May 22, 2013
Personal Health Essay Life is a very meaningful thing. Some people are aware of the health issues that can occur later in life and others do not have a clue. There is also an “it will not happen to me attitude.” Some of these issues can be made less serious or even prevented, by making changes in our lives right now. Looking at my family history and thinking about the future, I need to live in the moment, because I will never know when it will be my last. I come from a family that fried everything and used grease for flavor. My mom was never taught about healthy eating and she cooked just like her mother did. My grandmother came from the depression era that didn’t waste anything and had a way to make a meal out of whatever was available. Many of our favorite foods were developed during this time and we’ve been eating that way ever since. I was never encouraged to eat vegetables, in fact the only vegetables I really remember having are potatoes and corn, because those were the only ones the kids would eat. I have two sisters and all three of us were finicky eaters. Because we would only eat certain foods, my mom would cook those items just so we would eat. She never made it the “healthy version” way, because she didn’t know to do that. When I was growing up, there was the food pyramid, but not all the talk about changing recipes to a healthier version or cutting out fat. We ate what we liked and could afford, so most of it was processed and unhealthy. As time progressed, almost everyone in the family was overweight. Obesity runs in the family and so do all the conditions that often go along with it: high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure. Because of such unhealthy eating habits, my uncle had a massive myocardial infarction at age 49. My mom had two smaller heart attacks.