An alarming new study published in the Journal of Food Composition and
Analysis reveals that Americans are getting nearly one-third of their
calories from junk foods: soft drinks, sweets, desserts, alcoholic
beverages, and salty snacks. It explains why obesity is rampant,
diabetes is epidemic, and chronic disease is skyrocketing: we are a
nation of people who are simultaneously overfed and malnourished. In
other words, we're getting plenty of calories, but very little
nutrition.
Shockingly, the average American gets over seven percent
of their calories from soft drinks alone -- a situation that most
certainly accelerates both obesity and diabetes. As with soft drinks,
the other junk foods consumed by Americans are so-called "empty calorie"
foods, meaning they're devoid of nutritional value. And yet people keep
turning to these foods with alarming frequency because they taste good.
The upshot of all this is something I've been saying for years: our
national food supply is the #1 source of chronic disease in the United
States. Furthermore, losing weight and preventing disease isn't only
about eating less, it's about making different choices in your foods.
With the right foods and beverages, you can virtually eat as much as you
want. Those foods are, of course, vegetables, fruits, whole grains,
quinoa, and similar items -- all in their unprocessed, unrefined form.
Because once you start refining and processing foods, you end up with
empty calories again.
With this new study, we have yet more evidence
of the link between food choice and personal health. The American public
is slowly coming to realize that foods are, indeed, linked to disease,
and an increasing number of doctors are starting to see the light, too.
Heck, even the medical schools might actually start teaching nutrition
-- something that should have been the foundation of a medical education
but which has been routinely ignored for decades by organized medicine.
This study also reveals the obvious solutions to the national
obesity epidemic: ban all junk food advertising. Ban junk food vending
machines. Run public education campaigns to teach people how to choose
healthy foods and beverages. Require labels on all junk food products to
warn consumers about obesity and diabetes. The solutions are simple to
see, but politically very difficult to enforce due to food politics and
the greed of junk food companies. There's a lot of profit in making
people sick, and then there's even more profit in treating them with
prescription drugs and surgeries.
About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, and he has created several downloadable courses on survival and preparedness, including his widely-downloaded course on personal safety and self-defense. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In mid 2010, Adams produced TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also the CEO of a highly successful email newsletter software company that develops software used to send permission email campaigns to subscribers. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and practices nature photography, Capoeira, martial arts and organic gardening. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org
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Wednesday, June 02, 2004
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