RE: To CRON or not to CRON?

[Guest guest]

First, the restriction on weight and blood donation really has little

to do with how thin you are, and more to do with a rule-of-thumb to

keep them from taking a pint of blood from someone who doesn't have

enough blood volume to risk losing a pint. The same weight

requirement applies whether your're 4'6 " or 6'4 " .

Do you ever wonder why when someone begins to lose weight, everyone

tells them how good they look, and as they progress it turns

to 'concern'? Could it be that someone else's weight loss points out

to them that they should be doing this too?

I got this garbage when I was at my lowest adult weight, and although

I achieved it then by not the best dietary strategy, it's my target

weight now. (I'm not there yet.)

If you feel the need to 'defend' your choice, try the Excel

spreadsheet in our files area under

CSPI plots of BMI vs disease risk

This one is from data I lifted from a CSPI newsletter a couple of

years ago (and which they do not have posted on their website).

The best highly technical data I've seen is at

http://books.nap.edu/books/0309085373/html/176.html#pagetop

which is a web-posted text that will be published soon (it was

discussed on this list a couple of weeks ago). This page is the

beginning of a section relating BMI to increased risk levels for

various conditions. Look at the previous page and the subsequent

pages, it's an eye-opener, even for Cronies.

Iris

> I am encountering a lot of pressure lately to give up this " nutty "

> CRON thing.

>

> People who are genuinely concerned about me believe it is

detrimental

> to my health and life. Of course I disagree. But not with enough

> certainty to completely quiet the little inner voice that

says " what

> if ... " .

>

> I was not able to donate blood last week because I was under the

> weight limit (federal law, fear of lawsuits etc). I wanted to help

> out a relative but was also fearful of passing out - so ok. Now

this

> fact is being used as a pressure tactic to try to scare me off

> CR. " If I don't even weigh enough to donate blood what will happen

> to me if I am in an accident and lose too much blood? " . I don't

> know. The old CRONie accidents debate again ....

>

> I suppose it's strictly a rational matter of estimating the

> likelyhood of dying in an accident versus dying of one of the

> diseases such as cancer that CR tends to reduce the incidence of.

> Accidents did seem a pretty big number on that list of Alans. And

of

> course one may have a greater likelyhood of dying *younger* in an

> accident ....

>

> I've always worried more about dying of a disease of old age than

> dying in an accident though. We all have what we believe are our

> life scripts and our destiny (how silly in reality we *can't* know

> our destiny) that encompass what we *believe* is *likely* to happen

> in our life. And my life script has always been to die of cancer

or

> something after a long slow degeneration. My script is likely

> based on the fact that most of my relatives lived long but suffered

> greatly in old age. Hence that's what I have always wanted to

> prevent. But I can't be too far off statistically can I?

>

> I am also told I will die of anorexia because my heart will get

eaten

> away but that isn't very likely in my book . I haven't taken CR

> *that* far - nor do I intend to. I was under 110 before I even

> started CRON although now I am even more so.

>

> ---

>

> a cronie rant?

> http://www.efn.org/~jamesf/myview/february152001.html

[Guest guest]

> I suppose it's strictly a rational matter of estimating the

> likelyhood of dying in an accident versus dying of one of the

> diseases such as cancer that CR tends to reduce the incidence of.

> Accidents did seem a pretty big number on that list of Alans.

> And of course one may have a greater likelyhood of dying *younger*

> in an accident ....

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr49/nvsr49_11.pdf

....appears to be the definitive document on the matter:

``In 1999 the 10 leading causes of death were (in rank

order) Diseases of heart; Malignant neoplasms;

Cerebrovascular diseases; Chronic lower respiratory

diseases; Accidents; Diabetes mellitus; Influenza and

pneumonia; Alzheimer's disease; Nephritis, nephrotic

syndrome, and nephrosis; and Septicemia and accounted

for nearly 80 percent of all deaths occurring in the

United States.''

Accidents come it at number 5 - with 4.1%:

All causes..................................2,391,399 100.0%

Diseases of heart.............................725,192 30.3%

Malignant neoplasms...........................549,838 23.0%

Cerebrovascular diseases......................167,366 7.0%

Chronic lower respiratory diseases............124,181 5.2%

Accidents (unintentional injuries).............97,860 4.1%

Diabetes mellitus..............................68,399 2.9%

Influenza and pneumonia........................63,730 2.7%

Alzheimer 's disease...........................44,536 1.9%

Nephritis,nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis.....35,525 1.5%

Septicemia.....................................30,680 1.3%

All other causes..............................484,092 20.2%

[Guest guest]

This is a very serious issue. If one finds

the social pressures too hard to bear, then I suggest that you ease up on CRON,

at least for a while, and maybe try again later if you feel (socially) up to it.

This happened to my family on a no-CRON religious issue. My wife finally folded

because of the family and friends pressure, and I respected that (and unlike

CRON, it was IREVERSIBLE). People must always remember that there are no

perfect solutions; only trade-offs. If your family life or social life (or

whatever) suffers too much (subjectively), then trade-off, at least

temporarily.

-----Original Message-----

From: somejoanne2002

[mailto:bhsnz@...]

Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002

10:27 PM

Subject: [ ] To CRON

or not to CRON?

I am encountering a lot of pressure lately to give up

this " nutty "

CRON thing.

People who are genuinely concerned about me

believe it is detrimental

to my health and life. Of course I

disagree. But not with enough

certainty to completely quiet the little inner

voice that says " what

if ... " .

I was not able to donate blood last week because I

was under the

weight limit (federal law, fear of lawsuits

etc). I wanted to help

out a relative but was also fearful of passing out

- so ok. Now this

fact is being used as a pressure tactic to try to

scare me off

CR. " If I don't even weigh enough to

donate blood what will happen

to me if I am in an accident and lose too much

blood? " . I don't

know. The old CRONie accidents debate again

.....

I suppose it's strictly a rational matter of

estimating the

likelyhood of dying in an accident versus dying of

one of the

diseases such as cancer that CR tends to reduce

the incidence of.

Accidents did seem a pretty big number on that

list of Alans. And of

course one may have a greater likelyhood of dying

*younger* in an

accident ....

I've always worried more about dying of a disease

of old age than

dying in an accident though. We all have

what we believe are our

life scripts and our destiny (how silly in reality

we *can't* know

our destiny) that encompass what we *believe* is

*likely* to happen

in our life. And my life script has always

been to die of cancer or

something after a long slow degeneration.

My script is likely

based on the fact that most of my relatives lived

long but suffered

greatly in old age. Hence that's what I have

always wanted to

prevent. But I can't be too far off

statistically can I?

I am also told I will die of anorexia because my

heart will get eaten

away but that isn't very likely in my book

. I haven't taken CR

*that* far - nor do I intend to. I was under

110 before I even

started CRON although now I am even more so.

---

a cronie rant?

http://www.efn.org/~jamesf/myview/february152001.html

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[Guest guest]

Hi, Joanne:

I keep seeing the same pattern from friends and relatives: I'll send them articles about CR for a year or so, clearly showing the benefits of CR. They often tell me that they believe that CR is better for people. Then in the next breath they still bug me about "looking like a concentration camp survivor" and push me to gain weight.

When I remind them that they've agreed CR is better, it's clear that all reason has flown out the window. Their response: "Yes, I know all that, BUT you just don't *look* healthy! Please gain some weight!" As if looks are 100 times more important than actual health.

I'm told that, in statements of that form, what's said after the "BUT..." is what people *truly* believe.

Most people simply WILL NOT ignore societal norms for things like weight and appearance. No matter what facts or logic they're shown.

Always remember it's *your* life.

The folks who push you to look like a "typical" person won't be around to step in and take your place when you develop heart disease, cancer, or whatever in 40 years. Problems that CR can likely postpone or eliminate entirely.

All you can do is let others choose how *they* live their lives, and insist on deciding how *you* live yours.

-- Mike O'Gara

[Guest guest]

Agree. It also helps if you realize that

many times the reason people try to dissuade you, is because they HAVE to; I mean…

if they agree that you’re doing the RIGHT thing, then they are doing the

WRONG thing! And people just can’t live with this; they would rather

denounce logic and get on with their lives.

-----Original Message-----

From: O'Gara

[mailto:mogara@...]

Sent: Wednesday,

September 25, 2002 11:16 AM

Subject: Re: [ ] To

CRON or not to CRON?

Hi, Joanne:

I keep seeing the same pattern from friends and

relatives: I'll send them articles about CR for a year or so,

clearly showing the benefits of CR. They often tell me that they

believe that CR is better for people. Then in the next breath

they still bug me about " looking like a concentration camp

survivor " and push me to gain weight.

When I remind them that they've agreed CR is better,

it's clear that all reason has flown out the window. Their

response: " Yes, I know all that, BUT you just don't

*look* healthy! Please gain some weight! " As if looks are 100

times more important than actual health.

I'm told that, in statements of that form, what's said

after the " BUT... " is what people *truly* believe.

Most people simply WILL NOT ignore societal norms for

things like weight and appearance. No matter what facts or logic they're

shown.

Always remember it's *your* life.

The folks who push you to look like a " typical "

person won't be around to step in and take your place when you develop heart

disease, cancer, or whatever in 40 years. Problems that CR can likely

postpone or eliminate entirely.

All you can do is let others choose how

*they* live their lives, and insist on deciding how *you* live yours.

-- Mike O'Gara