Want to live well and longer? Then do exactly what doctors and the mainstream media have been saying not to do for the past few decades…
Eat butter, eat lard, and eat bacon!
I don’t advocate anything else in this kid’s diet, but he was right about one thing…
So-called science has claimed for decades that the greatest enemy to human health is the deadly duo of cholesterol and saturated fats.
Heart disease is the #1 killer in the U.S., and scientists and doctors have told us that saturated fats and cholesterol are holding the smoking gun.
This nonsense is beginning to meet its bland, flavorless end, as more and more truly brilliant doctors, nutritionists, and scientists are pointing out that cholesterol and saturated fats aren’t the problem with modern American health! Many of these individuals have been protesting against the current food paradigm for years, but until recently they have been largely ignored.
Only in the past few years have we at The Ozark House been heeding their advice. We started off our marriage by drinking skim milk and eating fake-butter. (Nathan rebelled pretty hard against the skim milk… it didn’t last long!)
Now we eat unbelievable amounts of fat. People sometimes gasp when I tell them how much butter and coconut oil we eat. Both are very high in saturated fats.
Hopefully, this blog post will serve as a gasp-preventative measure. Because, truly, eating fat makes a lot of sense.
The Creation of Margarine
Let’s go back in history. For hundreds of years, people ate what came from the land and from their animals. That meant things like whole, raw milk. And cheese. And butter.
The earliest form of margarine was actually created by Europeans, suitable for use by the armed forces and lower classes in the 1800’s. This “original” margarine’s main ingredient was actually beef fat.
Fast-forward many years, after a lot of experimentation with beef tallow and the hydrogenation of plant materials, the Great Depression, the rationing during WWII, and post-war society’s infatuation with everything technological.
This sign from the Smithsonian Museum of American History says it all…
By 1945, that “original” margarine had almost completely disappeared from the market and was replaced with margarine made of only vegetable oils. This switcheroo was due, largely, to The Lipid Hypothesis (that’s a whole other post), changes in legislation, and a reduction in the supply of animal fats. By the 1950’s, the food industry was ready for an era of product development, and wartime industry was ready to churn out the “latest and greatest” in technological advancements. Companies who had made weapons of destruction now began making food.
So industry introduced Americans to margarine. It was introduced as the “new” and “better” butter. It was cheaper. And it was also advertised as being “healthier.”
American’s swallowed it, hook, line, and sinker… and fake-butter. Turns out, advertisements worked as well back then as they do now.
Their bright, smiling faces are credited to that yummy, healthy, artificially-golden-colored margarine!
This ad goes so far as to guilt-trip you into feeding your kids margarine!
So the companies competed, trying to market their margarine as the cheapest, best-tasting (obviously the goal was to make it taste like real butter), and healthiest margarine out there. But then they discovered something unexpected: TRANS FATS! Oh no!
All the margarine contained trans fats, and it was revealed that trans fats are very bad news for the body.
But I thought the ads were saying the golden fake stuff was supposed to be good for me and my children? Yeah, about that…
Margarine manufacturers have continued to work hard since then to reinforce the perception of their product’s healthfulness. They’ve tried slapping claims like “High in Omega 3 Fatty Acids” on their labels, when really all they did was add a little olive oil.
Ultimately, margarine will never be a good substitute for butter. It might not contain trans fats anymore, but it still contains highly processed, rancid vegetable oils.
What’s Wrong with Vegetable Oils?
The term “vegetable oils” refers to canola, soybean, corn, cottonseed, sunflower, and safflower oils.
This next sentence might seem a little extreme.
We need to stop eating vegetable oils, altogether, forever. (Unless perhaps someone else is cooking for us, or we’re at a party, or we’re on vacation, etc. – places where it might be more important to preserve our relationships than to be rigid about our food rules).
Vegetable oils were non-existent until the early 1900’s. They can only be extracted through chemical processes and are some of the most chemically altered foods in the Western diet. Yet, because they are found in almost all packaged and processed foods, the average American is eating A LOT of them! Vegetable oils are found in salad dressings, conventional mayonnaise, cereals (even the healthy brands like Kashi), chips, crackers, cookies, and conventional nuts and snacks. They are petroleum-produced, overheated, oxidized, and chemically deodorized. The oxidized oils cause inflammation (sugar also causes inflammation; we’ll talk about that later) and cellular mutation.
Vegetable oils are also very high in Omega 6 fatty acids. The human body needs a balance between Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. But since vegetable oils are in everything the average American consumes far too many Omega 6 fatty acids.
Lastly, vegetable oils can also contain harmful chemicals like BHA and BHT – residues of pesticides – and are usually derived from genetically modified plants (GMOs).
One of the most important changes we can make in our diets is to stop eating these oils. They cause inflammation in the body and should be avoided. Let me point out that even the Earth Balance brand of buttery spreads, esteemed to be a healthy alternative to conventional margarine, have these harmful oils in their ingredient list.
What should we be eating instead?
Saturated fat and cholesterol! (Yes, I’m completely serious.)
Cholesterol: The body’s Band-Aid
Cholesterol has gotten a bad rap for a few decades now. The theory that cholesterol causes heart disease and cancer is based on bad science and is just now, in mainstream media, beginning to be revealed as such.
Cholesterol is actually a wonderful thing. It is essentially the body’s Band-Aid.
Vegetable oils and sugars cause inflammation. That much is indisputable. Omega-6s and sugars cause inflammation. Anyone who knows much about biochemistry will tell you that is true.
Now, inflammation can be a wonderful thing. It’s the body’s response to physical crises. But when we consume large amounts of Omega-6s (in the form of vegetable oil) and sugars, we end up with lots and lots of inflammation. Too much inflammation!
In the body, when inflammation occurs, cholesterol comes in to repair the damage. If you remember your high school or college biology class, cholesterol was the tiny, tiny little particles (I remember them being yellow) that plug all the tiny holes in cellular walls. Cholesterol plugs holes and fixes cellular cuts/gaps/gashes/etc. Like a Band-Aid.
But when a person has arterial walls clogged with cholesterol, we always blame the cholesterol. Turns out, we blamed the wrong thing! Cholesterol wasn’t the problem; cholesterol was trying to fix the problem. The problem was inflammation!
A commonly used example here is of a house fire. It would be (sadly) laughable if a person, not understanding why house fires occur, thought to him/herself, “Whenever there is a fire, I notice there are always are firemen there. That must mean the firemen are causing the fires!”
Cholesterol is just like the firemen in that example. Cholesterol has been blamed for the problem of heart disease because it has been at the “scene of the crime.” But the cholesterol is found “at the scene” because it’s trying to put out the “fire.” Appropriately, the “fire” cholesterol is trying to “put out” is inflammation.
What ends up happening, as I understand it (but again, do the research for yourself), is that the cholesterol begins clogging the artery as it attempts to heal the damaged artery (damaged by inflammation). The artery isn’t being healed because the person’s diet isn’t changing. The cholesterol bundle is referred to as a “plaque.” Then it bursts, then the blood clots against it. Then… heart attack. But not because of cholesterol… because of a diet high in inflammation-causing foods like sugar and Omega-6.
In conclusion, cholesterol is not bad for us. It is necessary for us! It has so many functions in our bodies!
Cholesterol, along with saturated fats from animal sources, allows for the proper absorption and assimilation of vitamins and minerals and is essential for nearly every function in the body. If you are taking any cholesterol-lowering drugs (e.g. statins), and you are only taking them based on your cholesterol levels being “too high”, I would, very seriously, recommend you do your own research and consider getting off of them immediately! They can have very serious side-effects. It is also worth mentioning that the cholesterol levels the experts tout as those you must reach to be healthy have never been proven to be healthy. Many people have lived long, healthy lives with incredibly high cholesterol levels.
A brief word about Omegas
Omega-3s, Omega-6s… we hear about these things all the time these days, and sometimes it can sound like we’re in some futuristic space movie, with all the crazy terminology!
All the body’s chemical processes are complex, but here’s an easy way to understand Omega-3s and Omega-6s:
Omega-6s create inflammation (remember, in the right place and the right amount, inflammation is very helpful for the body!)
Omega-3s reduce inflammation.
If we have too many Omega-6s, they outnumber the Omega-3s, and our body is overrun by inflammation. Then the cholesterol kicks in, and so on…
Note: Animal products can be a good source of Omega-3s, but only if they’re grass-fed or pasture-based. Research has clearly shown that cows on pasture have high Omega-3 counts (and interestingly, incredibly low E. coli bacteria counts), but cows given grain – typically in feed lot situations – quickly lose their Omega-3 acids (and interestingly, exponentially increase their E. coli levels… by 10 MILLION!). Sounds crazy, but it’s sadly true. Science Magazine. 1998. Or just click here to see it all graphed out.
Summing it all up…
When it comes to health, the bad guys are not saturated fats and cholesterol. The bad guys are vegetable oils and sugar! Also, refined grains (breads, especially white breads), when eaten, essentially just turn into sugar in the body. That’s not to say I advocate avoiding all bread all the time (just as I like a little sweetness now and then). It’s just something to be aware of. Eating bread is essentially like eating sugar.
The amazing thing about this truth is that it’s not new! Eating a diet low in sugar and high in animal-derived saturated fats is the kind of diet humans have been eating and thriving on for thousands and thousands of years.
What should I eat and not eat?
While I’m not a big fan of a long list of rules, here is a comprehensive list of what we eat and don’t eat in our home. I’m writing all this as I would say it to a family member or friend who asked me.
Disclaimer 1: I am not a doctor, nutritionist, dietician, or scientist. Heck, I’m a college drop-out. So, please do your own research.
Disclaimer 2: We aren’t unflinchingly rigid about these rules, and we’re still in the process of cleaning up our food intake. It’s definitely a process! But this is where we’re going, and what we’re trying to do, the best we can.
Disclaimer 3: I really hope we don’t come off as arrogant or obsessive. We care deeply about these issues because we believe our bodies are the temple of God and so we should tend them well. We don’t think of ourselves as superior because we eat this way; we eat this way because we are convinced that thoughtless eating is wrong, and our thoughts have led us to eat this way.
Fruit and Vegetables: We eat lots of fruits and veggies in whole form. Nathan is slowly cutting back on his indulgence: store-bought orange juice at breakfast! (We’re beginning to substitute something better anyways: smoothies!) Besides that, we drink fruit juices very sparingly and usually mix them with water kefir or kombucha. We eat fermented vegetables including, sauerkraut, kimchi, and lacto-fermented pickles.
Fats and Oils: We cook with coconut oil, butter, bacon grease, ghee, and lard (rendered from fat from our own hogs… obviously not everyone can do that, but you should consider rendering your own lard, it’s actually quite simple, if you can find a farmer who raises pastured pork! And it makes pie crusts and other delightful things so much more delightful!). All animal fats are from pastured animals with no added hormones or antibiotics. We make homemade salad dressings with cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil (By the way, this is also terribly easy, and beats the heck out of store-bought dressings… even ranch!). We don’t cook with olive oil (heating can damage olive oil and ruin its healthfulness). We eat avocados.
Dairy, Cheese, and Eggs: We eat full-fat cheese, butter, sour cream, cream cheese, yogurt (with live, active cultures), and milk kefir (with live active cultures). Pretty soon here, we will be drinking whole, raw cow’s and goat’s milk, and will make all these dairy products in our home. We eat lots of eggs from our pastured hens.
Meat and Stock: No hormones or antibiotics are allowed in any of our meat. We eat beef from cows that eat grass and that did not spend their last weeks or months in a feed lot. We eat pastured chickens that we raise here at home. We eat pork from the pigs we raise here at home. We try to eat wild salmon 2-3 times a week. We make stock from chicken feet and bones and incorporate it into our diet, typically by putting it in soups (it adds lovely flavor!)
Grains: I’m still not quite settled on how much grains we should/should not be eating in our home. I’m still researching that and have been for some time. There may have to be a future blog post about it. At the moment, we are eating whole grains that have been soaked or sprouted to reduce phytic acid content and in moderation. I tend to gain weight when I’m eating a lot of grains, so I have been limiting myself lately. We eat popcorn made with coconut oil and butter (Oh, and if you’ve never tried this, you must! You’ll never microwave popcorn again!).
Sweeteners: We sweeten our food with maple syrup, sucanat, honey, stevia, and molasses. Every once in a while, Nathan sneaks a little white sugar into a food or beverage, and as long as it’s only “every once in a while” and “a little,” it’s not that big of a deal. We avoid high fructose corn syrup (we don’t like the flavor, but more importantly, we don’t like that it’s chemically extracted and that it comes, typically, from GMO corn).
What we try to limit or avoid: vegetable oils; refined sugar; white flour; artificial sweeteners; artificial flavorings; artificial anything; pasteurized milk (and if we can’t get raw milk, we at least go for the low pasteurized, non-homogenized); meat that is raised or finished on grain and has been given steroids, antibiotics, and hormones; eggs and cheese that come from animals given solely grain and/or steroids, antibiotics, and hormones; store-bought fruit juices; all store-bought box cereals; all conventional and packaged chips*, crackers, and cookies.
*Our vice: One thing we eat that I would eventually like to stop eating is store-bought tortilla chips! We love our homemade salsa and guacamole, but we have not found an easy way to make tortilla chips at home quickly and on-the-cheap. And it’s nearly impossible to find tortilla chips at the store that don’t use vegetable oils. So, we just buy organic, non-GMO, blue corn tortilla chips. Our favorite brand is this one from Target. They’re pretty tasty. And they’re surprisingly inexpensive.
The Ozark House 
Great article! I especially like the advertisments taken straight out of my past!:)
I was always convinced that butter was the better choice if you had access to farm raised milk.
I agree 100% that what we consume needs to be in its whole form and not processed. I have found that the grocery stores have little to offer us in regards to healthy foods these days, but I continue to hope for a better day. Thanks for making people aware.
Very interesting, I’ve always just “ate what I want” which means I didn’t avoid this or that, but also means I clearly don’t eat “organic” or watch closely as it seems y’all do. All that to say, my wife likes to “make her own” tortilla chips – which are better than the store bought ones I’ve tried (haven’t tried what you eat). Basically its a simple formula, take either corn or flour tortillas (we usually use store bought, but no reason you couldn’t make your own), cut them into 6 “rounded triangles) and fry for I think like 30 seconds on each side in a shallow pan (we use whatever oil we have on hand, but might look into using more animal fats). I like to sprinkle with sea salt and occasionally squeeze some lime juice over them.
Oh man! The salt and lime juice part just made my mouth water. I do make homemade tortillas, so I will have to give this a try. I KNOW Nathan and Saylor would gobble them up faster than I could make them!
This article seems to be well informed, but I think misses a few key points.
Eating high levels of fats and cholesterol in a person with heart disease will contribute to their demise. Cholesterol does help repair arteries, but only as a last resort. Normal, healthy adults do not experience vessel repair the same way that people with cardiovascular disease do. Encouraging someone to go off statins could very well be detrimental to their health, because their body is metabolizing more cholesterol than normal in response to weakened or damaged vessels. They take statins to reduce the production of cholesterol and prolong the life of everything downstream from that vessel.
Having said that, cholesterol does have a bad rap, and that is slowly changing. Cholesterol is not bad for healthy people, but that is limited to healthy people.
Another important fact that I feel was left out: high-fat diets contribute to high levels of oxidative stress in many tissues. This is the primary cause of inflammation in normal, healthy adults. A lifetime of oxidative stress is detrimental in any form.
Moral of the story: this article seems to be putting people in the right direction, but fails to mention the two most important factors when talking about nutrition and health: 1.) Moderation is the key to success. You should not be ingesting more than 30% of your calories from any type of fat, unless you are very active. 2.) You should be very active. Exercising makes many nutritional discussions into a moot point. You could have a stereotypically terrible diet, but through high levels of exercise, maintain excellent cardiovascular and overall health.
Will, thanks for clarifying about those with heart disease already taking statins. I don’t know whether or not I agree with the fact that they shouldn’t get off statins, but I don’t know enough about the subject to recommend them do so (hence my disclaimer). I was, mainly, talking to those who do not have heart disease but are taking statins because they have a high cholesterol number. And of course, everyone should discuss things with their physician before taking such action. Interestingly, however, the advice a person receives will definitely depend on the physician he or she asks.
Do you think it would be safe to say that those with high cholesterol level don’t NECESSARILY need to be taking statins, especially because of some of the devastating side effects? You sound like you might be in the medical profession? Another question: What would someone with heart disease need to do to eventually get off of the drug? What do you think they would need to change?
My understanding is that even low levels of cholesterol can still clog up inflamed arteries. The fix is to get rid of inflammation. I’ve read that statins do possess some anti-inflammatory properties, and some people have attributed the “success” of statins more to their anti-inflammatory properties than to their ability to lower cholesterol.
What I mean is, I’m not convinced that a person who has low cholesterol but high inflammation is still safe from heart disease, and I’m not convinced that a person who has high cholesterol but low inflammation is much at risk for heart disease.
Regarding oxidation, yes, it’s pretty clear, generally, that oxidation is detrimental to the body. And while I would need to research a bit more on that particular subject (oxidation with Omega-3s) before commenting, I can say for sure that fruits and vegetables contain high amounts of phytonutrients, which serve as antioxidants. So whether or not omega-3s oxidize in the body, I completely agree with your point on moderation. I definitely don’t suggest someone eat a stick of butter for breakfast, a spoonful of lard for lunch, and a glass of olive oil for dinner. The convenient thing about fats is that they aren’t tastefully or usually eaten alone or in huge quantities. They are used to add flavor and for cooking. So a big helping of steamed broccoli and carrots, smothered with some real butter, will still be far heavier on the veggie side than the saturated fats side. I think it would be difficult for someone who is being mindful of a balanced diet to consume way more than 30% of their calories from fats. Would you agree?
I do think activity and exercise are extremely important, but I don’t believe that they negate poor eating. And I’m not sure what you mean by “stereotypically terrible diet.” Stereotypically, saturated fats and cholesterol are bad! And we’re learning that such is not the case.
Thanks for your comment.
One of the most common indicators of vascular disease is the vessels inability to produce nitric oxide, a potent vasodilator. Without exercise, the smooth muscle in our vasculature produce less and less nitric oxide. This is primarily because our body strives to match production with need. Less need for nitric oxide (NO) in our vessels = less produced. This creates a situation where the vessels become less capable of accommodating changes in blood flow/pressure, potentially leading to inflammation, damage, and disease. It has been proven that cardiovascular exercise can reverse the adverse vascular effects of this problem. Older people with poor vascular response can initiate a cardiovascular exercise program and within months will have the NO response of a younger person. If you are interested in this topic, there are hundreds of articles focusing on the benefits of NO in vascular endothelial cells. It is speculation, but I would imagine that someone could potentially reduce the needs for statins by improving the ability of their vascular endothelial cells to produce NO and improve their vascular responses to change in flow/pressure.
To clarify, all energy production mechanisms in the body utilizing oxygen will produce free radicals, leading to inflammation. There is no difference in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in Omega-3, Omega-6, and Saturated fatty acids when you are talking about energy production. However, Omega-6 fatty acids can be converted to arachadonic acid which is involved in signaling pathways leading to inflammation. This is done through the COX signaling pathways (the same COX pathways that NSAID medications target). This is why they are considered to be less than beneficial, but truly this is only when they are not countered by an appropriate intake of omega-3 fatty acids. If you get the ratio right, then they are not really a problem at all.
I absolutely agree that eating more than 30% of your calories from fat would be a stretch for someone being health conscious.
Finally, what I meant by “stereotypically terrible diet” is pretty much exactly what you inferred. At higher levels of training, the body’s primary concern is consuming all the essential substances in high enough amounts. I don’t mean to say that it completely negates poor eating habits, but it will provide a very helpful buffer. An athlete with an incredibly active metabolism will never be concerned with the amount of fat/cholesterol/carbs in their diet so long as they are fulfilling their basic dietary needs. Their metabolism is active enough to readily convert any excess into an appropriate fuel source. It really just makes being mindful of a balanced diet much easier.
Also, I am not a doctor, but am studying for a PhD in Exercise Physiology. 🙂 Thanks for the interesting topic!
That’s all very interesting. Thanks so much for that information. I really could stand to learn more about physical activity. On the subject, lately, I have been trying to work out again, after giving birth to Saylor (2 years ago-waited a little long, you think?). Since I’m not nursing anymore, I feel like I can jump full force into working out. All I can say is that I FEEL SO GOOD! It’s amazing the how immediate the results are of physical activity. The “good feeling” lasts hours and even into the next day! I can’t think of any dietary change that has that effect!
I agree with a lot of points in this article. There are some things that I would say all Americans can do to be healthy. Cut out processed foods, shop the outside of the grocery store, and by making home made meals. I think we are a country of knowledge but it does no good if the wrong knowledge is being given and the right knowledge is not voiced. Thank you for giving us some good knowledge about how you have learned and what you do.
But as most americans do not live on a farm and are in a very urban or suburban life a more practical application is needed. We need to read labels, give a kid a apple instead of a candy bar.
As far as sugar is concerned sugar is not all bad. It needs to be kept in moderation. As my family and I move toward a Naturalist diet (comes from the ground, and or has a mother) I look at a lot of things. I still make cookies but with honey and sugar, and with whole wheat flour. White all purpose flour is not in my house. I make cakes and even candy but all with natural from the ground mostly unprocessed ingredients.
The move to being healthy takes time. You have to retrain your body and taste buds. Think about the things that God has made that are so good and sweet. We dont need to refine things or chemically process things to eat a good wonderful tasting meal.
And as always exercise ( no matter how small) is always good to do!
Katerina! It’s great to hear from you after so many years!
I see what you’re saying about not everyone living on a farm. I must admit, we have come a long way with food thanks to Nathan’s family allowing us to live on a great deal of land at a low price. Most, if not all, people are not so blessed. That’s why I encourage everyone to check out their local farmer’s market and ask the farmers how they raise and grow their food. I actually miss living in a big city where there were so many farmer’s markets and health food stores. We don’t have that here in this small town, so it forces us to do more at home. That’s also why we started a farmer’s market here, as there were none before that.
And yes, yes, and YES…the move towards being healthy takes time, just like this growing food movement takes time too. I need to hear that again and again; I can be so impatient. It’s all about baby steps.
And I think God gave us a natural sweet tooth for a reason. So, unrefined sugar, sweet vegetables like sweet potatoes and carrots, and fruits can all be a part of a healthy and natural diet.
What tips do you have for cooking a farm fresh chicken? We tired, and it was so tough, that I handed it over to the dogs. I know we should try a younger bird, but didn’t know if there are any other helpful tips. I’ve been too scared to try cooking one again…
That happened with the very first chicken (an ornery, old rooster) we butchered here with Taylor and Adrienne! We couldn’t even chew it! It made for a great memory, though.
We later learned that if you are cooking an old bird that is completely free-ranging all over the place, it’s best to do a stew or chicken n’ dumplings type of dish. And it’s important to let it cook at a low heat for a long time. I’ve heard that you can cook a whole chicken low and slow in a crock-pot, but I’ve never tried that with an old bird. When we raise chickens to eat, we put them in chicken tractors, like Joel Salatin does, and move them around the yard to a new patch of grass everyday. They don’t live very long until we butcher them, so they are always nice and tender. Our layers, however, roam completely free all over the yard as they wish and live much longer. So if we ever decide to butcher one of them again, chicken n’ dumplings’ it is-just a like a southern girl should. Hope that helps.
Also, your bunnies are ADORABLE! Are you planning on eating them?
That does help! So far, all birds roam free from his parent’s house. Every now and then, Bo will kill one just for me to boil down for the dogs. I haven’t been able to muster the courage to cook for one us after that first try!. Thankfully, Bo is starting from scratch at our house as far as chickens. He just hatched 20 or so Copper Maran chicks. They have a dark brown egg that are suppose to be great. I know he is planning to raise some chukars and quail for eating.
The bunnies are friends, not food. It’s really just to give me something to do outside with Bo. I plan on breeding them and selling the babies. They are Flemish Giants, so they are more of a pet breed of bunny. The reach about 20 pounds and are compared to having a house cat in personality.
Kate and Nathan,
Chris and I have been following a lot of what you guys just wrote about but there was also a lot of good information that we have not been doing and didn’t realize! We hope to one day have a place of our own and follow in your footsteps. Each time I read your blog its an inspiration! Thank you so much for living the way you do and making us realize that it is an attainable goal.
Saylor has some smart parents with wisdom beyond their years.
Great blog post, Kate…keep up the GREAT work!
Well Kate your article has generated a good response. Something is wrong with the way we eat. Just take a look at us . I think that I have had good forward thinking on this for a long time.I grew up in the margarin is better for you time, but my mind told me that butter is real food margarin is not. So I have eaten butter for years. They said coffee is bad for you. I know to many old healthy people that drink it all day long. Pig fat is bad for you It killed a friend of mine’s grand dad at 96.Something is wrong but it is not the things that are natural the way God made them that is the problem. If we can ask ourselves is this real is it something that is mint for me If your heart says yes then go for it.
You said that you are working out and it felt good. I just turned 60 this january and I was out cutting wood and when I was done I asked my wife If she new off that good tired feeling you get from a hard days work. She said she did. I said well when I was younger it used to take me 8 hours to get that good feeling and now I can do it in 4 Hours. Getting older does have it’s advantages.
Thanks for the article and all the good responses. Once again you have given me something to think about.