I used to occasionally hear about someone dying of cancer or suffering from some sort of digestive ailment. Then, I would hear about one a month, earlier this year, one or two a week. Now the average is one or two a DAY, that is not a typo. I went to the hospital yesterday to visit my best friend's husband whose kidneys shut down. Earlier that week, that same friends grandson was hospitalized because he wasn't eating or able to digest his food. Her husband is in his late 50s; the baby is 4 1/2 months old. Then there is my step dad's best friend, who is dying of liver cancer. My grandnephew who is also not eating because of reflux (he's 13 months old) and might have autism. Not to mention my uncle, who passed a few months ago from colon cancer.
In this non-medically trained person's opinion, they're all tied together by a common thread - they're all related to digestion and possibly their diet. I realize that for those of you of a more scientific bent, this "evidence" is anecdotal. I'm okay with anecdotal evidence because I'm seeing it increase to the point where it can no longer be ignored. Even today, the medical community has labeled obesity a "disease". Where I become like Morton Downey Jr (or was it Susan Powter) is to look at you through the lens of this blog and scream at the top of my lungs....."STOP THE MADNESS!"
I came across this article this morning that essentially states that common medications, such as Amox-Clav, are killing our liver. There is also this article that shows the growing instance of digestive disorders in the United States. The data only goes to 2004, so I'm working on getting more current information. Although, it begs the question, if it was this bad nine years ago, how much worse is it now? I also found this article, which lists the top 10 causes of death in the US last year. In my estimation, 5 of them are directly related to lifestyle. Some might argue that all of them are.
Below is a chart taken from that article.
What madness do I want to stop? All of the destruction being caused by the Standard American Diet (SAD) and by genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our food supply. And no, I don't want another law forcing companies to comply to food labeling. The government's been in charge of our food safety long enough - they're unable and unwilling to do it properly. It's up to us, us and our pocketbooks.
The cool thing is - companies are starting (and it's only one company that I know of) to listen. Chipotle quietly announced earlier this year that is in labeling GMO ingredients on its menu online. You can read the entire story here. It's a great start, but it'll be even better if/when they eliminate GMO ingredients altogether. At least in my area, Chipotle is widely popular. So popular that if more people start demanding that their restaurants label GMOs - how long might it be before food companies that sell their products in grocery stores voluntarily label them as well?
But before all of that can happen, we need to educate ourselves. Step away from the food pyramid - it's killing us. I know that's an inflammatory statement, but the more research I do on the subject, the more I realize it's true. Our health is in our hands, and we need to stop relying on government programs (that are usually bought and paid for by the food industry) to tell us what's healthy. This same government convinced our parents and grandparents that smoking was also healthy. Think about it.
I have tons of resources and book recommendations I could give, and I'm happy to if you'll leave a comment below. But I'd rather you started looking at this for yourself. Start by making sure you're eating in a way that keeps your digestive system healthy so it can absorb the vitamins and minerals it needs. Don't know where to start or are too overwhelmed to know what the first step is? I would recommend visiting www.robbwolf.com, reading the book, "Nourishing Traditions" or subscribing to Leanne Ely's Saving Dinner menus at www.savingdinner.com.
It's a lot to take in and I hope I'm not scaring anyone off. I'm really passionate about this issue and wanted to share what I know in hopes that you'll become passionate about it as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment