Peace might require fence and a camera Diet is a tool to improve all health
Dear Amy: My husband and I recently bought a house.
Our new next-door neighbor had been close friends with the man who had owned our house for 30 years.
This neighbor was used to trespassing on our property all the time.
We do not want this. During home renovations, whenever we had workers at our house, he would come over and tell them how HE wanted the work done.
We stopped this by telling the workers not to pay attention to him and giving the workers very specific directions about how WE wanted the work done. We instructed them to ask him to leave the property.
This morning I saw him trespass onto our property and spray industrialstrength weed killer onto our grass.
We have relatives, friends and pets who because of health issues cannot be near weed killer.
This person is an intrusive bully, and a sneak.
How do you handle someone who does not get the message to stay off our property? — Upset Homeowners
Dear Upset: Your neighbor might be experiencing cognitive changes, brain illness or decline. The weed killer episode is one clue that all might not be well with him, mainly because it seems irrational and — random.
Either that, or he is an intrusive bully (or possibly both).
A fence clearly delineating your property line would be a good investment. You should also consider installing an outdoor security camera.
Your neighbor calling you “rude” is a small price to pay. Perhaps your “rudeness” will keep him off of your property.
Remember that he has 30 years of behavior to undo. If he continues to trespass, you may have to follow through and get the police involved.
Dear Dr. Roach: I have a strong history of premature heart disease in my family, and I have been having some unpleasant side effects of blood pressure medicine. I decided to try a completely plant-based diets.
After about a month on the new diet, my total cholesterol dropped 44 points to 159, and the other numbers went from borderline to normal, as measured by my cardiologist. My blood pressure, which was often high in the mornings, was this morning. I’ve only lost about 5 pounds, and I’m probably still 8-10 pounds overweight.
I am pleased with the results, but why didn’t any of my doctors recommend this? — J.S.B.
Diet is a powerful tool for improving overall health, especially heart health. I believe it is underemphasized by most physicians.
Changing from a meatbased diet to a mostly plantbased diet often prompts improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol and weight. Your results are better than most, but by no means unheard of. You haven’t said how you feel, but many people feel more energetic as well. Many others are able to come off of some (occasionally all) of their medications, which of course reduces side effects.
Why don’t physicians recommend it? I think it’s a combination of reasons. Some doctors don’t realize how powerful the effects of dietary change can be. A good deal of patients are highly resistant to making changes, so physicians are used to their dietary advice failing. Also, taking the time to get an accurate diet history is hard, personalizing dietary advice is harder and writing a prescription is easy.
It is not necessary to have a 100% vegan diet like yours to experience a benefit. A mostly plant-based diet has substantial benefits. It’s easier for some people to make incremental changes.