Healthy Living Guru Jack LaLanne Died January 23, 2011

This is a story of contrasts; Jack LaLanne and my mother.

Jack LaLanne has been a leading advocate of healthy exercise and diet all my life. Here is a bit about LaLanne’s diet in his own words:

 “I was a strict vegetarian. In those days they thought that in order to build muscle you had to have meat. So I ate meat for a while. Now I only eat fish. I get all my protein from fish and egg whites.

I use no milk of any kind. Anything that comes from a cow I don’t eat.

“I take about 40 or 50 supplimets a day. Everything from A to Z. Ninety percent of them are natural, as much as I can take. I take enzymes, I take herbs, the whole bit!

“I’d rather see you drink a glass of wine than a glass of milk. So many people drink Coca-Cola and all these soft drinks with sugar. Some of these drinks have 8 or 9 teaspoons of sugar in them.

“What’s the good of living if you can’t have the things that give a little enjoyment? I never drink wine unless I am eating though. I take it with my meal. I drink 6 or seven glasses of water a day. I also drink vegetable juice. And I have at least 5 or 6 pieces of fresh fruit everyday and 10 raw vegetables.”

Mr. LaLanne died Sunday at age 96

My mother was a complete contrast. She ate a great deal of cream, butter and eggs. She ate potatoes, rice and pasta. My mother ate and cooked with lard until she was nearly 40 then she switched to Crisco. At home we had beef, pork or chicken two or three times a day. (I still have one of those at least once a day.) Mother baked pie, cake, cookies, brownies, puddings and fried donuts. We always had sweets around.

Mother died a few years age. She was 96.