We all makes choices. Hundreds and probably thousands of them a day. One of the most important choices you'll make on a daily basis is what to put into your body. In our household, we have chosen this healthy lifestyle. We are one family trying to make a difference in the world. Why? For many reasons! First, we feel great and want to share that with others. When you are doing something that has made a big impact on your life, you want to share it! Why keep something so wonderful to yourself?? The second is an extension of the first. When we see people that really need to make a change in their diet, I feel compelled to want to help. I am talking about overweight, obese people, people with diseases like cancer, type 2 diabetes, ms, fibromyalgia, celiac, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. etc. etc. These are the people that really need to make a change. The more I learn the more I get mad at their doctors & our government. For example, the American Diabetes Association recommends a diabetic can eat 45-60 carbs per meal. That can be as much as 180 per day (and that doesn't include snacks!). I don't have diabetes and I don't think I should even be eating that much. But since our economy is driven by processed, wheat filled food, our government is going to push "healthy whole grains". The third reason is an extension of the second. These sick people are draining our healthcare system. Of course from a human perspective, I want them to feel better but from an economic perspective they are digging themselves and our nation into a deep healthcare hole that is getting harder and harder to get out of. Healthcare costs are out of control. With 2/3 of our nation either overweight or obese, now is not the time to take action, the time to take action was years ago when this fat explosion began in the 80's. Since we don't have a time machine (where's Doc Brown when we really need him!), we have to start today. And that starts with YOU! Put down that fast food and cook with your family. Real food that came from the earth. Real food that doesn't have a list of ingredients a mile long, most of which are unpronounceable. One by one we can make a difference and reverse the slippery slope that America is on. Make a promise to visit your local farmers market this week. Support the local struggling farmer not the food giants that rule this nation. Kraft, Nabisco, General Mills, etc. and of course the fast food giants that are all contributing to the obesity epidemic. Hit them where it counts...their bottomline! Every dollar you spend on local, fresh grown food instead of fast junk food tells them something! BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD!!
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Today I am going to focus my attention on our US government. I have always tried to be an optimist. I have always thought our government would have our best interests in mind. We live in one of the greatest nations in the world, right? How could they mislead, misinform, misguide us? I am beginning to open my eyes and mind to the reality that this in fact not the case. Here's my story... I have never been an opinionated person. The debate club was not on my radar. That is until the last few years. Up until that point, I could easily sum up my passions with one word: family. That was it. I want what's best for them. Aside from that personal passion, the only really controversial topic I was passionate about was the overuse of antibiotics in this country (of which I will devote a blog topic on because more awareness on this topic is needed). But my passions grew with the addition of Max (our feral cat we adopted in 2009) and then with the additions of Alex & Leo (2 more rescue cats) and of course Serafina (our dog we rescued last year). They opened not only my heart but my eyes to the extraordinary amount of animals in need in the US. So add animals to that passion list. But maybe the most important passion of all is one I discovered this year: health. If I want what's best for my family, they need to eat right. Without excellent nutrition, we have nothing. No, that's not right, we actually get a country full of obese, diseased people! My biggest discovery on this path to learn all I can about healthy nutrition has led me to understand that the government doesn't have our best interests in mind. They have their deep pockets in mind...and filling them with lots and lots of money! Money from lobbyists from big food companies like Kraft, General Mills, Kellogg's to name a few. The government recently revised the food pyramid that I grew up with and replaced it with a place setting so we can see what a "healthy" meal should look like. Except about 1/3 is devoted to "healthy whole grains" which not surprisingly is found in the lobbyists product. The recent push to switch to whole grains or wheat instead of white leads people to believe they are eating healthy when they choose these options. But wheat is wheat! It doesn't matter if it's white, wheat, whole. It's still wheat. AND it's not the wheat that our ancestors were consuming. Up until the early 70's, it was about the same wheat but then a brilliant man created a modified version of wheat that grows faster and bigger so we could grown more and at a cheaper price. He won the Nobel Peace Prize while America won out of control obesity and diabetes rates! We just don't digest this wheat like the wheat of our ancestors which leads to our current health issues. (Much more on this later). So while the farmers in this nation struggle and diminish in numbers, processed food wins because they have the bucks to line the government pocket book. I encourage you to read and watch the items we posted here. Change starts with one person and grows from there. Decide today to be that ONE person and then spread the word. Share this blog. Share the resources we mentioned. Stop buying processed junk at the supermarket and try the farmers market instead. Support your local community instead of the food giants of America. Open your mind TODAY before it's too late! |
AuthorI am an ordinary person just like you who thanks to my husband and a good friend realized I needed to change my eating habits or my habits were going to eat me! I am in no way an authority on anything I post and make no claims on your health. I do not have a medical degree or am a registered dietitian. I am however, a consumer who has chosen to understand more about the foods we eat and how they affect us. My mission is simple. To inspire others to take the necessary steps to feel as great as I do by taking control of their eating! Archives
January 2014
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