Choose Wisely

I'm getting off my non-blogging butt today thanks to an article by John Robbins (yeah, that Robbins). 

The article pretty much sums up why I started a blog.  Doctors do NOT always have all the answers. It is time we start taking our futures in our own hands & it begins with the food we eat. Mindlessly shoving whatever crap food the commercials tell us to must stop! The lobbyists for the fast food companies have to stop influencing what constitutes a "healthy" school lunch. We cannot continue making money off the poor health of our nation. It is literally killing us. This story was deep, on so many levels; it was inspirational and beautiful and my heart goes out to this heroic young lady!

Below are several things to think about/consider when making your next food choice:
• We make many more decisions about food per day than we think: at least 12 at breakfast alone!  Choose wisely!  Plan ahead!  Whole grains keep you full longer, add fruit for an extra pep-in-your-step, use soy milk instead of calorie-laden, cholesterol-producing cow milk...

• NEVER assume what you're given is an appropriate amount. Usually, it isn’t.

• If you must have fast food, order a kids meal. Kid’s meal = 700 calories. Adult meal = 1700!

• Try to name a place that doesn’t have food. Even the laundromat, car service center, offices, book stores and hospital waiting rooms have some kind of food or vending options.  You're surrounded by poor easy choices.  Use that big, beautiful brain of yours and Choose Wisely!

• A popular blame/excuse is: Cortisol. This is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal gland in response to stress and a low level of blood glucocorticoids (regulates the metabolism of glucose). Cortisol’s primary functions are to increase blood sugar, suppress the immune system and aid in fat, protein and carbohydrate metabolism. This was helpful when we were cavepeople and didn't know where our next meal was going to come from: an issue most Americans do not face today.  However, we do have stress that contributes to the increased levels of cortisol.  So, maybe try parking in the very back of a parking lot instead of searching for the closets space.  Choices come in many varieties, not just food.

• Conversely: never aim to be "thin".  Chosing wisely does NOT mean starving yourself.  There are plenty of yummy, healthy options out there to satisfy a salty/sweet/savory/carb/whatever craving!  A handful of roasted almonds will curb a candy bar craving, but you'll never know unless you (let's say it together): Choose Wisely!

• We are an addictive culture; sugar triggers the same receptor in the brain as illegal drugs.  Despite what the “corn sugar” people have to say, sugar is addictive; you can imagine what High Fructose Corn Syrup is doing to our nation. You can see the physical addictive hold it has on us.  If you think you don't, try going 24 hours without a soda: 1 20oz soda = 15 teaspoons sugar.  Measure that out!

• Most religions even have correlations between food, body and overall wellbeing. 
Seventh-day Adventists, Hindus, Buddhists and Rastafarians are a few religions following strict diets. Research results have documented a 50% reduction in heart disease and longer life expectancy in people who eat a well-planned vegetarian diet. There are a number of religious rationales for a vegetarian diet. According to the Book of Genesis in the Bible, humans were given a plant-based diet. 
Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so. - Gen 1, 29-30
Quotes from religious texts:

    Christianity:  Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. 
- I Corinthians, 3:16-17.
    Judaism:  The Kabbalah’s main teaching is that we’re not alone in this world, and we are channels for higher energy. Each of us has something to contribute that’s unique: we’re on a mission. And we are receptacles to use our strengths, our talents, our unique opportunities to reveal a deeper spiritual dimension in everything we do. In a sense, to spiritualize the material world we live in. That means from when we take the next bite of food in our mouths, it’s not just an act of sustenance or indulgence, but rather a spiritual act, as Kabbalah will teach, that there are spiritual sparks in that food.
    Islam:  And from the fruits of date palm and grapes you get wholesome drink and nutrition: Behold in this is a sign for those who are wise.  - Quran 16:67
    Buddhism:  To keep the body in good health is a duty...otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.  - Buddha

• Ignorance is never an excuse for what you put into your body.  That gray matter in your head gives you the ability to r-e-a-d.  Read. The. Label.  It's going to take an extra 15-20 seconds when grocery shopping, but each time you do it, it could add an extra 1-5 years to your life.

• With many things in life, we understand the importance of quality.  How and when did quantity override quality?  We'll eat a $1 burger from a fast food joint, but we know it's horrible.  Next time ask yourself if you're willing to make that compromise.  Would you pay $500 for a car that looks horrible & will probably break down on the side of the freeway?  Probably not.  You want something safe and reliable.  Apply that same standard to your food!

• The environmental impact alone is astounding!  We spend $1 billion more on fuel per year than in the 60s simply because we weigh more.  You can save the environment and your wallet by weighing less!

• If your excuse for eating poorly is Healthy = Expensive: Weigh the option of putting a bit more money into good food now vs. medicine for health problems later.
Not to mention, Americans seem to have no problem at all spending money on weight loss drugs (estimated $42 billion is spent annually on weight loss foods, products and services).

• So, you like to eat, aye?  Me too!  Being vegan you can actually eat more, weigh less and feel better!

• Just because it is "USDA approved" approved, doesn't mean you should eat it. School lunches, for example, are a joke.  USDA pays $7 billion/per year to feed the nation’s public school children. After overhead & payroll, that’s $0.80 per child.
The government spends $900 billion/per year on education. Food fuels the brain, people!!  If we want smarter, better-functioning kids, put some good food in them!

• USDA Officials are nearly all former food lobbyists! Our nutritional education system is so politically influenced that it is ineffective.  So, make choices based on what YOU know, not what someone tells you.  Unless it's me, because I'm like 99.9% right.

• The Dept. of Agriculture tried to change the crap served as school lunches, but was blocked by some big lobbyists. The following companies lobbied against healthier school lunches: Heinz, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Pillsbury, Kraft, Tyson, National Frozen Pizza Institute, General Mills & National Restaurant Association.
Hummmm, I wonder why?$?$?$?

• The government did try to get involved (Healthierus.gov). 
I'll let Stephen explain, he does it so well!

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• Saying that: The Government spent $2 million on mynewpyramid.gov.  But, that was developed by a private PR firm (Porter Novelli) whose other clients include: The Snack Food Association and McDonald’s. 

Are you seeing a pattern here???
Choose Wisely, or, you know what happens!!

Yeah...don't be a Nazi either.  Nazis are the trans fats of history.

What Does It Mean to be American?

During the celebration of our country’s Independence we often reflect upon the price we’ve paid for our freedom. We thank and remember those in service who selflessly trade their lives so we may have better ones. We broke away from the British Empire because we wanted better lives – yearned for the freedom to make our own choices. Yet, it seems as though today we’re faced with more rules and regulations than ever. We cannot marry whomever we chose. We cannot seek medical help when we are ill. It is in these times we wonder what is the most important thing to fight for? We need to get back to the basics. Get OUT from under the Empire’s thumb. We’ve ended up back where we started. Taxes, illness, poverty, unjust treatment…of not just human, but of all beings. Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. Take a minute to think about the way we treat our animals.

Behind the closed doors of factory farms (slaughterhouses), billions of cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, horses, etc, are subjected to a life of misery that few could even imagine; suffering out of sight and out of mind. These animals only know a life filled with severe confinement, abusive handling, painful mutilations, careless neglect and merciless slaughter. Though these animals struggle, kick and scream, their cries repeatedly fall on the deaf ears of profit-driven factory farm producers, who view these responsive and intelligent creatures as mere commodities.

If you haven’t yet seen Food, Inc., I highly recommend you do. I guarantee you will learn something about your food. Not just about how the animals are raised and how they’re treated, but about what companies aren’t telling you – they are lobbying our senators and governors to get what they want and they’re getting it. They keep getting what they want because we aren’t fighting for a change.

This poor woman who lost her son due to an E-coli infected burger cannot even say on camera that she has changed the way she eats! They will come after her, sue her and make her out to be the bad guy. What does this remind you of?  Oprah??
Oprah’s statement of not wanting to eat another hamburger (guest: Howard Lyman) – caused 6 years of litigation and over $1 million in legal fees..
"In 1999, University of Wyoming law professor, Debra Donahue, who holds a masters degree in wildlife biology, wrote a book in which she said the most important thing that could be done to protect species from extinction and preserve biodiversity is to remove livestock from nearly all public lands. In response, Wyoming Senate president and cattleman Jim Twiford proposed a bill that would dismantle the university law school." (Wilkinson, Todd, "In a Battle over Cattle, both sides await grazing ruling," Christian Science Monitor, May 1, 2000)
There are only 3 or 4 companies controlling the meat market. This isn’t just major market control, this is control over an entire populations’ food. The sad thing is: we’re allowing it to continue. Every day you get three votes to tell the government how you want your food grown. You get three votes to improve the environment, your health and our society.
Another topic mentioned in Food, Inc. are the much-admired Commodity Crops – the majority of what makes up the bad calories (sodas, candy, processed foods). These commodity crops (and NAFTA) did away with the need to import corn from Mexico leaving thousands of farmers and ranch hands out of work, thus leading to the influx of South American immigrants to the US. The corn grown to feed the animals you eat along with the slaughterhouses where these animals are processed are the main reason why so many immigrants are in the US. Don’t you dare blame them, blame yourself. Next time you sit down to enjoy that holiday ham, think about where it came from. Better yet, think about that before you buy it. Think about the meat that has been processed with ammonia in order to kill the E-coli that lives within the carcass. Think about the lobbyists and lawyers who used to work for commodity crop and meat industries who are now working for the FDA and EPA. The fact that this is happening in a government I want to trust and I want to have faith in is nauseating to me.

There is a veil between us and where our food comes from – a world deliberately hidden from us. We are entitled to know about our food. So make your three votes per day; make them count. And never give up the conviction and strength that we, as Americans, can turn our society, health and environment around; we can have a better future, but we have to want it badly enough and we have to want it together. Independently of what we’re told to want.