Columns | Kane County Chronicle

Yo Joan! It’s that time of year for some great meal planning – let’s make it even greater!

“I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage.”

—  Erma Bombeck

With Thanksgiving drawing near, many of us have food on our minds as we make plans for the holiday feast. Of course, many of us have food on our minds no matter the day, but Thanksgiving gives us a little something extra to drool over. How can we make this Thanksgiving extra special and create lasting memories as we choose what’s going on the table for this special day?

One thing’s for certain and a vast majority of us have this “thing” in common. Our choices are leading us on a path to heart disease, the No. 1 killer in our society.

When Dr. Dean Ornish’s bestselling book “Reversing Heart Disease” came out in 1995, I made it required reading in the college yoga classes I taught. I now lead book discussions on his latest book “Undo It” with co-author and wife, Anne Ornish. As Dean and Anne direct readers to “eat well, move more, stress less, love more,” I am reminded of a similar yogic path I embarked on years ago and have since dedicated my long life to teaching. However, you don’t have to be a yogi to follow Dean and Anne. You just need to be someone who wants better health, a better life and a better world.

They convince us that all of these high ideals are indeed possible to achieve. Their reversing heart disease program has been scientifically proven to work and now is financed and covered by Medicare. The only glitch is you have to reach the age to receive Medicare and then be diagnosed with some form of heart disease upon entering this Oz-like land of elderhood. I vote we get this book into the hands of the majority of us who have not yet been diagnosed with heart disease regardless of age. In fact, the sooner, the better!

It’s possible to change course. It really is. Consider making your life even more than a five-course meal plan. Especially if enjoying a long healthy life tops this year’s menu.

Please have fun planning the menu. Let’s make a toast together – “Long live life!”

Our Thanksgiving blessings abound.

• Joan Budilovsky can be reached at editorial@kcchronicle.com or through her website Yoyoga.com. To read Joan’s reviews of her three favorite books of 2024 (you just read one of them), check out the new online bookstore Shepherd’s Books at Shepherd.com.