AMERICAN AF

This is where I plant my flag that bleeds red, white and blue waving in the air to the rhythm of country music during one of those endless summer nights…

Is this American enough for you?

I was a protein-eating, warhead of a true American. Ambitious and fearless like one of my idolized comic book superheroes from my younger years, Captain America.

In my mind, I was unstoppable, standing 6’2”, 220 pounds, strong enough to bench-press over 300 pounds, tattooed and decent looking, or so I’ve been told. To go along with my brawn were brains. I was highly educated in the state of New York, achieving two masters’ degrees in education by which I gained my employment as a full time high school public school teacher. I also owned and operated a successful business within several venues. I was economically climbing the ladder and considered a role model to the young and well-respected by the old. All of this was accomplished at the relatively young age of 32.

I thought and knew I was American AF, at least in my own mind, until May 26^th 2017 when, after having had a cardiac stent placed in my heart, I saw my life flash before my eyes. (More about my near death experience here) The foundation of my American world was quickly turned upside down and inside out. I can’t claim to know the root causes of my heart disease, or if it was one factor or several working in conjunction against me. No one knows this answer including medical professionals. But I can tell you about my previous life style and my American AF attitude.

According to my routine check-ups with my primary care physician, I was fit as a fiddle with excellent blood work and ideal blood pressure. But what lies beyond the surface can tell a vastly different tale, and I’ll let you decide if there were any contributing factors.

Here were some of my lofty values when it came to the American cultural standards of food, self-image, and celebration.

FOOD

At a young age, franchises like Pizza Hut taught me that in America there wasn’t an entree that couldn’t be infused with extra cheese. With the birth of the stuffed crust pizza, American ingenuity was at its absolute finest. Chalk one up for clever marketing to young American minds, but really what doesn’t revolve around dairy? What else would you mix with cereal, coffee, yogurt, ice cream and all kinds of cheeses? Just look at the well-known slogans, “Drink Milk, Love Life” or “Milk, Does the Body Good”. So I must ask, who has ever benefited from drinking milk? Last I knew the human body doesn’t absorb the calcium that’s available in milk because it’s designated for another species, not human. Nevertheless, from kindergarten until my senior year of high school cow’s milk cartons were just about the only drinking option available except for water from a sketchy fountain, which wasn’t too cool.

Next, the word protein itself is as American as the iconic dessert, apple pie. It didn’t matter what day or time of the week it was, there was never a bad time to have extra protein. The form didn’t matter. It could come from powder, bars, or highly enriched foods like cottage cheese, egg whites, fish or meat. These types of food would be consumed in portions of two to three times the recommended serving size. If that wasn’t enough, I would drink a powdered protein shake once a day mixed with cow’s milk, followed by a protein bar towards bedtime. And that doesn’t include the meat-based dinner I would have. I can confidently say this practice of excessive protein usage is not uncommon. I have many friends and family members who practice similar routines.

Jamie I. Baum, assistant professor of nutrition in the food science department at the University of Arkansas, states that current protein intake is above the recommended dietary allowance. He also goes on to say that most of us are eating almost double the protein we actually need. (https://melmagazine.com/youre-eating-way-too-much-protein-3a3c3eb7e4c7)

The biggest creatures that walk this earth are plant eaters also known as herbivores. Why hasn’t anyone wondered if gorillas who are 400 plus pounds get enough protein?

 

SELF-IMAGE

There’s the notion which is expressed in classical literature that, “It’s what’s on the inside that truly counts”. Well that sounds nice, but in my generation it’s the endless visual stimulation and social media accounts that matter. I have a flashback to when I was at Alfred University in 2005 as a sophomore getting self signed up with this new thing called Facebook. This marked the end of inner beauty because it was all about showing off flashy things and sex appeal allowing people to compare themselves from one user to another. In most cases, people tend to present an image, not their real life grinds and inner struggles for their network of followers to view.

Thus giving birth to the Alex Miller style gym routine. I went to the gym on a regular basis at least 5 times a week for about an hour and a half per session. I revolved my routine on just what can be seen on the exterior of my body, bigger than average muscles and looking lean, neglecting the cardio conditioning altogether. In layman’s terms, I never exercised the most important muscle in the human body, my heart. I operated under the notion for 15 years that, if I looked in shape, it must in turn mean I’m physically fit. Boy was I wrong.

 

CELEBRATION

As a 32-year-old, I can remember judging my enjoyment of a celebration or a venue by the availability and quantity of meats, desserts, and alcohol available to consume. It’s quantity over quality that stems from the American notion that bigger is always better. We often have parties that revolve around the bounty of what’s being served. In other cultures, these gatherings revolve around interacting with people and keeping good company. I was not born with that interpretation of a good time, it was ingrained in me through society.

Could you imagine this version of tailgating an NFL football game, college game, or even a concert venue?

There is a group of guys, and one of them is slapping veggie or beyond meat burgers on the grill with corn on the cob and sweet potatoes. Another guy is passing the bowl of lentils to a bud. Two other guys are playing beer pong on a table with a fruit platter or vegetable tray accompanied by different flavored hummus options. While this is all happening, the grill master is having a heated debate over whose veggie burger has the best ingredients in it.

Reading this might have made you laugh a little or at least smirk, but why? As an American reading this, it sounds ridiculous because it’s not the American way, and not embedded into our culture.

The truth is, there’s some real irony at work here because within the middle of living out my American Dream, I was diagnosed with heart disease, received a lifetime stent, and put on numerous heart disease medications like the endlessly popular Lipitor.

I am now more American than ever.

My name is Alex Miller and I was diagnosed with heart disease at the age of 32 and I am American AF.

 

“About 610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year–that’s 1 in every 4 deaths”

Read more about my story here.

 

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