Diet
The food we eat is the basic fuel for every experience we have in life. And yet, the quantity of "bad fuel" people put into their bodies is astounding. Would you go out and buy the car of your dreams then fill it up with unrefined oil rather than refined gasoline? Of course not. Unfortunately, people treat their automobiles better than their own bodies.
Why eat healthy foods?
A healthy diet has been shown to improve every aspect of your life: More happiness, more confidence, more energy, better sleep, healthy weight, stronger immune system/avoid illnesses, concentrate better, learn faster, healthier skin.......not to mention decreased chances of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and all the other stuff that kill us Americans.
What should we eat?
The latest food pyramid is actually a very sensible guide:
Basically, eat lots of whole grains, plant oils, fruits and vegetables. Note the HUGE difference between whole grains and refined grains. Whole grains (such as whole grain bread, wild rice, bran flakes) provide the base of the pyramid, while refined grains (such as white bread, white rice, pasta) are at the top of the pyramid (the worst possible foods for you). You can tell how good a grain source is by inspecting the levels of protein and dietary fiber -- the more, the better.
Note also that fish and poultry are good meat sources of protein, while red meat is not.
What do Americans actually eat?
Unfortunately, 90% of Americans have turned the food pyramid upside down. Why? Three reasons:
1. Perceived flavor
2. Convenience
3. Price
1. Perceived Flavor
The short explanation is that sugar, fat, and salt fire up the taste buds and
provide the illusion that food "tastes" good. So people end up eating
these foods because they provide the intense flavor fixes.
Unfortunately, people don't pay much attention to how they feel 10 minutes after
eating these foods. To their credit, if all they eat is junk food,
feeling crappy afterwards is status quo, so they don't know what they're
missing. Anyways, everything is a matter of desensitization, so if
you lay off the sugar for a while, you won't need a soda to get that sugar rush;
a piece of fruit will do the trick.
2. Convenience
It is a lot easier to warm up a frozen
pizza or stop at the McDonald's drive through than it is to buy some vegetables
and prepare them. I don't understand how anybody doesn't think 30
minutes a day is worth their health, happiness, confidence, energy, mental
capacity, immune system etc. Fortunately, more and more fresh foods
are coming pre-packaged, and are available at fast food restaurants for
the "lazy" people.
3. Price
Now we get to the third reason....price.
Why is unhealthy food cheaper than healthy food? Well, in this case,
we *can* blame the government. The U.S. government subsidizes unhealthy
foods (like meats, soda, sweets, chips, packaged foods etc) but not healthy,
fresh, whole foods.
Corn is a
good example, with $42 billion is subsidies annually. Corn is used
for many things, including the production of high fructose corn syrup.
Over the past 30 years, the price of high fructose corn syrup has decreased 30%
while the average price of fresh vegetables has increased by 50%.
Today, Americans are gobbling up all this cheap sugar and get almost 10% of
their calories from high fructose corn syrup. (which is just
diabetes waiting to happen).
Why should we care about these subsidies? Besides providing an incentive to eat the wrong foods, ALL of us (including healthy eaters) are paying for our ever increasing health care bill. The direct medical costs of obesity alone have reached $93 billion a year in the U.S. -- 9 percent of the country's health-care bill. So basically, our government is using our tax dollars to contribute to our health care crisis and kill us.
End with a little optimism....
There are a lot of people out there that want to improve their diet, but feel like they don't have the willpower. It is difficult, but crucial, for these people to find a way -- for their own health, and for the health of our economy. Educate yourself on which foods are healthy and which aren't; slowly over time incorporate healthier foods into your diet and exercise, pay attention to how good you feel afterwards, and be persistent. After a few months of eating healthy foods they will begin to actually taste better than unhealthy foods. And finally, work toward eliminating government subsidies on unhealthy foods.
this page updated on November 19, 2006