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What is wrong with American Health?
Often times, I think that the first humans were probably the happiest.
Although well-known to the ancients, nutrition is the forgotten secret of health and well being. Many illnesses, both physical and mental, are either a direct result of faulty nutrition or arise because of faulty nutrition. This is not the same as saying that all disease is caused by faulty nutrition. It means that many undesirable states of existence, including disease and low well-being are greatly influenced by what we eat, what we drink, what we breathe, what we think, and what we do (or don‘t do). It is further claimed that something extremely wrong has occurred in the West in the last 100 years resulting in misery and illness for hundreds of thousands of people. For example, there has been a massive increase in Heart Disease, Cancer, Depression and Diabetes. Who is to blame for these rising numbers?
Some people are quick to blame food manufacturers, claiming that the induction of ‘Trans-Fatty Acids’ into foods have fueled an increase of Arterial Diseases and related illnesses. While this is true, it is hardly honest to say that Trans-Fats are the be-all reason for the rise of obesity and related diseases. It certainly does not explain the lack of physical activity taken by the average American (over 60% of Americans do not get enough physical activity, 25% get none at all). We can’t logically point the finger at the government (they don’t make us eat the kinds of foods we are eating, only subsidize the cheaply made ones), and we can’t blame big corporations like McDonald’s, as nobody is forced to eat there. We can only logically look to one place, one source for all of these problems -- simply put, the blame rests with ourselves.
The present picture in North America seems to be simply that our diet sucks. We (as in most people) eat so much junk it is beyond belief. Eating out was once a pastime that occurred every now and again; today it is commonplace at least once a day for many Americans, and weekly for almost all. Most of us could shove a burger fried in fatty oil and grease down our throats and not have the slightest bit of interest of what it is doing to us. We don't use our bodies. We think our physical bodies are separate from our minds and so we neglect them. Meanwhile our minds suffer just as would an atrophied muscle. So we eat more in hopes that it will cure our problems. Advertisements sell us burgers, soda pop and weight loss pills in hopes of making a buck at the expense of our own dignity.
I would say that the invention of the 'segway' is symbolic of our ills in North America. It only makes the tragedy of our diets a bigger catastrophe. What kind of nation looks for such ways to avoid walking? Why would you shun yourself of the opportunity to stay active, physically or mentally? Obesity in America, once a subject that nobody would touch is now a topic that we face every day. Our country is overweight (65% of the country to be exact). As pointed out earlier, obese individuals and the ‘intellectuals’ who appease this epidemic often pride themselves on blaming the fast food companies, having their landmark argument debut on film with the Documentary Super Size Me.
In this documentary we are subliminally led to believe that McDonald’s is a reason to blame for individuals becoming fat, and that these people are otherwise being kept behind the blinds pulled over the facts and education about the food. Nobody is willing to take the time to have personal responsibility and seek out self-education. Nobody is willing to look at the one person who made it all possible, themselves, as the root of the problem.
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