You Bitter Vetch, You

Heath Pea. It doesn't sound like the next best thing, does it? Doesn't really ring in your ears with the promise of miracles and happiness. Apparently, though, it's the "magic bullet" that doctors keep telling us will never exist.

I've hit a plateau on my weight loss. Went back on the meds right after Christmas was over, dropped the two or three pounds I'd put on over the holiday season, lost two or three more pounds and then all weight loss ceased. It's a little alarming simply because the side affects of the pill are worrisome enough that you don't take it lightly and if it's no longer going to work, I have to give it up and go back to white-knuckling my way through every day of decent diet and exercise.

For actual weight loss, I need a little help, either in the form of a wildly unhealthy diet ala Atkins or in chemical assistance ala Meridia. I never expect miracles. I eat well and I work out. Cake doesn't make a regular appearance in my life and I had to ban ice cream altogether for its crack-like addictiveness. For years doctors have said (not specifically to me-- to everyone in general) that there is no magic bullet of a pill, no special thing that's going to come along and save us all from obesity. We lazy fat people have to do the work, knuckle down and pull our way back from the edge of sloth and McDonalds dollar menus. Too many people didn't really get that sometimes, for some people, it's more than a matter of willpower.

And today on the radio (Bob and Sheri, in case you're wondering) I heard the news about the innocuous little heath pea, also known as bitter vetch. Used by King Charles II to keep his mistress from an overly plump figure, this little tuber has been around for centuries. It was used to stop hunger pains when crops would fail and food was short. Used specifically to keep weight down.

Imagine that. Mother Nature strikes again. And apparently the trend toward obesity isn't news.

While the docs in Scotland are studying and growing more and more of this (easy to grow in poor soils without much help) herb, I'm going to love the weight I'm at, work at holding on to it and toning up, and pray that the pharmaceutical companies don't come in and quash all hope of wide-spread distribution.