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Why are we so fat?
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Location: Blogs Michael Petrus Speaks |
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| Posted by: Michael Petrus |
8/16/2006 11:20 AM |
Chicago the fattest city, in the fattest country, on the planet Earth
If you have ever heard me give a speech, then you know I love to speak about health related topics. We all know that our most precious asset is our health. There is absolutely nothing that comes before it. We often lose our ability to make intuitive decisions when it comes to health, due to social conditioning.
You're probably wondering why is Chicago the fattest city, in the fattest country on the planet Earth. Well this is not a simple question to answer. We can start by looking at capitalism itself. An economic system based on open competition in a free market and by private or corporate ownership of the means of production and distribution. In order to stay competitive one must constantly look for ways to lower costs.
Lowering costs is a double edged sword, when it comes to our food supply. By lowering costs the population gains by saving money, while the producer gains by selling more, thus greatly increasing their bottom line.
The big problem with this strategy is the health implications of offering the population the cheapest food ingredients known to man. These include processed grain and sweeteners, including sugar, high fructose corn syrup and others.
If you think that by not eating these types of foods you are avoiding the negative effects, you are sadly mistaken. Most of our animal products including chicken and fish are raised the same way we feed our human population. The reason being, it is cost effective, along with getting these animals as big and as fat as possible, in the shortest period of time. Hmmm, that's interesting, if it gets the animals as big and as fat as possible in the shortest period of time, I wondering what it's doing to us.
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Re: Why are we so fat? |
By George on
8/17/2006 11:38 AM |
Michael, I absolutely agree with what you have to say and I am outraged too. I would like to add though that many people do not care what they eat, even if they can afford to eat better. This is pure ignorance. They don't want to know and the thought of chaning some aspects of life is frightening to them, therefore they do nothing and keep ignoring what they eat. And of course they get fat and sick. But it's their own fault mostly.
In terms of groccery shopping there are alternatives to the mainstream stores like Dominick's and Jewel, where most of the food is bad for the reasons you have mentioned. If people think that Whole Foods is expensive, then go to Trader Joe's - it is cheaper than Jewel and there a more healthy choices there than the big chains. Just yesterday I needed to buy a loaf of bread and I spent a good amount of time in Jewel trying to find a bread that does not contain high fructose corn syrop. I just refused to bye any of the cr*p they sell there, inlucing the "healthy"-labeled multi-grain breads.
And people should ask themselves this question - how much is your health worth? Is it cheaper to spend money on quality food or on pills for the rest of your life? Is it even possible to fix your health when you get diabetes, obesity or some other chronic disease?
Your actions today determine your future and it is no one's responsibility but yours what your future is and you can't blame anyone else about your future problems.
Ignorance is our only enemy. |
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Re: Why are we so fat? |
By mpetrus on
8/17/2006 1:02 PM |
| Trader Joe's is a great store, excellent prices. Unfortunately we can't blame people for the decisions they make. I'm sure we will both be wearing a pair of pants, shoes and a shirt at our next meeting. Why have we made this decision, was it freewill or was our diecision based on the norms society has opposed upon us. It's the same way with food. We our conditioned from a very young age to make certain choices when it comes to food. If you don't believe this, check out the cartoon network sometime. Take a close look at the products that are advertised, then look around and watch the choices children make when it comes to food. These choices are carried over to adulthood and our very difficult to break. That coupled with the fact that those around are making the same choices, making the decision to change even harder. |
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Not always what it seems |
By Scott Rencher on
8/30/2006 8:42 PM |
What is better for you, fresh foods, chilled foods or frozen foods?
Below is a plagiarised article from one of my work colleagues. I thought it was interesting in light of the obesity blog. Did you know that Kuwait has the highest per capita obesity rate of any country in the world? Don't get me wrong, we are still one of the heaviest countries.
"It's a common misconception that fresh food is nutritionally better than frozen food. Early in 2004 as the various diet crazes from Atkins to South Beach were booming, frozen vegetable sales came to a halt as more and more consumers turned to fresh vegetables.
According to an article published by the British Nutrition Foundation, “fresh” green vegetables lose half their Vitamin C content within five days of harvesting, but frozen vegetables are quick-frozen within hours of harvesting, thus retaining nutrients and flavour. Furthermore, frozen food, especially products with a high percentage of sensitive vitamins, have been proven to be nutritionally more reliable than fresh food.
In addition, the meaning of the term “fresh” varies from consumer to consumer and, therefore, it cannot be defined in every situation. There is definitely a difference between technical “freshness” as a concept of wholesomeness and shelf life, compared to some consumers who define “freshness” as untreated and unprocessed, without them having a serious regard for its shelf life.
The real concern though is that there has been an increase in lobbying activities undertaken by parties from the chilled food industry promoting the technical “freshness” of their products over frozen counterparts. Such lobbying activities could inadvertently lead to further downgrading, in perception terms, among consumers regarding frozen processed food, which in fact has equal or even superior technical “freshness” to chilled processed food in most cases.
According to industry sources, some fish sold as chilled can be as much as 12 days old before it is eaten. The process of deterioration, which started when the fish was pulled from the sea, continues throughout this period. In contrast, frozen fish is frozen within a few hours of being caught, thus sealing in the freshness and nutritional value." |
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Re: Why are we so fat? |
By mpetrus on
9/2/2006 12:48 PM |
Yes, I agree, there is a tremendous amount of misinformation out there. It takes a great deal of time and effort to separate fact from fiction. I have to agree somewhat with the idea of frozen sometimes being better then fresh. I just picked up 100 lbs of blueberries in July, from a small farmer in Indiana. This farmer is a hobby farmer, and is concerned less with making a profit, and more with producing a healthy product for his family and friends.
He does not spray his blueberry bushes, so his yield is not as good as those that do spray. If you are familiar with farming, you would know that the berry family of plants including strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and others, are the plants most heavily sprayed with insecticides. They are normally sprayed at least once a week.
The 100 lbs of blueberries I have stored in a freezer might not be as good as fresh, but they are far superior to fresh berries that have been sprayed. Sometimes people think it’s not worth the time and effort. It actually not too bad, getting Cancer is probably more of a hassle. Having body parts amputated, radiation, chemo, now that’s a hassle.
There is a cure for Cancer out there. No it’s not about, walks, and wearing yellow band on your wrist. It’s about leading a lifestyle, and eating the foods that will prevent it from ever happening, and this includes foods that sometimes need to be frozen.
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