‘The last fast food that I had was a Big Mac in 1973′

Want to be spry, vital, lightning-quick and knifepoint-sharp into your mid-80s and beyond? Want to be the sort of person who could bounce back from a could-have-been catastrophic fall at that age?

That describes our host, Jim Gearhart, and it's awfully tempting to conclude the way Jim eats plays a part.

"I'm a vegetarian who eats meat," Jim says in the latest installment of the weekly Jim Gearhart Show podcast, available here as well on iTunes and Google Play.

And he hasn't touched fast food in 45 years.

"The last fast food that I had was a Big Mac in 1973," Jim tells Bob Williams in this week's show. He'd stopped in to a McDonald's on a whim. "It was absolutely delicious."

"For some reason or another, it struck me: If I get hooked on this, it's not going to be good for me," Jim says.

Jim had already largely given up processed foods years earlier. Now, health experts commonly advise cutting down on them or cutting them out entirely. But in the 1970s? "At that time, you were considered something of a freak."

And Jim stresses he's not trying to sell anyone on anything -- eat however you'd like. But he does suspect the way we eat has something to do with the violence, depravity and all-around disharmony in our culture.

That's just part of what Jim and Bob Williams take on in the latest installment of his podcast. Check out the full episode to hear the rest. And email Jim at Jim@NJ1015.com.

The Jim Gearhart Podcast is available every week on New Jersey 101.5 and in the New Jersey 101.5 app. You can also subscribe with your favorite podcasting app for iPhones, Android devices or your computer:

Subscribe to the Jim Gearhart Show on the NJ 101.5 app to get alerts of new episodes.

Love Podcasts? This week, on Speaking Podcast, Bill gets behind the Christmas scenes with Patrick Lavery.

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