Archive for October, 2008
How Colorful is Your Plate?
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008
I really don’t like a good majority of the eating advice I hear, simply because most of it is entirely too scientific and only leads to greater confusion among consumers. This confusion only serves to create an entire market of unsuspecting consumers who fall prey to food marketers using the latest headlines to convince us what they are pushing is actually good for us.
However, here’s some advice that’s so simple, it sounds like it came straight from Mom; eat as many colors as you can every day.
As Ali Hale over at diet-blog.com points out, “Each color is an indication of a key nutrients being present in the fruit or vegetable.” So, the more colors you eat, the more nutrients you’ll receive, and the less you’ll have to spend on vitamins to make up for what you’re not getting in your food.
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10 Things the Food Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008
Adam Voiland from U.S. News & World Report recently did a fantastic article regarding the subversive tactics of many food marketers.
Here is a synopsis.
1. Junk food makers spend billions advertising unhealthy foods to kids.
2. The studies that food producers support tend to minimize health concerns associated with their products.
3. Junk food makers donate large sums of money to professional nutrition associations.
4. More processing means more profits, but typically makes the food less healthy.
5. Less-processed foods are generally more satiating than their highly processed counterparts.
6. Many supposedly healthy replacement foods are hardly healthier than the foods they replace.
7. A health claim on the label doesn’t necessarily make a food healthy.
8. Food industry pressure has made nutritional guidelines confusing.
9. The food industry funds front groups that fight antiobesity public health initiatives.
10. The food industry works aggressively to discredit its critics.
The thing I like most about the article is his noting the conflicts of interest food marketers have about helping curb the rising health crisis they are fueling.
Regarding the so-called “wellness initiatives” several companies like PepsiCo and Coca Cola put forth Voiland explains, “Such moves by the food industry may seem to be a step in the right direction, but ultimately makers of popular junk foods have an obligation to stockholders to encourage kids to eat more—not less—of the foods that fuel their profits…”
Much like the tobacco companies before them, these guys talk a good game, but let’s be honest; it’s all about the bottom line.
Tags: Freedom
Posted in Food Marketing, The Life | No Comments »
Food As A National Security Issue
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008
Following up on his open letter to the next President, Terry Gross had Michael Pollan on Fresh Air today to discuss American food policy.
As is usually the case on Fresh Air, it’s an extremely engaging 40 minute discussion. Pollan highlights the problem with farm subsidies, agribusiness, and the amount of fossil fuels our current food system uses; just to name a few.
I strongly encourage you to take the time and listen now.
Tags: Required Reading
Posted in Legislation, The Life | No Comments »
Farmer in Chief
Thursday, October 16th, 2008
Michael Pollan has delivered another masterful exposition of the problems with the industrial food complex, this time in the October 9th issue of The New York Times Magazine.
“Spending on health care has risen from 5 percent of national income in 1960 to 16 percent today, putting a significant drag on the economy. The goal of ensuring the health of all Americans depends on getting those costs under control. There are several reasons health care has gotten so expensive, but one of the biggest, and perhaps most tractable, is the cost to the system of preventable chronic diseases. Four of the top 10 killers in America today are chronic diseases linked to diet: heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and cancer. It is no coincidence that in the years national spending on health care went from 5 percent to 16 percent of national income, spending on food has fallen by a comparable amount — from 18 percent of household income to less than 10 percent. While the surfeit of cheap calories that the U.S. food system has produced since the late 1970s may have taken food prices off the political agenda, this has come at a steep cost to public health. You cannot expect to reform the health care system, much less expand coverage, without confronting the public-health catastrophe that is the modern American diet.”
Once again, this man is speaking my language.
Tags: Required Reading
Posted in The Life | 1 Comment »
1,895 Pounds Lost
Tuesday, October 14th, 2008
MSN posted several pretty amazing before & after pictures yesterday. Each person has a different reason for their path to better health, but they all seem to agree that living the good life is better than any chocolate shake ever was.
So, check it out, find your inspiration for the day, and keep pushin’!
I want to add you to this list VERY soon.
Tags: Freedom
Posted in The Life | 2 Comments »
Diet Wars
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008
In April of 2004 PBS’s Frontline did a fantastic show on the differing views of what we should be eating and why.
Reporter Steve Talbot examines the claims of Weight Watchers, Pritikin and Ornish, and Atkins, as he attempts to discover the best way to combat his own borderline obese diagnosis. He does a fantastic job of expressing the confusion and anxiety many people feel in dealing with the myriad competing and contradictory views on diet and wellness in America.
My favorite point of the show came from Dr. James Hill, director of the University of Colorado’s Center for Human Nutrition, who commented on our current “toxic food” environment, ”[When] you see 65 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, what amazes me is that anyone maintains a healthy weight in this environment.”
In the end, Talbot takes a little from each program and develops a philosophy of food that works for him, which is surprisingly close to mine; though I would encourage him to start eating fruit again.
You can watch the entire show online, enjoy!
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What if It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie?
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
Yesterday, I stumbled upon an article by Gary Taubes published in the New York Times Magazine in July of 2002.
In looking further into the article, it appears to have been a ground breaking piece at the time because it was the first major article in the mainstream press to challenge the “accepted” notion that fat makes you fat.
It’s quite extensive, but it’s an absolute MUST read. Here is one of the many paragraphs that really stood out:
“What’s forgotten in the current controversy is that the low-fat dogma itself is only about 25 years old. Until the late 70’s, the accepted wisdom was that fat and protein protected against overeating by making you sated, and that carbohydrates made you fat. In ”The Physiology of Taste,” for instance, an 1825 discourse considered among the most famous books ever written about food, the French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin says that he could easily identify the causes of obesity after 30 years of listening to one ‘’stout party” after another proclaiming the joys of bread, rice and (from a ”particularly stout party”) potatoes. Brillat-Savarin described the roots of obesity as a natural predisposition conjuncted with the ”floury and feculent substances which man makes the prime ingredients of his daily nourishment.” He added that the effects of this fecula — i.e., ”potatoes, grain or any kind of flour” — were seen sooner when sugar was added to the diet. ”
Do yourself a favor and read this article immediately.
Tags: Freedom, Required Reading
Posted in The Life | No Comments »
Stop Dieting & Start Living!
Monday, October 6th, 2008
“For freedom, Christ set us free.” -Galatians 5:1
Americans spend an estimated $40 billion dollars a year on weight loss. From books to pills to programs, we are infatuated with the idea that we can, “Lose 30 lbs in 30 days without changing anything you are doing whatsoever!!”
However, it has become strikingly obvious that the key to maintaining a healthy weight and, in turn, long term happiness, we need to reorient our thinking from dieting to lifestyle. That is to say, we need to stop asking, “What’s the fastest way to lose the most weight with the least effort?” Instead, we should ask, “How do I need to live my life to be happy?” If we can answer the latter question, the former will take care of itself.
Therefore, “The Life” is NOT a diet; it’s a way of living which regulates your blood sugar and brain chemistry to maintain optimal happiness at all times.
As such, though eating the right food at the right time is important, it’s not just about food. The Life also involves reading, exercise, vitamins, prayer, time management, sleep, and a host of other componants that make up a healhty lifestyle.
While it is possible to read every entry on Slave2Freedom.com and figure out how to live The Life on your own, many people recognize the need for support and accountability when attempting such a drastic life change.
If you are stuck in a never ending cycle of weight loss and gain; if you are “sick and tired of being sick and tired”; in short, if you are longing to experience the lasting joy you know you were created for, email me at jameshahn [at] slave2freedom [dot] com for more information.
Tags: Freedom
Posted in Sugar Addiction, The Life | 1 Comment »
Simply Amazing
Monday, October 6th, 2008
One would think I would start to get desensitized to the absurd “health” advice that can be found on the web, but Yahoo has once again exceeded expectations reporting, “While dieters often banish tempting foods from their kitchens, a new study suggests that keeping some sweet treats around might be a good way to build willpower.”
Let’s try this logic with a couple other addictions.
“While alcoholics often banish liquor from their houses, a new study suggests that keeping a fifth of whiskey in the cabinet might be a good way to build willpower.”
Or
“While cocaine addicts often banish the sweet white gold from their houses, a new study suggests that keeping a pile of blow on your kitchen table might be a good way to build willpower.”
No rational human being would actually make these statements regarding drugs and alcohol, so how is it possible that anyone could attempt to make them about sugar? Isn’t the obesity crisis we are seeing the world over enough to prove none of us should keep this stuff in our houses?
But, even if we remove this food from our cabinets, it’s constantly invading our homes through the billions food marketers spend on television and internet advertising. And it’s not just at home; sugar addicts are confronted with tempting images year round. Billboards, newspapers, magazines, semi-truck trailers, and check-out lines contain an abundance of images to entice us into giving in.
And temptations are not restricted to the visual.
Morning meetings with sugar coated muffins and donuts have become the norm. Just getting a glass of water at work has become a challenge. Break rooms across America have become obstacle courses full of cookie trays, candy bowls, pizza boxes, sub sandwiches, giant bags of chips, and 2 liters of pop.
So, please, don’t try and tell me I need to keep a bag of M&M’s in my house to overcome temptation. If nothing else, that is only a guarantee of continued growth; for both Mars Incorporated’s stock & my waste line.
Tags: Dead Wrong
Posted in Sugar Addiction, The Life | No Comments »
The “Western Diet” Strikes Back
Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
It’s deja vu all over again…
“Dr. Michalis Stagourakis has seen a transformation of his pediatric practice here over the past three years. The usual sniffles and stomachaches of childhood are now interspersed with far more serious conditions: diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol.”
The culprit?
“Small towns like this one in western Crete, considered the birthplace of the famously healthful Mediterranean diet — emphasizing olive oil, fresh produce and fish — are now overflowing with chocolate shops, pizza places, ice cream parlors, soda machines and fast-food joints.”
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, obesity causes anywhere between 112,000-365,000 deaths per year. Conversely, there were only15,973 deaths induced by illegal drugs in America in 1997.
If obesity kills over 2,000% more people per year than illegal drugs, isn’t it about time to start a “Fast Food War”?
Posted in Fast Food | No Comments »
