Out of a concern that childhood obesity is a growing problem for children in the Bahamas, I have decided to focus on how and why so many of our precious children are overweight or obese. I hope that parents, teachers and others who truly have the best interest of the little ones, pay particular attention and not succumb to pressure from merchants who bombard us with tricky ads to encourage us to “destroy” our children.

Eating right and keeping physically active go a long way toward helping children grow up healthy. Parents resort to fast food because of laziness or pressure from the children. Fast food establishments trick parents and children by including incentives like toys, which is in some cases hard to resist.

An estimated one-third of the children in this country are overweight or obese, which can lead to serious health complications during adolescence as well as later on in life. One only has to visit our schools and we would be shocked of the potential problem that exists. I must hasten to say that overweight children suffer in school from being teased, resulting in low self esteem, which may contribute to them becoming an introvert.

There must be a comprehensive program that will educate parents, teachers about what is healthy for our children. Public awareness campaign should be initiated to combat childhood obesity by encouraging children to establish better nutritional habits and to get more exercise.

We must be honest and have presentations to hold the students' interest, extolled those virtues by offering healthy snacks such as fresh fruits and vegetables, instead of candy bars and other junk food. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children. I insist that sugar that is not burned off turns to fat.

Children must understand that we are all different.Some of us are tall, others are short. Some have black or brown hair. Some have a tendency to be overweight, and it's not their fault. It's hurtful to make fun of people who are different. This will help them find ways to lead healthy lives."

Children must be told the truth that a 20 ounce bottle of soda can contain as much as 16 teaspoons of sugar and that there are as many as three two-ounce vials worth of fat in a cheeseburger and one in a serving of French fries.

We need to know what's inside these things. This is not healthy. If you are drinking soda or eating candy, split it with someone or choose something altogether different. Bigger is not always better.

With Christmas fast approaching, there will much sweet and grease consumed. The worst thing a child can do is eat while watching television. Something is triggered in your brain that says you should be eating something. All that stored up energy is not burning up the fat, which can lead to health problems in childhood and later on in adulthood.

Eating five fruits and vegetables a day; limiting "screen time" (television watching, video game playing, and computer use) to two hours a day; and getting an hour of exercise daily would surely help.

If you remember these tips, you are well on your way to growing up healthy. Have some fruits in the morning, an apple for a snack, a salad at lunchtime, and a vegetable(s) at dinner.Trying some nutritious snacks of their choice dipped in healthy toppings. Among the favorites were melon and strawberries dipped in low-fat butterscotch and fat-free hot fudge respectively and celery and bananas dipped in reduced-fat peanut butter. A plain cherry tomato also proved tasty. Other alternatives include broccoli and carrots dipped in light ranch or salsa dips and fruit dipped in light vanilla yogurt. These are better options than chips with dip.

Of course children would hesitate to try things that are new to them, they may call it yucky.

Other better snack alternatives include fat-free popcorn, pretzels, animal crackers, and low-fat graham crackers. If you need to satisfy a sweet tooth, red licorice, hard candy-especially sugar-free-Tootsie Rolls, peppermint patties, and gummy bears are all better alternatives to candy with a high fat content.

Children usually copy what adults do, we should practice healthy eating habits for them to see.It would make them want to eat better, because I know they want to live a longer and healthier life.Strawberries with fat-free chocolate sauce are especially appealing. Children should be encouraged to drink lots of water every day. It flushes out your system. It is good for your skin, digestion and elimination.

Order pizza with only cheese and tomato on top, or halve the amount of cheese and add extra tomato sauce. Avoid meat toppings, opting instead for vegetables to cut down on the fat content. Servings don't have to be big. They should be about the size of the palm of your hand. If you have a muffin the size of a softball, that's the equivalent of three regular-sized muffins."

The tendency to super-size everything - for example, large fries and a double cheeseburger only compounds the problem. You can have some of that stuff [in small quantities] now and then, but not a steady diet of it.

Children should remain active all the time including jumping rope, kicking a soccer ball around the yard and bike riding are other forms of exercise aside from team sports. When I was a child we walked everywhere, today parents drive their kids around more because of safety concerns. So you need to create a situation where you can be physically active.

A regiment course of Children vitamins without sugar is a must; it helps to build their immune system to fight against most things that may try inflicting their tender bodies

I must admit that expecting a child to never eat French fries is unrealistic and hard to visualize.If we as a country go back to basic and find time to care for our families, by preparing food and sitting down to the dinner table to eat as a family, we may eliminate some of our problems, just maybe.

Your health is up to you. Start now and live long, happy lives.

Ivoine W. Ingraham

For more information contact me at:
Prince Charles Shopping Centre
Telephone: 394-7765 or 477-2149
Email: iwingraham@hotmail.com

This I agree with, but it's not just the Bahamas...it's the whole Western establishment. We are taught that more is always better, more food, more money, more weight etc. We allow our kids to devour fast food virtually everyday because they cry for it or because Mommy and Daddy are too lazy to get off of their butts to cook a good meal. I'm not saying stop eating fast food, I'm saying moderate the amount you are eating. Also, there's a video documentary out about how fattening fast food is called Supersize Me. The guy in it has chosen to eat fast food for a month, for breakfast, lunch and dinner, to see how fattening it really is. Check it out...

Ivoine, What you are preaching is useful but incomplete. It is another wave of ignorance. It is pushing us to eat only fruit and vegi. You say we need to tell people whats in the food but why don't you tell them whats in the fruits and vegies. Its toxic chemicals and other deadly stuff.
Have you been on a real farm in the US lately. NO! because only farmers are allowed and they must wear space suits in order to do so because the chemicals would kill you. So, you can't walk on the farm cause you will die but you can eat the fruits and veg. hmm. When this question was brought up the FDA recommended washing the fruits & vegs before eating them. And we fell for it. The chemicals used to make the insecticide and other chems to put on plants was the same chems used to make bombs and chemical weapons during WWII. As soon as they began using the chems farmers starting dying at an alarming rate.
The fruits and vegies are speed grown with toxic chemicals on polluted ground. They are empty: little nutrients.
In this current time we have three choices when it comes to eating habits
1) Eat fruits and vegies and die of cancer
2) or eat fatty food and die of heart attack or diabetes.
3) or balance the two, live life to the fullest and don't worry about it.

Some say eat organic plants. Whos to say the the plant you are eating is organic. Who regulates it. The same FDA who approved all the drugs that are now being found to be killers.
Even if you could find genuinely organic plants it would be to expensive for the average human to buy.
Why is white bread that has to go through all kinds of costly processing less expensive than the more natural wheat bread.
Why is white sugar that cost money to process cheaper than more natural brown sugar.
why is soda that takes alot of ingredients and processing cost less than juice which could simply be plucked squeezed and preserved.
Think man tell the whole truth. today fruits and vegies are no safer that fat. you see the effects of fat on the outside but the chems are even more dangerous. Think about it. More and more people are eating "healthy" yet more and more people are getting cancer.
We need to do something about this.

anyone ever shopped for veggies in SuperValue, take a look up on the wall and you sill see spray cans of insectiside, they are set off during the night, that is why i personally will never eat 'fresh' veggies in Nassau, or at least not from SuperValue. How do I know this, I used to service their alarm systems, city market is actually much much cleaner, even though it may not look so on the surface.




Ivoine, What you are preaching is useful but incomplete. It is another wave of ignorance. It is pushing us to eat only fruit and vegi. You say we need to tell people whats in the food but why don't you tell them whats in the fruits and vegies. Its toxic chemicals and other deadly stuff.
Have you been on a real farm in the US lately. NO! because only farmers are allowed and they must wear space suits in order to do so because the chemicals would kill you. So, you can't walk on the farm cause you will die but you can eat the fruits and veg. hmm. When this question was brought up the FDA recommended washing the fruits & vegs before eating them. And we fell for it. The chemicals used to make the insecticide and other chems to put on plants was the same chems used to make bombs and chemical weapons during WWII. As soon as they began using the chems farmers starting dying at an alarming rate.
The fruits and vegies are speed grown with toxic chemicals on polluted ground. They are empty: little nutrients.
In this current time we have three choices when it comes to eating habits
1) Eat fruits and vegies and die of cancer
2) or eat fatty food and die of heart attack or diabetes.
3) or balance the two, live life to the fullest and don't worry about it.

Some say eat organic plants. Whos to say the the plant you are eating is organic. Who regulates it. The same FDA who approved all the drugs that are now being found to be killers.
Even if you could find genuinely organic plants it would be to expensive for the average human to buy.
Why is white bread that has to go through all kinds of costly processing less expensive than the more natural wheat bread.
Why is white sugar that cost money to process cheaper than more natural brown sugar.
why is soda that takes alot of ingredients and processing cost less than juice which could simply be plucked squeezed and preserved.
Think man tell the whole truth. today fruits and vegies are no safer that fat. you see the effects of fat on the outside but the chems are even more dangerous. Think about it. More and more people are eating "healthy" yet more and more people are getting cancer.
We need to do something about this.

Ivoine, What you are preaching is useful but incomplete. It is another wave of ignorance. It is pushing us to eat only fruit and vegi.

Hm Lincoln, I don't think you quite got the point.

You say we need to tell people whats in the food but why don't you tell them whats in the fruits and vegies. Its toxic chemicals and other deadly stuff.
Have you been on a real farm in the US lately. NO! because only farmers are allowed and they must wear space suits in order to do so because the chemicals would kill you.

Not to say that US-grown vegetables aren't coated with pesticides, but that's no reason to eat only McDonald's hamburgers!!!! Have you seen the movie *Supersize Me*??? What that pseudo-food does to your insides is HORRIBLE. I'll take my chances washing off the pesticides, thanks.

So, you can't walk on the farm cause you will die but you can eat the fruits and veg. hmm. When this question was brought up the FDA recommended washing the fruits & vegs before eating them. And we fell for it. The chemicals used to make the insecticide and other chems to put on plants was the same chems used to make bombs and chemical weapons during WWII. As soon as they began using the chems farmers starting dying at an alarming rate.

What farmers dying? Where? And of what?

Lincoln, people die in the Bahamas *all the time* from being exposed to chemicals, and it has nothing to do with being on a farm. I had a relative die a couple years ago from liver cancer brought on by standing downwind of a pile of burning pressure-treated lumber. Now THAT stuff can really kill you. Chemicals are a reality of daily life now, no matter where you live, and you just have to be sensible about it. Avoiding all fruits and veg is not, in my opinion, being "sensible," though you are free to do so if you wish. As to the WWII bomb chemicals - what on earth are you talking about? There IS the same chemical in TNT as there is in chemical fertilizer, for sure...but that same chemical makes up over two thirds of every breath of air we take. It's an inert gas called NITROGEN, and without it we wouldn't have the ability to make protein in our bodies and life on earth would not be possible. As to those "other" bombs, I'm not going to get into the irradiated-foods debate, but if you gave me a choice between a slight residual radiation and, for example, Hepatitis C from contaminated food, I'd take my chances with the radiation.



Some say eat organic plants. Whos to say the the plant you are eating is organic. Who regulates it.

Actually the USDA has some quite strict regulations about what gets to be called "organic." http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/NOP/standards.html

Even more so, the food co-ops and so forth that generally buy organic foods have a vested interest in knowing the precise history of the produce they buy, and someone who "cheated" on his organic certification would be get his pants sued off.

Even if you could find genuinely organic plants it would be to expensive for the average human to buy.

That mango tree in your back yard bears organic mangos every year, and ditto for the pears. Eat them--they're good for you.

Why is white bread that has to go through all kinds of costly processing less expensive than the more natural wheat bread.
Why is white sugar that cost money to process cheaper than more natural brown sugar.

Because people like the taste of white bread, and by the 1970's most of the flour-producing plants only made white flour. Since they made a LOT of white flour, it became very cheap. Milling plants that made wheat flour were usually smaller, and their flour was less desirable, so it became more expensive to make. It's not some kind of international conspiracy, it's just the laws of supply and demand, and the fact that humans have a taste for simple carbs. The same is true for the sugar. BTW these days wheat bread is not so expensive - at least from my local bakery they cost the same.


why is soda that takes alot of ingredients and processing cost less than juice which could simply be plucked squeezed and preserved.

Look on the label of a bottle of fruit juice next time and see how much sugar it has in it! The juices on the market today have as much sugar, or almost as much, as the soda. If you *really* want to be healthy, you drink water, and lots of it.

Think man tell the whole truth. today fruits and vegies are no safer that fat. you see the effects of fat on the outside but the chems are even more dangerous. Think about it. More and more people are eating "healthy" yet more and more people are getting cancer.
We need to do something about this.


Fruits and vegetables may have their own problems with pesticides etc., but the fat off an average US cow is so pickled in hormones and antibiotics that it makes the pesticides look tame by comparison. Like I said, there's no way to get away from the chemicals, so you just have to figure out how to live with them and eat sensibly. It's not up to us in the end how long we've got on earth, so I say do the best you can with what you've got.

Hm Lincoln, I don't think you quite got the point.

I don't think you got my point. What I am saying is there is danger in fatty sugary junk foods. We need to do something about this. But there is also a grave danger in the insecticides, fertilizers and growth processes used today in plants. We need to also educate people about this. We are quick to tell people eat less fat, eat less sugar. But why does it offend you when I tell you to educate them about the dangerous chems in plants.


Not to say that US-grown vegetables aren't coated with pesticides, but that's no reason to eat only McDonald's hamburgers!!!! Have you seen the movie *Supersize Me*??? What that pseudo-food does to your insides is HORRIBLE. I'll take my chances washing off the pesticides, thanks.

I never said eat only mcd. See above. I did get the DVD the day it came out. I flew to MIA just to pick up that DVD and come home the same day. I also tried the experiment. It screwed me up also. Don't be ignorant you can't wash off pesticides. Its soaked in the fruit silly. Neither can you wash off the fertilizers. And alot of other stuff that I am not mentioning.


What farmers dying? Where? And of what?

Well I can't list all the names but one was Herbert Smith, USA, Cancer.
There is a documentary on this subject coming on World Link TV (Channel 375 Direct TV) on January 2 @ 8pm. If you can watch it I will amaze you about farming in the US.

Lincoln, people die in the Bahamas *all the time* from being exposed to chemicals, and it has nothing to do with being on a farm. I had a relative die a couple years ago from liver cancer brought on by standing downwind of a pile of burning pressure-treated lumber. Now THAT stuff can really kill you.

This is just complete ignorance. It doesn't deserve a response

Chemicals are a reality of daily life now, no matter where you live, and you just have to be sensible about it.

So is fast food!

Avoiding all fruits and veg is not, in my opinion, being "sensible," though you are free to do so if you wish.
[QUOTE=lukku cairi]

I never said you should avoid Fruits and vegies

As to the WWII bomb chemicals - what on earth are you talking about? There IS the same chemical in TNT as there is in chemical fertilizer, for sure...but that same chemical makes up over two thirds of every breath of air we take. It's an inert gas called NITROGEN, and without it we wouldn't have the ability to make protein in our bodies and life on earth would not be possible.

You need to go find out what I am talking about. See, Would you take TNT put it in a salad and eat it? Would you put a stick of dynamite between a hot dog bun and eat it. In am not talking about having similar chemicals in them. They were the actual weapons built and ready to kill thousands but the war ended. They had a huge amount left over so they needed something to do with it. They experimented on plants and decided to use the deadly stuff on farms in insecticide and fertilizer. It worked the plants grew faster and killed all the bugs but it also started killing us.

Actually the USDA has some quite strict regulations about what gets to be called "organic." http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/NOP/standards.html

There is a reason I didn't even mention them. That's because no one trust them. They regulate Farming like we regulate playing 'numbers' in the bahamas. Are you talking about the same people who allow farmers to cut cost by feeding cows to cows- Causing mad cow disease and foot and mouth? Are you talking about the same people that allowed the farmers to use a new hormone on cows making them produce more milk but the milk is full of puss. Remember the milk commercials all of a sudden they wanted to push milk. There was more supply so they needed more demand: Got puss.
Remember The officials work for politicians who's campaigns are funded but the people the officials are supposed to regulate. You figure out the result.
Besides the regulations of the USDA don't apply to you. Most of the food you get is marked for export only. Do you know what that means. They have no jurisdiction or interest in the food that is going out to your unregulated, nigger, third world country. And about the org food staying in; they know no one checks for organic food. Most people don't even know what that is.

Even more so, the food co-ops and so forth that generally buy organic foods have a vested interest in knowing the precise history of the produce they buy, and someone who "cheated" on his organic certification would be get his pants sued off.

The food co-ops care about one thing: money. In they business world there is a I won't tell if you won't tell attitude. Business people don't obey they rules; the rules are for suckers/slaves.


That mango tree in your back yard bears organic mangos every year, and ditto for the pears. Eat them--they're good for you.

If this were realistic The bahamas would still be producing food.


Look on the label of a bottle of fruit juice next time and see how much sugar it has in it! The juices on the market today have as much sugar, or almost as much, as the soda. If you *really* want to be healthy, you drink water, and lots of it.

So true!


Fruits and vegetables may have their own problems with pesticides etc., but the fat off an average US cow is so pickled in hormones and antibiotics that it makes the pesticides look tame by comparison. Like I said, there's no way to get away from the chemicals, so you just have to figure out how to live with them and eat sensibly. It's not up to us in the end how long we've got on earth, so I say do the best you can with what you've got.

So we agree!

I think the point of Mr. Ingraham's article was to show the consequences of an unhealthy diet, like childhood obesity. It is a growing and frightening trend in western societies. One now sees kids as young as 12 developing type 2 diabetes, due in large part to obesity, and an unhealthy lifestyle.


Everything these days is genetically modified and pumped with hormones. Its a reality that cant be dodged, but that does not mean that one should not make healthy choices. People are dying faster from fat and salt laden diets in comparison to those who choose to eat more veggies and whole grains, despite the hormones.


If the hormones in fruits and veggies were so life threatening, I am sure many of us would be 'done dead from that time'. I am going to take my chances with the fruits and veggies.

I never said eat only mcd. See above. I did get the DVD the day it came out. I flew to MIA just to pick up that DVD and come home the same day. I also tried the experiment. It screwed me up also.
How brave, putting your own liver at risk to validate the Supersize Me experiment! You should publish your findings - I'm sure the scientific community will be most interested.
Don't be ignorant you can't wash off pesticides. Its soaked in the fruit silly. Neither can you wash off the fertilizers. And alot of other stuff that I am not mentioning...

...I never said you should avoid Fruits and vegies
HM. Fruits and veggies are coated in pesticides and fertilizers we can't possibly wash off, and furthermore "organic" veggies are out of the economic reach of normal human beings, but yet you didn't actually mean that we should avoid eating fruits and veggies?

Remember The officials work for politicians who's campaigns are funded but the people the officials are supposed to regulate. You figure out the result.
Besides the regulations of the USDA don't apply to you. Most of the food you get is marked for export only. Do you know what that means. They have no jurisdiction or interest in the food that is going out to your unregulated, nigger, third world country. And about the org food staying in; they know no one checks for organic food. Most people don't even know what that is.
Of course the system is corrupt, but all large bureaucracies are corrupt, and any given Bahamian bureaucracy makes the USDA look like Sunday school. The USDA at least tries (I know this, because I've worked with them and some of them DO care) and is, at least, held accountable by other non-governmental organizations and by the free press. How do you even KNOW about the problems with mad cow? Because of the press. Ditto the farm chemical scandal. The press lets you know, and gives YOU the choice to make about what you eat. So now you have information, and you can take some sort of action. What kind of action are you going to take? Besides complaining about it on an internet bulletin board and/or using yourself as a human guinea pig to see if the guy from Supersize Me was telling the truth?

I'm not going to even touch the conspiracy theories you're advancing. The food co-ops care about one thing: money. In they business world there is a I won't tell if you won't tell attitude. Business people don't obey they rules; the rules are for suckers/slaves.

U.S. food co-ops are formed and run by the people who buy and eat the food, who tend to be urban, liberal, educated, hippie-granola, EXTREMELY picky about what they eat, and well-connected with the legal profession. The food co-ops are non-profit businesses.
If this were realistic The bahamas would still be producing food.
The Bahamas IS still producing food. Tons and tons of citrus, for example, are exported from Abaco every year. We have domestically-produced eggs and chicken, peppers, bananas, sugarcane, guavas, mangos, tomatoes, beans and pigeon peas (to name a few.) I'm not claiming that the examples of these that you buy at Super Value are all pesticide-free, but unless you fog your mango tree with malathion every spring, your mangos are organic. And so are those guineps you buy every August. And so is the cassava and pigeon peas the Haitians plant on every bit of scrap land they can access. And how rich is the average Haitian? Yet they eat organic food and free-range chicken. If you CARE so much about what you eat, you can improve your diet AND avoid pesticides, if you are willing to try hard enough.

My point about the pressure-treated lumber incident is that Bahamians die all the time from chemicals--and I would lay a hefty bet that they're dying far quicker and in far larger numbers from the chemicals in cigarettes, liquor, air pollution, construction materials and industrial solvents than from the pesticide residue on fruits and vegetables. If you want to get angry about something then get angry about the fact that the Bahamian public doesn't even know to wear gloves when handling acetone (which goes straight through your skin and into your liver in a matter of seconds) or paint thinner, or to wear a respirator when sanding off boat paint or applying fiberglass resin. My uncle died of leukemia, and we figure it was probably because nobody told him it was a bad idea to wash his hands in kerosene after he'd been working with oil-based paint, which he did frequently. A bit of unneutralized pyrethrin pesticide on raw broccoli pales by comparison.

So eat your veggies.

Lincoln,
Although your argument has many valid points, there is a huge movement out there that is trying to change the exploitation of government (it doesn't matter WHAT government...they ALL are out to cash in regardless of the cause) as well as the way mass produced food is being made. Companies like Kraft and Coke want to keep their market share as big as possible. They make their deals with the governments all over the globe and produce product that is basically making the human race ill.

Here is a general idea of how and when this all began. Post WW2, there was a BIG demand for large quantities of food to be available for a low cost. Sooo....what the manufacturers did was utilize cheap science to produce mass food. The end result? People were coming down with all sorts of ailments. Think about it. 20-30+ years ago people rarely ate out. People grew most of what they consumed or purchased it locally. These days, most everything that is commercially produced is chemically treated, genetically modified or harmful to the environment.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the average supermarket, most of the products being carried either have a pretty package and taste like cardboard or are way too expensive. That is one of the reasons why I work for my company, OrganicUniverse.com (www.OrganicUniverse.com). We all practice what we preach and strive to make organic mainstream instead of a specialty. Our mission is to provide one place for people that have severe allergies and health issues to be able to afford high quality products.

It is very sad but most people don't bother understanding what is going on with mass produced food until they have some kind of a health crisis. The laws MUST be changed. The government exploitation MUST also be changed. We need to work together in all nations.

There are many organizations out there that have been very effective in making such changes as the Organic Consumers Association (www.organicconsumersassociation.org). However, it isn't going to happen overnight. That is why people need to share knowledge and buy organic.

Do not kid yourself and think that if something is certified organic, it is not guaranteed to be. On the contrary. There are many certifying agents out there that put the farmers and manufacturers through very intense tests as well as make them pay through the nose for such certifications. You had better believe that if the government can find a way to make money, they will make sure that the requirements are tough. IT serves two purposes. #1 to keep the relations friendly with the Big Manufacturers and #2 they can charge an arm and a leg for every detail to be able to obtain that little piece of paper that states a producer is certified.

If you want to learn more, I would suggest that you start with A Diet for a New America by John Robbins. He was the heir to the Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Throne. He gave it up to live a life that is eco-friendly, synthetic free and is also a vegan. He is a remarkable person and lives what he preaches. There are so many people out there like him.

Peace,
OG






Ivoine, What you are preaching is useful but incomplete. It is another wave of ignorance. It is pushing us to eat only fruit and vegi. You say we need to tell people whats in the food but why don't you tell them whats in the fruits and vegies. Its toxic chemicals and other deadly stuff.
Have you been on a real farm in the US lately. NO! because only farmers are allowed and they must wear space suits in order to do so because the chemicals would kill you. So, you can't walk on the farm cause you will die but you can eat the fruits and veg. hmm. When this question was brought up the FDA recommended washing the fruits & vegs before eating them. And we fell for it. The chemicals used to make the insecticide and other chems to put on plants was the same chems used to make bombs and chemical weapons during WWII. As soon as they began using the chems farmers starting dying at an alarming rate.
The fruits and vegies are speed grown with toxic chemicals on polluted ground. They are empty: little nutrients.
In this current time we have three choices when it comes to eating habits
1) Eat fruits and vegies and die of cancer
2) or eat fatty food and die of heart attack or diabetes.
3) or balance the two, live life to the fullest and don't worry about it.

Some say eat organic plants. Whos to say the the plant you are eating is organic. Who regulates it. The same FDA who approved all the drugs that are now being found to be killers.
Even if you could find genuinely organic plants it would be to expensive for the average human to buy.
Why is white bread that has to go through all kinds of costly processing less expensive than the more natural wheat bread.
Why is white sugar that cost money to process cheaper than more natural brown sugar.
why is soda that takes alot of ingredients and processing cost less than juice which could simply be plucked squeezed and preserved.
Think man tell the whole truth. today fruits and vegies are no safer that fat. you see the effects of fat on the outside but the chems are even more dangerous. Think about it. More and more people are eating "healthy" yet more and more people are getting cancer.
We need to do something about this.

Why is white bread that has to go through all kinds of costly processing less expensive than the more natural wheat bread.

hmmm. White bread is wheat bread, if not then it wouldn't be bread.

Fast food has become a prominent feature of the diet of children in the United States and, increasingly, throughout the world. However, few studies have examined the effects of fast-food consumption on any nutrition or health-related outcome. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that fast-food consumption adversely affects dietary factors linked to obesity risk.

Methods. This study included 6212 children and adolescents 4 to 19 years old in the United States participating in the nationally representative Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals conducted from 1994 to 1996 and the Supplemental Children’s Survey conducted in 1998. We examined the associations between fast-food consumption and measures of dietary quality using between-subject comparisons involving the whole cohort and within-subject comparisons involving 2080 individuals who ate fast food on one but not both survey days.

Results. On a typical day, 30.3% of the total sample reported consuming fast food. Fast-food consumption was highly prevalent in both genders, all racial/ethnic groups, and all regions of the country. Controlling for socioeconomic and demographic variables, increased fast-food consumption was independently associated with male gender, older age, higher household incomes, non-Hispanic black race/ethnicity, and residing in the South. Children who ate fast food, compared with those who did not, consumed more total energy (187 kcal; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 109–265), more energy per gram of food (0.29 kcal/g; 95% CI: 0.25–0.33), more total fat (9 g; 95% CI: 5.0–13.0), more total carbohydrate (24 g; 95% CI: 12.6–35.4), more added sugars (26 g; 95% CI: 18.2–34.6), more sugar-sweetened beverages (228 g; 95% CI: 184–272), less fiber (-1.1 g; 95% CI: -1.8 to -0.4), less milk (-65 g; 95% CI: -95 to -30), and fewer fruits and nonstarchy vegetables (-45 g; 95% CI: -58.6 to -31.4). Very similar results were observed by using within-subject analyses in which subjects served as their own controls: that is, children ate more total energy and had poorer diet quality on days with, compared with without, fast food.

Conclusion. Consumption of fast food among children in the United States seems to have an adverse effect on dietary quality in ways that plausibly could increase risk for obesity.

anything that isnt prepared at home is fast food.

I think the point of Mr. Ingraham's article was to show the consequences of an unhealthy diet, like childhood obesity. It is a growing and frightening trend in western societies. One now sees kids as young as 12 developing type 2 diabetes, due in large part to obesity, and an unhealthy lifestyle.


Everything these days is genetically modified and pumped with hormones. Its a reality that cant be dodged, but that does not mean that one should not make healthy choices. People are dying faster from fat and salt laden diets in comparison to those who choose to eat more veggies and whole grains, despite the hormones.


If the hormones in fruits and veggies were so life threatening, I am sure many of us would be 'done dead from that time'. I am going to take my chances with the fruits and veggies.

i totally agree with teniel's comments. the extent to which 'healthy foods' are becoming unhealthy is scary. i must say however, that i think in this respect...europe takes this stuff a little bit more seriously than the US. Im greatful for that. yes many crops here are also GM, but the EU has strict regulations about labels, adding crap, etc. Additionally, its far cheaper and easier to shop for organic food, and fresh fruits and veggies are also pretty easy to find - something almost impossible in nassau. Moreover, europeans are not driven by this *fat free/carb free* craze that is/was sweeping N.America. people here generally eat a well balanced diet and walk everwhere. fizzy drinks, etc are not drank in the same quantities as in states. God those supersize drinks in the states could serve a family of four in some parts of europe! i remember living in france 5 years ago, and finding it so bizarre tha McD happy meals came with water and fruit (as opposed to soda and fries). this is common in england now also, but only recently. I also remember doing this stupid protein diet when i lived in nassau. i wasnt *supposed* to eat yogurt and fruit, but i cheated and had *fat free* yogurts...which were a mistake cause the amount of carbs was actually, triple what you find in a full fat yogurt in europe! ive decided its best to do what you learned as a child...eat your fruit, veggies, and exercise! thank God one walks everywhere in this country....i also learned in france..the ultimate key to supressing an appetite/beautiful skin/high energy levels/good blood circulation - lots of water. loads and loads of it. pure. not flavoured. 2 litres a day, and trust me you WILL see and feel the difference, because very often, when we crave certain foods, we arent necessarily hungry - just very very dehydrated!

:angel:

Ivoine, What you are preaching is useful but incomplete. It is another wave of ignorance. It is pushing us to eat only fruit and vegi. You say we need to tell people whats in the food but why don't you tell them whats in the fruits and vegies. Its toxic chemicals and other deadly stuff.
Have you been on a real farm in the US lately. NO! because only farmers are allowed and they must wear space suits in order to do so because the chemicals would kill you. So, you can't walk on the farm cause you will die but you can eat the fruits and veg. hmm. When this question was brought up the FDA recommended washing the fruits & vegs before eating them. And we fell for it. The chemicals used to make the insecticide and other chems to put on plants was the same chems used to make bombs and chemical weapons during WWII. As soon as they began using the chems farmers starting dying at an alarming rate.
The fruits and vegies are speed grown with toxic chemicals on polluted ground. They are empty: little nutrients.
In this current time we have three choices when it comes to eating habits
1) Eat fruits and vegies and die of cancer
2) or eat fatty food and die of heart attack or diabetes.
3) or balance the two, live life to the fullest and don't worry about it.

Some say eat organic plants. Whos to say the the plant you are eating is organic. Who regulates it. The same FDA who approved all the drugs that are now being found to be killers.
Even if you could find genuinely organic plants it would be to expensive for the average human to buy.
Why is white bread that has to go through all kinds of costly processing less expensive than the more natural wheat bread.
Why is white sugar that cost money to process cheaper than more natural brown sugar.
why is soda that takes alot of ingredients and processing cost less than juice which could simply be plucked squeezed and preserved.
Think man tell the whole truth. today fruits and vegies are no safer that fat. you see the effects of fat on the outside but the chems are even more dangerous. Think about it. More and more people are eating "healthy" yet more and more people are getting cancer.
We need to do something about this.
QUOTE=Lincoln]

Where would we be with out the fatalist? when farad muhamad went to heaven he took from the mind of elijah muhamad the word can't, may be he coulld do the same for us, i have been a vegitarian for5 years and a vegan for 6, in terms of food you can get certified organic food,the fda dose not at this current time reguale the organic food net work, there is however a network of farmers who are dedicated to the growing of organic food, one can look at the mother jones magazine, also you can grow your own food in your own yard. Organic food expensive you should try the alternative doctor bills there have been many studies on vegan and vegitarian diets which prove there health benefits, i dont know what this guy is talking about may be a case of mad cow...........................

There is no such thing as a "bad" food. All foods can fit into a healthy meal plan! It's true that fast food is usually high in fat, calories, cholesterol, and sodium, but eating fast food every once in a while is not going to cause you problems. If you eat too much fast food over a long period of time, though, it can lead to health problems like obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease.