The Tragedy of Manufacturing Foods
Written by lsmithersWe’ve been eating Frankenstein foods for 5 decades. It began as far back as Crisco that was hailed much better for you than lard. Then in the 60’s, we were assaulted with chemically treated soybean oils, packaged and wrapped foods designed for a very long shelf life with your health secondary–if it was thought of at all.
This is a very common sense question we must all ask. What is your body to do with chemicals? When ingredients are added to foods you eat, ingredients you cannot name, pronounce or recognize, how do you think your body will respond?
Foods stripped of nutrition by processing, a dash of chemicals to preserve and vitamin fortified is a recipe for illness. Oh, it all gets quite confusing. Flowing headlines on packages that sounds so good, labels with ingredients you can’t read; ingredients that hide thanks to an FDA ruling allowing it; commercials assaulting our senses of the latest new food ready in less than 60 seconds accommodating our non-stop lives.
Here’s the reality. 65% of Americans are overweight from one of the food groups recommended by the Food Pyramid–starches, cereals, breads and pasta. They faithfully followed low fat and no fat diet recommendations while they slowly packed on pounds.
Here’s another reality. Diabetes is an epidemic.
Parents fed their children cereals because it was recommended on the Food Pyramid. Cereals that are drenched in sugar spiking a small child into a wired state of frenzy. Then they go off to school where the Food Pyramid is faithfully followed with more starches, breads and yes, sugars in deserts.
Now its time to come home and everyone is tired. Its been a long day and the drive-up window is so easy and the kids love McDonalds. Now they get a hamburger, french fries soaked in soybean oil, more bread items, and a coca cola.
This dietary routine is the forerunner of chronic, inflammatory illnesses. Bodies overloaded with starches, sugars and Omega-6 oils digesting what is put in year after year silently battling what it recognizes as a foreign invader.
Is there any wonder 13 million children under the age of 12 are taking ADD medication? Diabetes, obesity and heart disease are at epidemic levels?
There’s an answer to what we’ve unknowingly done to our health by faithfully following the recommendations of the Food Pyramid. You can change the state of your health right now so simply it boggles the mind.
Go back to the way your grandmother cooked. Her table was filled with vegetables, meat, fruit and an occasional desert. To her, sugar was a treat, not a daily staple!
There’s an anecdote to Omega-6 inflammation and its called Omega-3. It is that simple.
Lois Smithers
Author, Food Industry’s Greed
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Posted in Inflammation and Omega-6, Omega 3, inflammation |
May 25th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Victory! At last I have found a site that answers my questions. Thank you.
May 27th, 2009 at 5:35 am
Wonderful and informative topic. I do really believe with this because gaining weights while following the food pyramid. If we follow that diet, we should also include a habitual exercises for us burn the extra calories that we gain while eating those meals.
August 21st, 2009 at 12:18 am
Yes you were right about the food pyramid and we must remember and take into consideration our heath and diet, above all we must not forget to exercise to keep our body physically fit, no matter how large the calories we intake as long as we are able to burn it, we still be in good shape. I am not into manufactured food. I always prepared fresh foods and freshly cook meals for my table.
September 9th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
This was a hell of a revealing thoughts. I also read an article about “Smart Choice” here are some of the lists:
t would be, right up until you see the actual food lists.
Froot Loops is a ‘Smart Choice’.
Cocoa Puffs are a ‘Smart Choice’.
Pretty much all of the Kid Cuisine frozen meals are a ‘Smart Choice’.
Hellman’s Real Mayonnaise (not the low-fat stuff, the real kind) is a ‘Smart Choice’.
I don’t know why in the world they say that eating junk food with sugar will be a smart choice. I truly understand your opinion in this article that we should all care for what is really good for our health and for our kids.
September 16th, 2009 at 12:15 am
I am always running out of time and i have my activities according to schedules. Most of the times, i would catch those easy to eat foods. Unfortunately, they are processed food. Most of the times, will just heat a pasta in the oven and there, no time hazard in cooking. I suppose they can be categorized under those Frankenstein food. Makes me think twice now after reading your post.
September 16th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Hi TP,
Thanks for your post. Most of us have lived by grabbing food on the run and heating a packaged dinner in the oven or microwave. We can follow this routine for years never aware inflammation is building until we are struck with a disease.
The answer is so simple…eat real food!
Thanks for writing!
January 22nd, 2010 at 10:18 pm
I completely agree with one who said - if it is made by man - don’t eat it
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:15 am
It is nice reading your article, it is nice and informative. Losing weight is a good thing, just follows your date chart. I think you should do some exercise it will burn some more calories.
July 5th, 2010 at 12:01 am
And imagine! We are eating those BT produced food and vegetables. How MNCs like Monsanto responded and when first lady Michelle tried to farm organic foods?
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:32 pm
Great article, if there was only something we could do about it. Informing the people will help some but these processed foods are still on every corner and on every shelf. It’s out of control. Good luck everyone, attempting to eat clean isn’t easy but I’m one for it.
Highly recommended weight loss programs:
The Gold Coast Diet
August 8th, 2010 at 1:13 am
i m fully agree with tht weight loss pyramid and i wnt to tell tht if u wnt to loose your weight then just do your work regulary without taking work from others….
August 18th, 2010 at 1:12 am
I have been working very hard to burn the calories which I gained after binging on junk food for a couple of years. Your post has made me more determined now. Thanks.
September 9th, 2010 at 6:06 am
I might be wrong, but I have seen a very similar post on some other blog. Is this your original post?
October 17th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Yes, it is my words and my original post.
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:50 pm
One would think that as we progressed as a society and as awareness spread about the terrible nature of the foods we eat, that things would take a turn for the better. But instead it seems as if they add weirder ingredients and substitutions that are even worse than the stuff we were eating half a century ago.
Kate
November 29th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
Absolutely. So many people are completely unaware of what goes into so many of the common processed foods that so many of us eat every day.
We are getting fatter and more unhealthy, and most of it has to come from what goes in our mouths.
Be sensible, eat right and you’ll be much healtheir, ignore the fast food advertising and keep off the processed food.
You are what you eat.
December 2nd, 2010 at 12:09 pm
I agree, Peter! We are what we eat but more importantly is how the body metabolizes the food we put into it. We can eat cereal every morning which countless people do. Packaged foods are supposedly fortified with vitamins and minerals and most, like cereal, are drowning in sugar. I haven’t had cereal in years!
December 2nd, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Hi Kate,
So well said. Thanks for stopping by!
December 16th, 2010 at 7:53 am
Doing some hard work for burning the calories as i too had a problem of junk food for long time and i have come across the good way to understand the things at least from this post.
March 6th, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Thanks for all the valuable tips in this post, keep up yhe good work you are helping many people!