You read that right….46 million.

I just watched a video on CNN that did a story where the interviewer followed a 53 year old man on the food stamp program through a grocery store. His $200 per month food stamp allowance won’t allow for anything that is cooked, or any personal hygiene items….edible items only.

The magnitude of the news is appalling. How can 46 million Americans be on food stamps? That represents 15% of every American or more than one out of every seven people. What is happening to the middle class that is the backbone of America? Whenever we think of the population of the world, we always think of how lucky Americans are because there is little or no poverty. While so many countries have a small number of rich and a mass of population of poor, America has always been pretty much immune to poverty….in the past.

I can’t begin to figure out how to fix America’s problems. However, I can point out that the man in the video who lives on food stamps offers all of us a valuable lesson. The gentleman indicated that the only things he can afford to eat are fruits and vegetables. Perhaps the rest of us who are more fortunate should learn from the gentleman, because we should all be eating fruits and vegetables. None of us can afford the disasterous side effects of the poor dietary choices we make. The $9.4 billion dollars that the government spends per week subsidizing food stamps is just the tip of the iceburg when compared to what our terrible eating habits are costing the health care system.

There are 72 million obese adult Americans, which represents over 34% of the adult population. Another 69 million adult Americans are 32.7% are overweight. That means that 2 out of every 3 American adults are overweight or worse. The multitudes of health problems that are caused by improper dietary choices are going to continue to put more and more stress on the finances of America. Forget debt ceilings and lowered credit ratings, America is eating itself to death.

Something has to give. It’s time that our governments step in and educate the public about the importance of a proper diet. Advertisements for sodas and fast foods need to be banned, or accompanied by warnings similar to those on cigarette packages. Perhaps the government can start by including educational handouts on dietary choices to the 47 million people who receive food stamp cards.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.

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The Center for Science in the Public Interest filed a class action suit in a California court Wednesday, claiming McDonald’s violates the state’s consumer protection laws by using toys to market Happy Meals to young children.

The basis of the lawsuit is that McDonald’s uses the toys to entice children to buy the meals. The group claims that McDonalds’ advertising is deceptive in that it offers healthy alternatives, but what it actually sells is something else. The group says:

“In other words, McDonald’s offerings consist mostly of fatty meat, fatty cheese, French fries, white flour, and sugar — a narrow combination of foods that promotes weight gain, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease — and may lead to a lifetime of poor diets”

McDonalds counters with “We are confident that parents understand and appreciate that Happy Meals are a fun treat, with quality, right-sized food choices for their children that can fit into a balanced diet.”

Now who are you going to believe? I have to admit that I have had more than my fair share of the “balanced diet” offered by McDonald’s, I can verify that the consumers advocacy group has it right. McDonalds is justified in saying that their meals can fit into a balanced diet because if you only eat at McDonalds once a year or even once a month, then you body can certainly process the junk. But how often to kids or teenagers eat at McDonald’s or the other fast food outlets?

The law suit is just a small step in the right direction. We need municipalities to ban fast food businesses from locating close to high schools. We need the fast food chains to provide warnings on their junk food in the same way that cigarette companies must post health risk warnings. How is it justified that smoking is bad and eating junk food isn’t bad? What we really need is our governments and schools to educate us about how critically important it it s to eat and drink alkaline foods and water.

You can read more about this topic at:

http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/15/news/companies/McDonalds_Happy_Meal_law_suit/index.htm?hpt=C2

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.

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2. The High Cost of Cheap Food

Maybe the solution to ending all wars is to promote obesity. All we have to do is encourage our children to continue to eat junk food and pretty soon, nobody would be able to meet the minimum threshold of 26% body fat to enlist in the military. Maybe wars could be waged by holding hamburger eating contests instead of using bombs and bullets.

Twenty six percent body fat does not exactly make a lean mean fighting machine by any stretch of the imagination. Athletes typically have a body fat composition of 6% to 13%. If you think that our soldiers look like the hard bodies you see stripped down to the waist in the movies, thing again.

According to an article that appeared on myfox.com on December 8, 2010, American soldiers are taking diet pills, laxatives, subjecting themselves to self imposed starvation or extreme diets, and even having liposuction performed to keep their jobs. The article informs us that more than 1/3 of uniformed men and women don’t meet the Army’s weight standards. While dismissal form the Army is the most severe penalty, failure to meet the standards will hold a person back from a promotion. You can see the article by linking to the website listed at the end of this article.

Obesity is out of control in America and now Type 2 diabetes, the next step in the demise of a human body as a result of excessive acidosis, is at epidemic levels. So, what are we doing about it?

Michelle Obama has adopted a healthy diet cause and her “Let’s Move” effort is important and worthwhile. According to Mrs. Obama’s site:

* Obesity rates among children have tripled in the last three decades, and one in three children are obese.

* One-third of all children born after 2000 will suffer from diabetes.

* Children are less active today than at any other time in American history, spending 7.5 hours a day watching TV, playing video games or simply involved in efforts that don’t require movement.

* Obesity is contributing to the vast increase in hypertension among Americans.

Big ups for Mrs. Obama and her efforts.

But then we have Sarah Palin who is promoting junk food as part of her… oh hell, I can’t imagine what makes the woman say and do half the things she does. And then there’s Rush Limbaugh… no, I’m not going there! While democracy is built on our freedoms, it is obvious that our citizens need better dietary mentors than McDonald’s and Coca Cola.

The stimulus for writing this article came from an article appearing on the home page of CNN on December 6, 2010. The article titled “Why Obesity is a National Security Threat” was written by David Frum. Please take a couple of minutes to read this article which you can link to here:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/12/06/frum.obesity.military/index.html?hpt=C1

Here is the link to the article titled that I referred to earlier called “US Soldiers Turn To Diet Pills, Liposuction To Meet Weight Standards” that was written on December 8, 2010 and appeared as a commentary on the myfoxdc.com website:
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/health/us-soldiers-turn-to-diet-pills-liposuction-to-meet-weight-standards-ncxdc-120810

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.

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This blog is about water, and more specifically, alkaline water.  However, my real goal is to make people aware of their diet so that they can become and stay healthy.   Alkaline water delivers the same health benefits as an alkaline diet in terms of establishing a healthy acidic/alkaline balance, but water doesn’t supply the nutrients that are found in nutritious food.  Water should never be used as a replacement for eating well, but it is part of the big picture when it comes to providing your body with the proper fuel that it needs to operate efficiently.  

I came across an excellent article with the title “Why Quick, Cheap Food Is Actually More Expensive” by Dr. Mark Hyman M. D.  The article was written in 2006, but the information is as relevant today as it was when it was written.  Dr. Hyman is a well recognized author and advocate of eating a healthy diet.  Dr.  Hyman’s website offers a series of books and DVD’s that he has written that focus on diet.   

As usual, I have taken what I think are the most relevant parts of the article and presented them below in order to save you time.   You can check out his somewhat long article at:  http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/eating-cheap-quick-foods-is-more-expensive#comment.

The article focuses on the real cost of eating unhealthy food.  Dr. Hayman points out that the real cost of making poor dietary choices is seen in the explosion of cases involving obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. Dr. Hayman tells us:  “For example, one expert has estimated that healthcare costs related to obesity are $118 billion per year. That’s nearly 12 percent of total healthcare expenditures–and more than twice that caused by smoking!  Seventy-two percent of Americans are overweight and over one third are medically obese.  One in three children born today will be diabetic in their lifetime and the life expectancy of our population is declining for the first time in human history. ” 

Dr. Hyman points out that that ” most of the food we eat is made in plants rather than coming from plants.“  He tells us that  “Since the 1970s–when our agricultural policies where changed to support corn and soy farmers–we’re consuming, on average, an extra 500 calories (mostly in the form of cheap, artificial high-fructose corn syrup) per person (per day).” 

When you consider that the average adult male burns off about 2,000 calories in a day, those extra 500 “empty calories” go a long way to explaining why our society is losing the battle of the bulge and the cases of obesity and Type 2 diabetes are reaching epidemic proportions.  

Dr. Hyman then points out “Corn and soy are also used to feed cattle for the production of meat and dairy.  In fact, 70 percent of the wheat, corn and soy farmed in this country is used to feed animals used for our food. The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people–more than the entire human population on Earth!”  

It is stunning to think that it takes 28% more energy to feed the cattle that produce the beef that we eat, than it would take to properly nourish the entire human population of the planet….and that is only for beef and dairy segment of our diet!  The math on eating meat is ugly.

Dr. Hyman tells us his friend Dean Ornish, MD, (the author of “The Spectrum” and inspiration for Bill Clinton’s new dietary regime)  ”has shown that a program to teach people to eat better, exercise, and learn stress reduction can prevent heart disease and reduce the need for heart bypass or other treatments. Insurance companies are starting to take notice as some cover the costs for that program. Paying $5,000 for such a program now, Medicare has finally recognized, is better than paying $50,000 later for a cardiac bypass operation.”  All I can say is that eating properly can be achieved by taking time to education yourself without spending a dollar. 

Dr. Hayman provides 4 tips to eating better for less:

* Don’t let your past habits control your future actions when it comes to your diet.

* Be willing to learn new ways to to shop and eat, even if it difficult in the beginning.

* Do your research to find better sources of real nutrients at cheaper prices.  Switching from processed foods to whole foods is a huge step in the right direction.

* Take the time and effort to plan your shopping and to cook meals at home that involved healthier choices.

It is obvious that the world, or should I say that the medical world is waking up to the importance of what we put into our bodies.  It is no longer acceptable to have our governments keep us in the dark about what it takes to become and remain healthy, or for our physicians to limit themselves to repairing us when we are broken.   

Besides providing love and security, there is no greater gift that a mother could give her child that the gift of good health.  Instead of leaving the health of our children to others, we need to take this responsibility on ourselves and be diligent in giving our children the tools to be healthy and strong.  It is not an impossible task.  In fact, once the proper lessons are provided, our children will “get it” much faster than we ever did.  Lead by example and be patient.  It doesn’t have to be accomplished in a day.

The opinions in this article are those of the author and the those that are quoted in the article, and are not meant as medical advice.

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Weight loss….the multi-billion dollar industry, and the subject on the minds of so many of us!

When did the overweight condition get to be so rampant in our society?  I remember as a child, that there were virtually no “fat” kids in school.  Today, obesity is everywhere in Canada and the USA.  In fact, childhood obesity has quadrupled in the last 20 years.  

Television advertisements are telling us that there are 3 million Canadians with Type II diabetes, which means about 1 out of every 11 Canadians.   I imagine the problem is similar in the United States, but I haven’t done my research.  Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions in our society and it is a direct result of our diets, and to a lesser extent exercise,  sleep, and stress.

The obesity problem is not a worldwide issue.  I just returned from a week in Korea and the entire population is slim.   A trip to Paris a few years ago revealed a population where obesity basically didn’t exist. 

So, what’s going on?  We all think we know the answer, which is eat less and burn off more calories.  Unfortunately, that is not the answer.

We know we are eating the wrong things, but the question is, what things?  We should not be concentrating on fats and carbohydrates and fad diets.  Instead, we should be concentrating on eating an alkaline diet.  Why?  While being overweight is something we deal with on a day to day basis, it is just an early warning system for real health issues to be faced in the future if you don’t take a stand. 

It is impossible for disease to survive in an alkaline body.  Our bodies can naturally process a diet that consists of up to 20% acidic foods.  However, excess amounts of acids are stored as fats as a means of self preservation.  So, if you want to lose weight, eat an alkaline diet.  Your body will naturally begin to shed the excess acid that is stored in fat cells, and weight loss is inevitable.   

Exercise plays an important role in your weight and body composition, but not nearly as much as you might think.  I work out at a gym and use a personal trainer.  The head of the fitness program at the gym and my trainer both tell me that 90% of weight loss comes from what you put (or don’t put) in your mouth.  The other 10% of weight loss comes from exercise. 

Personal trainers tell us that we should eat small meals about 6 times per day.   They also tell us that people naturally lose about 1 pound of muscle per year once they hit age 40.  As a result, it is very important to do some resistance (weight) training a couple of times per week as we get older.  When I work out with a trainer, he doesn’t have me use large weights at all, as there are hundreds of ways to use the weight of your own body for resistance training. 

The trainers emphasize the importance of eating enough protein to help your muscles repair themselves.  They also emphasize the importance of proper hydration (which is where I get to teach them about the importance of drinking alkaline ionized water).  Proper hydration plays a huge role in being healthy.

Here is a short form list of great foods to eat:

Vegetables (preferably the green ones)
Fruits (preferably the low sugar ones)
Nuts (preferably the low fat ones)
Seeds
Meats, with emphasis on meat with a high percentage of protein
Alkaline ionized water, which reduces the acid level in your body, thereby allowing the body to eliminate stored fats

As always, the opinions in this article are those of the author and are not meant as medical advice.  I strongly recommend that anyone reading this article talk to a professional nutritionist, or a naturopathic doctor, or someone with nutritional expertise to seek their advice before starting a weight loss regimen.

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