Food is big business! In fact, it’s a business that’s worth over $6,000,000,000,000 a year in the US. Yes, that’s $6 TRILLION!
Manufacturers, retailers, and fast food chains are all scrambling for their slice of the pie, and the competition to get your dollars is fierce!
Misleading food labels, misleading food manufacturer-sponsored scientific research, manipulation of statistics, and saturated advertising is alive and well. Every trick in the book is used to get you to part with your cash.
Your health isn’t important but your money is.
The induction into the deadly food chain begins when we are children and too young to know any better. We are captivated by the bright colors, the cheerful cartoon characters, and the promise of “happiness” that comes with processed, high sugar, low nutritional value sodas, fast food, and candy.
As we get older and into our teens, life starts to get busy, so we look for convenience. We don’t care what we eat, and why should we? At 16, 17 and 18 years old, we are way too young and way too preoccupied with life to be concerned about our health. Maybe that is why the average American male teen drinks almost 900 cans of soda a year—equivalent to almost three cans per day. With the recommended daily sugar consumption benchmarked at 39 grams, the average American teen is downing three times the American Heart Association’s advised limit. Add in the sugar content from any other source and this picture begins to get very disturbing.
By the time we hit our 20s and 30s, the average American diet is in free fall. The scales of nutritional balance are out and the implications on our health may be beginning to manifest. A diet too high in sodium, sugar, and saturated fats and too low in vegetables, fruit, oils, and dairy has now placed us in the high-risk category for chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
By this point, our dietary habits are established and portion sizes have increased. Our bodies give off tell-tale signs that things are not operating as they should be.
Heartburn can be a precursor for gastroesophageal reflux disease, a condition caused by a bad diet, lack of exercise, and obesity. However, we often ignore that warning sign because following very closely behind the television commercial for the food that initially caused the problem is another commercial for an antacid medication that will ease the symptoms. This enables us to continue slowly killing ourselves without feeling a thing! The subliminal advice is “Carry on spending your money on soda, processed food, and candy because without those, you will not need this medication, and we want your money too.”
It’s a new year, and with that comes a desire to make changes, particularly when it comes to our health and wellness. Can you take a moment to consider the unhealthy foods you regularly consume? Think about foods you eat that are high in sugar or how often you go through a drive-thru. Many of us end up in these situations when we’re in a hurry, too busy or rushed to think about a healthier option, or simply out of habit. Now think about daily changes you can make to your diet that could save you from consuming too much sugar. Sugar doesn’t always mean sweets and desserts. Grocery items such as pasta sauce and canned soups can also be high in sugar.
Knowing how to read food labels is an important part of the process in making better choices when shopping for food. But that’s only part of the battle. The other challenge is making the decision to stop eating certain foods. Processed, artificially flavored coffee creamer is a common addition to our daily cup of coffee, and some brands add as much as 6 grams of sugar per tablespoon. Replacing that with a healthier alternative is a small but important step in your journey toward better health and learning how to say “no” to processed, sugary foods.
Marketing for unhealthy and harmful foods needs gimmicks. It’s necessary to find a way to appeal to the consumer without having to present facts, because the truth is, if we knew the facts, we would never eat a lot of these foods. In the industry, this is affectionately called “selling the sizzle, not the sausage.”
There are many possibilities to consider when assessing weight gain and related health issues. Being exposed to brain-washing marketing techniques and highly addictive ingredients in processed foods for most of our lives make these issues much more complicated. It’s not enough for someone to simply tell you to eat less and do more.
Our minds and bodies have been affected over time and they both need help and attention to get healthy. We have all the necessary expertise and physicians’ guidance at Physician’s Weight Control & Wellness Center to lead you back to health and wellness. All you need to do is to decide to reclaim your health. If not you, who will do it for you?
At Physicians Weight Control and Wellness, we utilize the nutritional science of today while learning from the mistakes of the past. Everyone’s metabolism and responses to certain foods and macronutrients is different. We take all factors (science, environmental and cultural) into account in creating a customized nutrition plan for the individual patient. There is no one-size-fits-all in medicine and certainly not in managing weight and wellness.
Most of our patients respond to a lower carb, moderate caloric restriction diet. We focus on utilizing the natural, nutrition rich foods as well as scientifically engineered food products and supplements when convenience is needed. We also teach how to survive in the restaurants and eat on the go. The success of our patients and the ability to learn and apply sound nutritional principles for weight loss and lifetime healthy living is what sets us apart from others.
Contact us today for more information on how we can help you set health goals in the new year.
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