Today I will make up a New Year’s Resolution Template™ for some easy-to-keep promises for 2015. I thought that I would make these resolutions in the legislative, Robert’s Rules of Order style. I will include a Whereas for each resolution, for the benefit of the people who have not followed this blog all year like you have, dear reader. If you are reading my preamble please resist the urge to mentally argue against the reason for the resolution. I include the preamble not as proof of the necessity of the resolution, but as my own justification for putting it on this New Year’s Resolution listing. These resolutions are necessary.

First, Whereas, eating sugar in amounts greater than the World Health Organization’s maximum daily amount (6 teaspoons) leads to diabetes, obesity, liver disease, and heart disease, in addition to other health problems,

Whereas, eight out of ten processed foods contain hidden added sugars, therefore,

Let it be resolved that I will eat no products with added sugars, drink no liquid with added sugar (or artificial sweetener) and only take fruit juices in their natural state (in the fruit)!

Second, Whereas, manufactured food products contain ingredients whose safety has never been tested by a neutral party (the government),

Whereas, manufactured food contains added sugars to replace more flavorful ingredients (fats),

Whereas, manufactured foods are lifeless and contain no helpful food bacteria so that they will last in perpetuity on the shelf, therefore,

Let it be resolved that I will eat no processed food products from a box, bag, or bottle!

Third, Whereas, beef, pork and chicken raised in confinement are fed corn, antibiotics and growth hormones,

Whereas, meats fed corn, against the natural inclination to eat grasses, contain essential oils that cause inflammation,

Whereas, meats that are fed antibiotics pass those antibiotics on to me when eaten,

Whereas, antibiotics passed on to me contribute to weight gain in me and bacteria resistance is developed by bacteria in me due to this, therefore,

Let it be resolved that I will locate a source of grass fed meats, dairy, and eggs and only purchase those products from farms that I know and trust.

Fourth, Whereas, saturated fats are proven to have no negative health effects,

Whereas, all liquid oils used for cooking are known to convert into trans fats after as little as one use,

Whereas, trans fats are known to be a primary cause of heart disease, therefore,

Let it be resolved that I will only cook with lard, butter or coconut oil!

If you would make and keep those four easy, simple, no problem resolutions for just the first month of the new year you will want to do it for the rest of your life. In my own case here are the things that doing these things has corrected…

I no longer have indigestion. If you have acid reflux it will cure this too, provided you also quit eating bread.

I no longer wake at night sweating. I suspect that this was a side effect of my body metabolizing sugars and starches. When I do eat sugar now, in a dessert or similar, I do wake in a sweat at night so I am pretty certain of causation, not just correlation.

I have lost ten percent of my body fat. My BMI (body mass index) has gone from ‘overweight’ to ‘normal’. People also tell me that I look ten years younger, but I really can’t see it myself.

I very infrequently have flatulence (fart). When I eat breads or sugars flatulence does return.

I have noticed changes in my mood for the better. If I consume sugar or carbohydrate I tend to be angrier than if I do not. I can do much finer detail work at my job without frustration interrupting me. I do not tremble when doing detail work, my hands are much steadier.

The effects of quitting the eating of grain fed meats and dairy are not externally apparent. Eating a proper ratio of omega 6 essential oil to omega 3 essential oil is good for my heart, and my general health. This is now an article of faith for me, as I have read enough good scientific reports on this topic to know that this is so. If you want to see the proof I have found, search this blog for the Tag “omega 6”. I have written many substantiated articles about it. You can also search for other key words to find articles that feature the other topics of our resolutions.

Avoiding processed foods and their artificial ingredients is also something whose benefits are long term. For some people doing this will have instantaneous benefits. Children who seem to be hyperactive and uncontrollable will benefit from this due to the prevalence of food coloring allergies. Quitting all processed foods ensures that the only artificial ingredients that can be introduced to my digestive system are those included in GMO vegetables. I do not discriminate against any kind of vegetable yet because even if they are GMO they are thousands of times better for me than the processed foods I would eat instead.

I plan to never again eat a product labeled low-fat. I will never eat margarine and if it is the only option I will eat nothing. I will never again buy cooking oil, but only use lard or butter. Fats are essential for health. Saturated fats got the pseudo-science treatment in the 70s and 80s by our government and many science societies for a variety of reasons, but the real science is finally winning the argument. Women and children especially need to eat saturated fats, as not doing so leads to proven health and developmental problems for them. Eating low fat or otherwise manipulating cholesterol in a man has the side effect of causing depression and in some cases cancer. Any hearth health benefit is outweighed by those negative consequences.

At any rate, and no matter which if any of these resolutions you adopt with me, let me say “Happy New Year” to all of my readers, young and old, sick and healthy. If you do adopt any of these resolutions in your new year, please come back to this bookmarked post and leave a comment about how much better off you are for doing so!