My own extended family is made up of people who are extremely skeptical of my lifestyle choices. Yet, I'm the one who's (somewhat) fit and they're the ones who are obese and struggling with every known ailment under the sun. But, whenever I decide to bring something up, I get nothing but resistance and giggles about how the crazy one. I've grown accustomed to this and rarely bring any of it up anymore with these folks. I feel both guilty about this because if I could get through to them, it might just change their lives, like it did mine. Needless to say, I'm not holding my breath.

Friends are a different story. I have one dear friend in particular that follows all the same old and tired advice from his doctor and is struggling with a few different issues. One issue is "high" cholesterol. He's on a statin and eats a very low-fat diet — all advice straight from his doctor. Of course, things are not getting any better for him, but he still persists that his doctor knows best. I've been sending him information to read for the better part of the last couple of years and he hasn't wanted to hear any of it. Just today, I received this email from him in response to an article on cholesterol that I sent.

F*#k cholesterol, I say, rolling my eyes. I'll read it later. Much later. You need a soapbox. Except you couldn't find one that didn't hold toxic soap."

I have to admit, the soap comment is kind of funny. What can one do with this much anger and this much stubborn healthcare dogma to contend with? I don't like to be seen as one who preaches, but at the same time, when I see a problem, I like to try and fix it. That's always been my nature.

I'd love to hear from you on how you deal with the skepticism and the anger from friends and family who sneer at what you do because it goes against conventional wisdom.