When my score came back off the charts in a negative way, I scrambled to see if there was anything that I could do to help myself. I looked at several books, hoping to save myself from myself. One of the books, Track Your Plaque, by Dr. William Davis, went into great detail as to some of the causes of plaque.
One major cause is saturated fats. I began to look at all of the labels of everything that I consumed. I started out with my morning cup of coffee which always contained two Spendas and a hefty shot of Half & Half. As I checked the nutrition labels, it went something like this: Coffee, check. Splenda, check. Half & Half, OH CRAP!
As it turns out, when I checked the nutrition label on the Land O' Lakes Half & Half, it stated that two tablespoons contained 10% saturated fats. And here I was each morning, drinking it down, enjoying it very much before 9AM even rolled around. I immediately stopped consuming this product. To Land O' Lakes defense, they do sell a non-fat Half & Half that contains 0% saturated fat. In fact, they pretty much had 0's all the way down the nutrition label. I have found that as a general rule, "low fat" equals "poor taste", so I went about the local Kroger looking for a substitute.
Making my way to the small "Organic and Healthy Folks" section of the store, I prodded around for something else to put in my coffee. From reading the book that I earlier mentioned, oats were mentioned throughout as being very good for the heart, and right before my eyes on the shelf sat a product that looked like milk. On the label were the words: Pacific Organic Oat, Non-Dairy Beverage. Below the words was what looked like milk being poured from a pitcher into a glass. I thought, "What the heck, I'm dying anyway" and purchased the product.
Now here is where it gets good. The next morning, I pour this Oat "milk" into my coffee, stir it up and take a sip. Quite to my surprise, there was this really good and unusual sweet taste. Not only is it not killing me, it tastes good!
I have also tried it with cereal and it is delicious. It has a somewhat dingy white color but what really counts is the taste. In fact, on the container, it states: "We keep it simple, letting the natural sweetness of the oats shine in this creamy beverage packed with a full serving of whole grains." I highly recommend that you try this product. It has been a pleasant surprise.
Speaking of surprises, after about three weeks of stressing over my test score, I checked into the hospital and had a nuclear stress test done on myself. As it turns out, the calcium scan is somewhat like a mammogram. It might show something but that does not necessarily mean that anything is wrong. Fortunately, in my case, all was well.
So, the moral of this story is that by thinking I was dying, I have begun to eat better. That includes organic oat non-dairy beverage in my coffee.
I would like to give a big pat on the back to Pacific for their Organic Oat, non dairy beverage. It's good!
