By Paula Bowers-Sanchez

A quote the other day caught my attention. It said, “There is no diet that can do what eating healthy does.” It is so true.

I have tried so many diets through the years, and I can honestly tell you that not one of those “diets” worked for me. What I can tell you is that when I decided I didn’t want to follow the same path as my insulin-dependent friends and family members, eating healthier and staying active made all the difference.

I still have pizza and burgers with fries every now and then, even frybread. But the key is to NOT eat those kinds of high-fat foods on a daily basis. And you can modify those favorite foods to be healthier. For example, instead of a fat-laden pepperoni-and-sausage pizza, have a veggie one. And have a burger, but minus the cheese and mayonnaise. You will eliminate at least a third of the fat calories just by making these small changes.

It’s no surprise that we have a high number of members with diabetes, high blood pressure and all the ailments that go along with those chronic conditions because we were raised on “fried everything.” I know I had spam-and-tomato gravy with white rice at least two or three times a week growing up. Anyway, regardless of what we were fed in our early years, we are now in control of what we eat and what our children eat.

According to a recent blog post by Sherry Brescia, “The World’s Longest-Living People:”

• Two out of three people are overweight, often massively.

• Half have at least one chronic disease, including diabetes, arthritis and heart disease.

• Nearly half of us take at least one prescription drug. Many take four, five or more every single day.

I do not want to be one of those “two out of three” people, and I certainly do not want to take a handful of pills every day either. So let’s decide to be a healthier Tribe.

Let’s be rich in health.