Low Fat, Low Salt, Low Taste

If you are watching your blood pressure and your cholesterol levels, chances are, you have been told by your doctor to stay away from fatty and salty foods. That would really be a bummer.

As I wrote before, I have been tagged as a "hypertension suspect" so the last time I saw a cardio, I was told to watch my diet and stay away from salty and fatty foods. Is that why they say that life begins at 40? That's the time when you realize that you won't live forever so you begin to really savor it?

Have I followed my doctor's advice? Not really. Well, I do try to stay away from salty and fatty foods when they are not the kind I like. But there are certain food that I really can't resist like lechon kawali, or sisig, or really thin and yummy lengua de gato...

A doctor-friend of mine brought up the topic of me starting to take hypertension medicine. She didn't really push for it (so am not on medication just yet) but began to tell me that the side effects of such medicine are less worrisome than the complications that come when your blood pressure is left unchecked. From her viewpoint, it was much better to control your hypertension with medication early enough than to let your blood pressure rise unnecessarily and then suffer from complications later on. Will I ever take such medication? Maybe when I've dieted and exercised to the max and I still do not get my desired results.

Oh well. We'll see how it goes. Sometimes, all this talk about controlling your diet really affects me negatively. Is there any use in controlling your diet so you can live longer if you are not happy with your food anyway and always feel deprived? Will it be better to go early and be happy rather than live long and be miserable? What do you think?