, one of which is:

ANIMAL FATS ARE BAD

“They will make you fat! You’ll have a heart attack! Your arteries will clog up and you’ll fall down dead! Your cholesterol will choke your heart and your blood pressure will skyrocket and you’ll have a stroke! Eat our margarine and cook in our canola oil, it won’t kill you, it’s safe! See? Look at this evidence, examine our numbers!” I had forty years of this drilled into my head, most of it coming from newspapers, television and food wrappers, but a good part of it coming from the authoritative man in the white coat.

When I married my husband, I had no idea the health challenges the men in his family had endured. It wasn’t until the last few months I’ve discovered that his father was only 38 years old when he had his first heart attack, and had a quadruple bypass before he turned 50. And it was only this week that I learned his grandfather died after suffering a heart attack in his 50′s.

This week, my husband’s younger brother was admitted to the hospital in cardiac emergency. Tom is only in his 40′s. The doctors say he has one artery 90% blocked, has a weak heart and is being evaluated for a defibrillator.

My first reaction was: (if you know me this will come as no surprise) panic. All that good-oil-bad-fat propaganda came rushing back to me and I was terrified that I was headed for a certain future as a widow with six growing children. It took several minutes for me to regain my calm and remember the “new/old” lesson I’ve learned in the last 12 months. I can summarize it in one, rational, calm thought:

Heart disease is new. Plant oils are new. Animal fats are old. How did man survive thousands of years eating animal fat if it’s such a “killer?”

That one truth brings me back from the edge of terror every time.

We are doing many things to help my husband overcome his heredity. Eating real food including animal fat and coconut oil is one of those things. When his blood pressure became dangerously high, we did agree to some (old) meds for a limited time. He exercises daily and strives to get enough sleep. He doesn’t smoke or drink and is managing his stress level. He takes fermented cod liver oil every day. He even enjoyed a cup of kefir soda pop the other day! Is there more we can do? Yes, we need to curtail sugar and grains. Maybe that should be where I channel my anxiety.

I wanted to share this story with you because I really do understand how scary it can be to make changes. I’m fully invested here, not just promoting a cause to have something to do.