'tis all pretty bad, isn't it?
Well, it's good that more people are buying organic and stuff like that, but there are a lot of bad habits built into our culture, such as lack of exercise, high sugar intake, and false nutritional reccomendations (like "heart healthy" canola oil). Lifetimes are limited though, and people need to change asap.
'tis all pretty bad, isn't it?
but there are a lot of bad habits built into our culture, such as lack of exercise, high sugar intake, and false nutritional reccomendations (like "heart healthy" canola oil).
I agree, but all you can really do is to live like what you think is good and emit the health personally. People see. People will continue to do what feels good to them, this is just what our modern western culture keeps telling us, or what people tell themselves. When people notice they can't carry on with a "bad" diet, they'll change. It's all the way it is, one can either talk about how bad everything is or just live the change, showing the way. Telling other people their diet sucks and they have to change won't make most people care.
'tis all pretty bad, isn't it?
but there are a lot of bad habits built into our culture, such as lack of exercise, high sugar intake, and false nutritional reccomendations (like "heart healthy" canola oil).
I agree, but all you can really do is to live like what you think is good and emit the health personally. People see. People will continue to do what feels good to them, this is just what our modern western culture keeps telling us, or what people tell themselves. When people notice they can't carry on with a "bad" diet, they'll change. It's all the way it is, one can either talk about how bad everything is or just live the change, showing the way. Telling other people their diet sucks and they have to change won't make most people care.
I agree/disagree 
Many people stick with their bad habits till the grave. I agree that one of the best things you can do is be a living example. I never tell anyone "hey, your diet sucks and you need to change or else!" as any sort of negative approach turns them off to the idea, regardless of whether it's right or wrong. On the contrary, I approach it very passively, and gently nudge by offering things here and there, and when they enjoy a meal and ask questions, I do my best to show how approachable it is, give them resources, etc. It's also important to talk about these things when the opportunity is given, as that's how I came about this forum and changing my own diet and lifestyle. It's a complicated cultural issue as you said, and it's important to tackle it from as many angles as possible, such as removing the smoke and mirrors, being an example, friendly, and persistent.
Read this in my health magazine (Natural Health I think). Don't have my issue right here but looked up online and found this--which is about the same:
"Eating or drinking 100 grams (8 tbsp.) of sugar, the equivalent of one 12-ounce can of soda, can reduce the ability of white blood cells to kill germs by forty percent. The immune-suppressing effect of sugar starts less than thirty minutes after ingestion and may last for five hours. In contrast, the ingestion of complex carbohydrates, or starches, has no effect on the immune system."
The magazine said something like a 12oz can soda suppressed the immune system by 40% for three hours after drinking. SCARY! Who knew???? We rarely drink soft drinks here mostly because I cannot have caffeine. We can buy a 12 case of cans and it will last months. lol We are big water drinkers sprinkled with decaf tea. I'll drink a root beer here and there but I'll tell ya, I will remember this. I will prob still have one, but not if I am unwell! lol 
Somewhere around Asheville, North Carolina would be good for that. In fact there are already a lot of communes and intentional living communities there. It's a pretty awakened area in a lot of ways.
The people dying to feed you:
People are dying to protect you.
People are dying because we need oil "protection" from them.
People are dying because of lack of access to clean water, food, and basic vaccinations.
People are dying.
I fail to see how this is relevant to the topic at all.
The problem with eating healthy is that it requires time, effort, research, and money.
It's in human nature to take the path of least resistance.
Even if organic, unmodified foods gain equal footing with the mass produced stuff, there will always be a market for affordable, cheaply-made food products for the people who can't afford "premium" brands.
If natural foods are inexpensive and practical to produce to as people like alternativista claim, then we will see the shift happen eventually.
But then again, there are just some people who love their food the way it is. And like someonefromabove pointed out, getting people to change is impossible unless they want to change. (I.E. if they want to be at their absolute peak level of health) Most people don't care.
The USGS has maps showing the minerals in our soil. Here's a link to the map on Magnesium. There's not much in the South.
Haha, I thought this article was pretty good
We need to do something about this. It really pisses me off that the FDA will allow all of these dangerous chemicals in our foods and soaps, shampoos, etc. It's not good for us and it's not good for the environment; too many corporations are motivated by money itself regardless of the implications of everything they make and sell. Has anyone seen "The Story of Stuff?" I highly recommend it for anyone that is interested in doing something about the problems we face.
Corporations need to be paying for all of the negative externalities (economics term) they create. As long as they can throw money at the government or move their production sites away from consumers, they can get away from just about anything.
We need to think of a way in which we can educate a broad audience on these issues. If more people know about what is happening and how it affects them, and it does affect everyone, they would surely press for changes. Eating better alone would surely drive down medical insurance prices and the number of sick and obese people walking around.
One thing I have a real problem with is the drug companies. Drugs aren't tested for anywhere near the length they should be before they are rolled out to the public. Some drugs are necessary and do save lives, but others are extremely dangerous for what they treat.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47172360/ns/business-us_business/#.T5iDrdXheQI
Heh. Burger King vows to go Cage-Free by 2017. I mean... it's not a huge improvement, but it IS improvement, and I think a major fast food corporation making some sort of move towards better quality food is pretty cool.
Maybe by 2050, their food will finally be okay to eat
Maybe by 2050, their food will finally be okay to eat
But by then the fish populations will have collapsed and the extreme weather will alternate between starving and drowning our livestock and crops.
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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Apparently it didn't exist until recently even in adults. And now, 30% of children have it. This was just stated in the HBO series 'Weight of the Nation.'
So sad. I really feel like the children in this nation are just F'd because of what they're fed. Or all the antibiotics/medications they take. Really, it's no surprise that children are now getting cancer, along with numerous other preventable health issues. And yes, cancer is preventable and reversible. (Alkaline diet/high dose intravenous vitamin c)
But thankfully kids these days are getting plenty of fluoride for healthy teeth. And thankfully fluoride has no adverse side effects on the body. Other wise the instance of children with cavities would be crazy high as well. Oh wait...it is
The History of Supersizing: How We've Become a Nation Hooked on Bigger Is Better
NYC's recent ruling limiting the size of sugary drinks has spurred a lot of controversy. Is it stupid? Not if you know the history of supersizing.
The idea can be traced back to a man named David Wallerstein, who ran movie theaters in the 1960s. He tried method after method to get his customers to buy more than one order of popcorn. Nothing worked. Then he realized why: people thought they would look like pigs if they bought two popcorns. So he tried increasing sales a different way, by offering a jumbo size popcorn. The trick worked. Popcorn sales went up.
Nowadays, this profit-boosting trick is the standard at any movie theater. Some theater chains require cashiers to inform every customer that they can have the next size up for an extra quarter or two. It's a tiny amount of money to pay for a larger size of soda or popcorn, but for the theater, those extra few cents are nearly all profit. The labor costs them the same to sell you a small popcorn or a large one. The added cost of a box or a cup plus some syrup and water, or some popcorn, salt and seasoning is minimal. And you as the customer perceive this as a great value.
Wallerstein's brilliant idea might have stayed in his theater chain, but in 1968, he became a director of McDonald's. In the 1970s, the economy was not on McDonald's' side, and customers were visiting the restaurants less and less and then only buying very little. Wallerstein convinced the chain to offer larger sizes of fries to boost sales -- and, of course, it worked.
Full Article:
http://www.alternet.org/food/155932/the_history_of_supersizing%3A_how_we%27ve_become_a_nation_hooked_on_bigger_is_better
http://www.msnbc.msn...s/#.T5iDrdXheQI
Heh. Burger King vows to go Cage-Free by 2017. I mean... it's not a huge improvement, but it IS improvement, and I think a major fast food corporation making some sort of move towards better quality food is pretty cool.
Maybe by 2050, their food will finally be okay to eat
No because by that time they will have inserted a gene into the chickens that makes them dormant so they don't wander away. Saves them money on fencing. A different gene will give them a desire to always nest extremely close to other chickens so that egg collecting is easier, and so that they can grab most of the chickens at once for slaughtering with some type of machine. And then we'll be right back where we are today with chickens sitting on top of each other in their own feces barely having moved a single muscle in their body.
I'm joking...but seriously, i wouldn't put it past them
Fascinating stuff. I've spent the last year or so trying to gain weight through eating 'good' foods but found that a lot of those foods broke me out. A couple weeks ago, I took a look at what I was actually eating, and found that I was getting almost NO vegetables at all. I immediately added 2-3 servings of veggies a day, and I've had only one small pimple since. It was a complete night and day difference.
Basically, I was conditioned into believing that I was eating well just because I was avoiding sweets and greasy food. But eating well is more than just the absense of eating poorly.
And alternativista, I love your posts!
cola, caffeine, refined sugar, junk food are liver stressors and that is what most kids have everyday
Yep. I'm convinced this is why we're seeing more and more children develop chronic illness and cancer. Because the typical child's diet is so incredibly toxic to the body
Mercola Newsletter article on how
aspartame (in diet drinks and foods) and monosodium glutamate (MSG) (which could be in anything) contribute to the onset of diabetes. Especially in combination.
http://articles.merc...02_DNL_artNew_2
And see this little tidbit from that article:
Also an interesting study came out last month that showed rising rates of type 2 diabetes in Africa could actually encourage the spread of malaria. As diabetes rates rise, so do cases of hyperinsulinemia, or high levels of insulin in your blood. Insulin actually suppresses mosquito's immune systems, which means that as more insulin enters the mosquito, their imune systems become less able to fight off the malaria infection, which means they are much more likely to spread malaria among humans.
And see this article about an 104-year old woman in Sarasota Florida whose advice for longevity and health includes eating well and staying away from doctors. She also has to care for her sickly 70 something daughter which might be a trend as not only will younger generations have shorter lifespans (if they don't start improving their lifestyles) they'll be more and more riddled with degenerative health conditions. This is sort of like my mother and Grandmother, not that my 94 grandmother is any help to my 74 year old stroke victim mother or that she eats well. But Grandma doesn't have some of the worst habits such as drinking soda several times per day like my mother, and for most of her life she and her family did produce most of their own food. http://articles.merc...02_DNL_artNew_1
It also says that poisoning by prescription drugs is now the number one cause of accidental death!:
According to the latest data collected by the National Center for Health statistics, poisoning, primarily by prescription drugs, has now surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. In 2008, 41,000 Americans died from poisoning, compared to 38,000 lethal car accidents. The data, which can be found on the CDC's web site
, shows that:
- In 2008, poisoning became the leading cause of injury death in the United States and nearly 9 out of 10 poisoning deaths are caused by drugs.
And then it goes on to specifics about what drugs and that Americans use 80% of the painkillers used in the world.