# Personal health: did ignorance use to be a bit more bliss? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 31, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-health-did-ignorance-use-to-be-a-bit-more-bliss/741857 "2015-12-31T23:45:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-health-did-ignorance-use-to-be-a-bit-more-bliss/741857/41 "2016-01-03T22:03:37Z")
I stand behind the list of recommendations in my previous post. Trying to proscribe a specific diet to a person with no diet-related issues is a fool’s errant. People live long lives while eating all kinds of foods; we’re omnivores. There’s toxins everywhere, so we’ve evolved to tolerate most of them to some degree. Of course there are minerals and vitamins that are essential and phytochemicals that are useful that we should get enough of, but in general eating a varied diet and eating enough will accomplish that. The main thing is to avoid eating too much on a consistent basis. I firmly believe that most of the bad results that are associated with obesity aren’t actually caused by _having_ too much fat / body weight, but by continuing to _increase_ fat / body weight. Of course there are things you should avoid eating, such as (more than a little) cured meats, anything that has turned black (cancer!) and stone-ground flour (the gravel will erode your teeth). It’s a common mistake to think that there are foods that will promote health. If you get enough of everything you’ll be healthy, getting even more of some stuff won’t make you even more healthy. I guess there is _some_ opportunity to make up for a few bad habits with extra “good” food, but you really don’t want to go down that path because it’ll only take you so far. ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-health-did-ignorance-use-to-be-a-bit-more-bliss/741857/42 "2016-01-03T22:11:27Z")
Edit (well, apparently not): the heart attacks: heart disease is the most common cause of death in the western world currently, even after going down significantly in recent years. It’s also pretty big in the rest of the world. I’m not sure how common it was in the past, but I’d think still common enough for anyone who was paying attention to recognize in some way. The interesting thing is that it can kill people without warning and although it’s more common with older people, the risk starts becoming serious in early middle age. (I know someone my age who had a heart attack five years ago. Yikes!) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-health-did-ignorance-use-to-be-a-bit-more-bliss/741857/43 "2016-01-03T22:33:04Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Well, I have always had OCD tendencies and a lot of anxiety. For me, it’s clearly genetic. Seeing my father die a horrible death of heart disease after suffering for 16 years didn’t help much, either. And I already do lots of stuff to control my worry and head content already. But you are engaging in a bit of victim-blaming here. There are a lot of people who have anxiety and worry, and it’s really not their fault. Yeah, my comments were a bit over-the-top given the rest of your history. I wasn’t aware of all that background. Sorry. Since you’re deliberately doing what you can to control the urge to worry then you’re doing all anyone could ask of you. And bravo for doing that. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-health-did-ignorance-use-to-be-a-bit-more-bliss/741857/44 "2016-01-04T06:28:11Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Yeah, my comments were a bit over-the-top given the rest of your history. I wasn’t aware of all that background. Sorry. No biggie. I didn’t take it personally. I just wanted to remind that not everyone has equal control of his/her worry level. > [@](#): > > Since you’re deliberately doing what you can to control the urge to worry then you’re doing all anyone could ask of you. And bravo for doing that. Thanks, mon. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-health-did-ignorance-use-to-be-a-bit-more-bliss/741857/45 "2016-01-04T06:32:06Z")
> [@iljitsch](#): > > Edit (well, apparently not): the heart attacks: heart disease is the most common cause of death in the western world currently, even after going down significantly in recent years. It’s also pretty big in the rest of the world. I’m not sure how common it was in the past, but I’d think still common enough for anyone who was paying attention to recognize in some way. In the West, per what I have read, I don’t think the concept of heart disease even existed until the 19th century. Keep in mind that the germ theory of disease was not even accepted as fact until the latter half of the 19th century. People were just figuring this stuff out. I agree that someone dropping dead was hard to miss, but if you don’t know the cause, you just don’t. > [@](#): > > The interesting thing is that it can kill people without warning and although it’s more common with older people, the risk starts becoming serious in early middle age. (I know someone my age who had a heart attack five years ago. Yikes!) Yikes is right. It’s my FEAR, baby! ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2016, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-health-did-ignorance-use-to-be-a-bit-more-bliss/741857/46 "2016-01-09T03:12:59Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m not in the medical biz & don’t have nearly enough contact with medical folks to wager more than a guess. > > In general people become more in tune with mortality as they age. The famously indestructible teenager gradually turns into the over-cautious 70 yo. > > In the medical biz folks are first exposed to the diseases and malfunctions in training as a student. Then to actual trauma, disease, and death as a junior worker/apprentice. And finally achieve some measure of balance and reality-based understanding as an experienced practitioner. > > I’d bet overall the region of highest fear / hypochondria would be shortly after they finish training and begin practice. I’d also bet that some fraction of the folks who leave medical work early do so because they can’t achieve that final state of acceptance of the human condition and their membership in it given their occupational immersion in the wartier parts of that condition. > > I hope some of the real medical folks will chime in to tell me how cluefull / clueless this thinking is. May be it has to do with society and culture is different today. In the old days nothing can be done. Now people think that money and research can get things done. People think doctors can do more than doctors can really do. People think doctors can heal people of almost any thing today. The society and culture is different. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-health-did-ignorance-use-to-be-a-bit-more-bliss/741857.md?page=2)