How Dennis Walcott confronted his health problems — and bought himself years with his grandchildren

African Americans can live longer by eating better

Irecently experienced the indescribable joy of holding my newly born grandchild. Unfortunately, many people, particularly African-Americans, are deprived of that joy because of preventable, premature deaths. My parents were among them; they died long before any of their grandchildren were born.

My life changed many years ago when I found my mother dead on the living room floor as she awaited my arrival from spring break, a month before I graduated college. She died of a heart attack at the age of 48 — nine months after my father passed away from a variety of illnesses.

While my mother had not shown any warning signs leading to her heart attack, my father, who at his peak weighed 270 pounds, had diabetes — like most of the men in my family — and suffered a heart attack in his early 50s.

After her death, I was determined not to succumb to what the city Health Department calls “years of potential life lost,” which is the difference between 75 and the age a person actually dies. Even though the black-white gap in the premature death rate has decreased over the years, the rate among blacks is still one-third higher than that of whites. The disparity exists regardless of income.

That is why I want to share the results of my latest annual physical and the steps I’ve taken to avoid premature death.

Shortly after my mother’s death, I began gradually changing my drinking and eating behaviors and how I approached physical activity.

Back then, I enjoyed my bourbon and soda, and smoked an occasional cigar, emulating my father and uncle, while enjoying all types of fat-laden foods. I was tipping the scales at 200 pounds.

I would wake up and have steak and waffles with butter and syrup with a few glasses of milk for breakfast. Lunch would be a juicy bacon cheeseburger with mashed potatoes and gravy. Dinner would be more beef, and scalloped or baked potatoes with sour cream and butter.

With every meal, I would have rolls, muffins or biscuits with lots of butter. I would eat homemade butter pound cake and ice cream for dessert.

I can only assume that if I kept up with this diet, I would have grown increasingly overweight and suffered from the very same illnesses that killed my parents.

I eliminated smoking cigars right away. And while it wasn’t easy, I modified my eating by first giving up all fried foods, beef, fast foods, candy and junk food. In reality, it took over 10 years to give up beef after many false starts.

I modified the sweets I ate, eliminated ice cream, cakes and most pies. Next came soda and bourbon. Gravy, cream sauce, egg yolks and other cholesterol-heavy foods became a thing of the past.

After stripping these items from my diet, I started replacing them with healthier foods like oatmeal, salads, homemade soups, baked chicken and fish and glutenfree waffles with sugar-free syrup. I drink water and occasionally cranberry-orange juice.

My desserts now consist of fruit, with a rare slice of cheesecake or sweet potato pie on special occasions.

After playing football in my 20s, I had settled into a sedentary life with very little athletic activity.

I realized it was important for me to step up my workout routine, so instead of an occasional walk on the treadmill, I hit the streets and started running for distance. Instead of the casual stationary bike ride, I started riding for distance and speed. And instead of wading in the water, I learned how to swim and pushed myself to do so on a regular basis.

I don’t say this to boast. I say it, hopefully, to inspire others to make similar chang- es. It has not been easy. I didn’t hire a personal trainer; my local YMCA serves as my base of exercise. But whether it is a Y, a health club, a city recreation center or the parks and the streets, a great workout is always just outside the door.

Smart government policies to improve longevity and health outcomes for the public are critical. But it is ultimately our own individual responsibility to chart a healthier course for ourselves. You don’t need to run marathons. A modest change in diet and exercise habits can go a long way.

My annual physical checkup — I just got the results — yielded the following comparisons to last year’s findings: Weight down from 152 to 148 lbs.; HDL (“good cholesterol”) up from 80 to 103; LDL (“bad cholesterol”) down from 82 to 73; blood pressure from 122/70 to 120/68; resting heart rate from 59 to 46 beats per minute.

I am here today as a result of the change in diet and exercise and a determination to confront the diseases that devastated families like mine. It’s a small price to pay to experience the joy of holding your grandchildren someday.