JUNK OUT OF HOSPITAL CAFETERIAS / YEAH

In one of his latest health campaigns, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, of the no-smoking fame, is aiming to banish sugary and fatty foods from both public and private hospitals.  This ban, as I understand, is voluntary.

This cafeteria crackdown will ban deep fryers, make leafy green salads a mandatory option and allow only healthy snacks. At least half of all sandwiches and salads must be made or served with whole grains. (WHY not all???)  

And this ban is controversial???  Critics say Bloomberg is running a "nanny" state.  How hypocritical is it for hospitals to serve unhealthy food to patients and their staff  who are suffering from obesity and other health problems?  Who has ever gone to a new physician only to find that this so-called health professional is obese?  Most often there is little or no discussion of nutrition, a topic that other doctors feel is the key to GOOD health and disease reversal.  When was the last time your doctor advised you to drink your greens?

Is this another half-cocked, unmerited Bloomberg idea?  I think not!  Maybe the next step will be vegetarian???

Read the full story:  http://www.isciencetimes.com/articles/3844/20120927/bloomberg-s-latest-plan-will-remove-junk.htm

HBO - OBESITY

THE WEIGHT OF THE NATION - HBO'S 4-PART OBESITY SPECIAL

Whether you enjoy watching TV or not, this one is a win win.  All 4 previously aired episodes are available via the Internet.  Watch as a variety of presenters teach and show us the epidemic proportions of obesity and its impact in our country.

A good review:

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/The-Weight-of-the-Nation-review-Obesity-crisis-3546250.php


THEN prepare to watch the 4 separate episodes:

Part 1 - Consequences

Part 2 - Choices

Part 3 - Children in Crisis

Part 4 - Challenges


more about this documentary:
http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/

OBESITY and HBO

A recent article stated that with obesity moving off the radar screen, there is a promise of a new obesity drug. 


The report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 42% of American adults will be obese, including 11% defined as "severely obese" by 2030.  Ironically, this report coincides with the news that the Federal Transit Administration is going to start testing the breaking and steering capabilities of buses due to heavier riders.  Months before, the Coast Guard lowered certain ferry boat capacity limits for the same reason.

HBO aired a 4 part documentary called Weight of a Nation:

Consequences
Choices
Children in Crisis
Challenges

HBO has also developed a website and Facebook page designed to help people get involved in the solution.  Their clever subtitle:  To win, we have to lose."

http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/

check it out!!!!

PS:  The REAL question is:  WHY won't people just eat more nutritious foods (Dr. Fuhrman / Eat To Live) and STOP eating the snacks and horrid fast food?  NO drugs necessary!  Adapt a better life style.

THE TEN WORST AND BEST FOODS

The First Food Day has been set for this coming Monday in the hopes of promoting healthier eating in the United States.  This is the latest effort by the Center for Science to help educate the public.  Check your area for many local events being held.

Meanwhile, in the interest of educating, a list of the 10 worst and best foods have been published.  Check them out.

http://cspinet.org/nah/10foods_bad.html


 
one example from the worst food choice list

"People don’t expect light desserts at The Cheesecake Factory. But the Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake kicks things up a notch. If it weren’t served on its side, this one would stand over six inches tall. And upright or not, the slab of cake still weighs in at three-quarters of a pound. What do you get for all that heft? Just 1,760 calories and 2½ days’ worth of saturated fat (50 grams), mostly from chocolate, sugar, cream, white flour, and butter."

SCORE YOUR DIET, take this quiz:

http://cspinet.org/EatingGreen/score.html

Nutrition Action Healthletter is a wonderful newsletter that keeps the public informed with the latest safety and nutrition news.  Check it out:

http://cspinet.org/

FORKS OVER KNIVES & THE STATS ON OBESITY

FINALLY, I got to view the documentary, Forks Over Knives.  It was very timely for the posting of this blog I've been writing on OBESITY.  RENT THIS VIDEO!!!!!

Grocery shopping in the south has become a real challenge.  Most stores don't even carry the ingredients I seek . In many cases, I drive way too far looking for certain staples, only to find they don't carry them, are currently out of them and/or never heard of them.  Frustrating! 

It appears to me, stores are catering to high profit food items and sabotaging any attempt at educating the population on healthy eating.  Snacks and colas abound.  Obesity is worse than ever, particularly in the south.  The map below shows the obesity rates of our states.  Mississippi  has the distinction of placing first, 2 years consecutively.  SC is 8th.

I recently blogged about a new fair food, the fried stick of butter.  Can you imagine?  Frying / eating, a stick of butter covered with a batter and dipped in oil?  Fried butter on a stick is only the beginning.  Other obscenely unhealthy and outrageous fair foods being offered include:  (you can't make this up)

fried jelly beans

Krispy Kreme hamburgers (the donut encloses a quarter pound hamburger, bacon and cheese)

fried Pepsi (where else but SC?  fried dough is injected with Pepsi syrup and topped with sugar and more syrup)

the muddy pig (chocolate-covered bacon on a stick)

Kool-Aid pickles, fried beer (beer is injected into a pretzel pocket, then fried)

deep-fried White Castle Burgers, bun and all

deep-fried avocado (avocado spears dipped in corn-dog batter and fried)

pineapple on a stick (chunks are coated in a mixture of funnel cake batter & cake mix then fried)

The Elvis (a deep-fried peanut butter & jelly with banana)

fried club sandwich

fried lemonade

Recently one of my food magazines featured an article on FUN COOKING, the Fry Guide.  (What's the message here, be a good mom and create these fun foods with your kids?  Fatten up those little kids!)  The article highlights with pictures, many foods including:

peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, Oreo cookies, strawberries, bacon, mixed nuts, cheesecake, mini-muffins, poached eggs, olives, brie, mashed potatoes, snickers bars, bananas and mac and cheese

Get real!  We need to stop this madness.  Why ruin good food by frying it?  What happened to the concept of eating from field to table? 

With the lack of good choices at stores, fairs and yes, even home, we don't stand a chance.  Our children don't stand a chance.  Illness will prevail.






see the full article on obesity in the states:  http://calorielab.com/news/2011/06/30/fattest-states-2011/

DEEP FRIED BUTTER ON A STICK??? UGH

My brother has jokingly suggested that I feature this new item on my BLOG, well here it is Bill.  He stated that "at least it's not meat".  This new Iowa State Fair item is a great example of why obesity is such a problem in our country in this decade.

Watch the video:
http://eater.com/archives/2011/08/10/a-whole-stick-of-fried-butter-on-a-stick-at-the-iowa-state-fair.php

THE TERROR WITHIN

"THE TERROR WITHIN"

I spent last night viewing a wonderful documentary that every American should watch.  The documentary, Killer at Large: Why Obesity is America's Greatest Threat makes some very strong nutritional statements.  It explores the issue from individual, political, scientific and cultural perspectives.  This video is a MUST SEE.

Some key points:
1.  Obesity causes 10,000 American deaths each year and plays a role in 1/3 of all cancer deaths.

2.  Sugar affects the same system of the brain that illegal drugs do.

3.  Sweet foods can induce a form of dependency. (watch Super Size Me for even more proof)

4.  The quantity of food has replaced the quality.

5.  People with the least amount of money are eating the worse nutritional foods.

6.  The travesty is: the least healthy calories are CHEAPER; the healthy foods cost more.  This documentary asks us to call it quits to food being a profit center.