If you are what you drink...

...than I must be really sweet.

So my question today is sugar and how much is in that soda you are currently drinking. (admit it, you were). To begin, we need to know that 1 tablespoon equals 12 grams. Therefore, know that in a name brand soda (starting with a CC) can, which is 12 ounces, there are 39 grams or 3.25 TABLESPOONS. Now, knowing most people they drink more than one can a day. If this is you...you could be drinking your daily allowance of sugar in one soda. Based on a 2000 calorie diet, one should allow about 32 grams of sugar a day. Wait. That is one 12 ounce soda. ONE. And that is 6% of your calories for the day. Having four sodas or 48 ounces is 24% of daily allowance. How many calories are in one 12 oz can? 140. So with 140 calories times four...you are drinking 560 calories.

560 calories. Pishposh say some.  But think about this:
400 calories could be a grilled salmon, 1/2 cup brown rice and grilled veggies. The extra 160 could be ice cream.
560 calories could be a personal pizza with ham and cheese
560 calories are SEVEN eggs

Now, I don't know about you...but I am thinking I would rather eat my calories. Drinking them makes me thirsty later (sodium is 50 mg in 12 oz.) and makes me crave more sugar. It is no wonder that  obesity is abound...soda has become a staple. Children younger and younger are becoming addicted to the sweet drink. It has been found that there is a link between diabetes and high fructose corn syrup (sugar). So, is it worth it? Drinking this sweet elixir causes long term health problems. But is this okay? Or are the soda manufacturer's disguising this fact in flashy advertising or gifts for purchasing their product (think C point system...the more you drink the better the prize.) Our health should be more important than an MP3 player. Sadly, to many its not.

Refrence:
http://education.wichita.edu/caduceus/examples/soda/tbspn_in_can.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/028340_diabetes_sodas.html
http://health.yahoo.net/experts/joybauernutrition/sugar-how-much-should-we-eat

Fast Food...and opinon

Obesity is a national epidemic. The rich are growing richer, the poor are growing fatter. With so many fast food options being made available for a dollar, many of the lower income levels seek out these deals, but with options so limited and money so scarce these are a way to feed the family.

The problem is this cheap food is filled with sugars and calories; both of which aids in the obesity epidemic.  With 15% of children and 1/3 of adults losing the battle of the bulge, we need to find ways to overcome the fast food chain’s addiction. But how do we overcome the cheapness of food? How do we change the way we have been programmed? We accept the weight as the way things just are and with the world being so fast paced that we often eat fast food on the way somewhere.

But in reality, the fast food industry needs to take responsibility for their actions. Instead of making meals larger (coughcoughBurgerKingcoughcough) they should be finding foods that aren’t so calorie laden. Find foods that protect the consumers. Yeah it’s going to cost some money but it will work in the long run. People are tired of the same old foods and are seeking an alternative. Instead of marketing for cheaper, these companies should be making new products that would make the consumer healthier. This is where the future is going and fast food companies need to make a change.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/05/health/main591325.shtml

Here a chick, There a chick, Everywhere a chick chick....

Say we are sitting down to a nice fried chicken dinner. Beneath the crunchy layers is the large, juicy breast. But if see most chickens you will notice that they are smaller.  So where do these mammoth breast come from? Well if you are asking….

Most chickens from the stores are found on farms. Once upon time, these farms had chickens that took 85 days to grow from baby chicks to adulthood. Now it takes 45 days. The chickens are growing so rapidly that they are now having issues with their hearts, lungs, legs, etc. These new chickens are growing so fast that their bodies cannot support the weight and pressure that they are under. Chickens now are being diagnosed with brittle bones and are dying from malformed hearts quicker than we can grow them.  Many growing rooms allow for 20,000 chickens or one bird for 130 square inches, which gives these chickens little to no room to grow.

Once these chickens are ready to be slaughtered, they are loaded onto a conveyer belt that slits their throats. With as many as 8,400 chickens being killed an hour some chickens are being boiled alive as they are over looked by the machines.

Food is our sustenance, yet we never think where it comes from. These chickens are being genetically modified to grow larger and faster. What are these hormones doing to our body and what are the lasting effects? As these practices are relatively new, there is not much known about the long term effects on our bodies. However, I can safely say that knowing how our food is treated makes me think twice about what I put into my mouth.

Reference http://www.chickenindustry.com/cfi/broilerindustryreport/
(look at the pictures if you dare...see how your chicken is grown.)

Look ma...shiny

Our food seems to be unappealing unless it is pretty. So, what does pretty food look like? Shiny, pest free, without bruising or damage… How does this occur? With pesticides. Yes, it kills squishy things that enjoy the fruits as much as we do. But what can lasting exposure to pesticides to do our bodies?

Recently pesticides have been linked to ADHD in children. So, when we stop giving our children sugars gave them fruit and this is what is contributing to our children’s problems.  I must stop here to say it is not known if pesticides are what is causing ADHD, it does contribute to the effects of ADHD. It is known that organophosphate (a building block in pesticides) somehow inhibits a nervous system enzyme in growing children. It has been found that those with ADHD have higher levels of organophosphate in their urine.

So what do we do? Be aware. Foods with light skins (i.e. strawberries, peaches, etc.) are more prone to absorb the pesticides, therefore we should take careful consideration and choose organic. Foods with thicker skins (i.e. mangos, avocados, etc.) don’t hold as much. Take the time, do the research and know what we are not only putting into our mouths, but the mouths of our children.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2010/05/17/pesticides-on-produce-tied-to-adhd-in-children.html

What pH is your meat?

Do you know what is in your meat? Ammonia. Yes a wonderful cleaning product used to treat windows, is also used to treat our meat.

Beginning in the 90’s Beef Product’s(a company) began trying to make a way to make the fatty by- products into usable meat. To reach this goal, the fat is liquefied and then the protein is extracted, and then reconstituted which than creates a lean meat used mostly for hamburgers. This became known in the industry as “pink slime”. (So, they are saying that McDonald’s hamburgers are reconstituted beef product that was once the leftovers of other meats. Yup!) Than there is the issue that this new leaner meat is more prone to being infected with E.coli and salmonella, which came the need to clean the meat. A method of using ammonia as a processing agent was introduced to kill these bacteria and because it is used to process the food, it does not need to be included on the labels of these products. There is a pH of 9.05% of ammonia in this new meat.

Many school systems use this reconstituted meat because it saves them 0.03 a pound.  Yet, they are unaware of the ammonia aspect until it is too late. The meat has been shown to have enough leftover ammonia that it actually sickens the children. In 2008, these companies began to find ways to lower the pH balance to 7.75-8.5% in an effort to combat the smell.

The companies are only using a smaller pH balance to get rid of the smell? Not to protect the children or those who also eat this meat? The meat company’s bottom line is the almighty dollar, which annually is about 440 million. Ammonia is being introduced to our bodies at a young age, how are we going to know the lasting effects of ammonia in the way we grow or absorb nutrients. When we send our children to school, we should not be worried about what the school s are serving.  With the outbreaks of salmonella and E.coli, there is has to be a happy medium that won’t make people sick and what is used to “clean” the meat. However, I don’t there will ever be a better alternative as long as these companies make such a huge profit.  Sad but true.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/us/31meat.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all