Fads Pose Dangers, Don’t Listen to Dietary Fads

However, we need to be careful on this question of diet. Many different ideas are prevalent today. Don't believe all you hear. There may be some elements of truth in a few of these dietary fads, but usually there is some foolish notion hidden underneath that is neither in harmony with science nor with common sense. Don't be misled.

Regardless of the many fantastic claims that you may hear, there is no one perfect food. There is none that will meet all the needs of the body any more than there is one perfect material that will serve every purpose in building a house. The best diets are those in which there is plenty of variety. Then if any particular element is lacking in one food, it may be amply provided in another. This is one excellent way of avoiding deficiencies in your diet.

Variety is most important. But it is not the complete answer. We must also use discretion in the choice of foods. Some things that may look tasty are not always healthful and nutritious. Foods that are highly refined are less likely to contain the vital elements to meet the needs of the body. Modern food processing may have its good points. But sometimes the vitamins and minerals are lost in the refining process. It is better to use fresh foods whenever they are available. But be sure that they are really fresh.

Some people tend to think that malnutrition is a problem among the less-favored classes of the world. While this is true, it is surprising how often those with higher incomes also suffer from a different type of malnutrition. They eat plenty of food, but mostly of the wrong type. This so-called "hidden hunger" is very common in large cities, where more artificial living conditions prevail. Modern methods of marketing are providing a wider range of foods. But far too many people still prefer to live on devitalized foods that are woefully inadequate. It is these devitalized foods that lead to hidden hunger.

Such diets fail to provide the body with the right building materials that will keep it functioning properly. Foods that contain a high concentration of sugar and other carbohydrates may provide energy, but other important elements are usually lacking. Soon the organs begin to lose their normal powers of operation. The vital processes of the body are slowed down, and a toxic condition develops. The delicate balance of nature is upset, and the whole body suffers.

It is amazing the amount of food that one person may consume in his lifetime. Someone has estimated that we eat up to 1,400 times our own weight in a lifetime of seventy years! Think of how much money we spend in buying all this food! Surely such an expenditure as this is worthy of our closest study. Are we buying health, or weakness and disease? A balanced diet is the very best type of insurance against those degenerative diseases so common today.

It is true that diet alone is not the answer to all of our health problems. Other things must also be considered. But a well-balanced diet will always help to restore those body tissues that have been laid waste by serious disease. And what fun we can have while we are getting well again! So much depends on the attitude of the mind.

Mental Attitudes Important

Centuries ago the wise man gave us a great scientific truth when he said, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." This is absolutely true. It is the optimistic person who usually makes a good recovery. Because he is happy in himself and confident in the future, his health naturally begins to improve. His whole body responds to the sheer joy of living.

But the wise man did not stop there. He also added these significant words: "A broken spirit drieth the bones." This observation is just as true as the other. A pessimistic attitude soon affects the whole body. It slows down the circulation of the blood. It interferes with good digestion. It takes all the joy out of living. In the end, it may so completely change the individual that he becomes old and worn out long before his time.

Our mental attitudes are very important, particularly as they affect this question of diet. Many of us are shortening our lives without fully realizing what we are doing. Some of us eat too much, often for no other reason than to soothe our injured feelings. Or perhaps we do not take time to eat sensible meals. We grab something and run. We are in too much of a hurry. Then we wonder why we are weak and sick. We do not seem to realize that our diet has much to do with our endurance and also with our ability to resist disease. All the vitamin pills in the world will not make up for the lack of a sensible way of living.

Millions of people are spending fortunes trying to win back their lost figures and restore their flagging energies. All they needed was to apply a little common sense in the first place. No one can hope to have an attractive appearance, a healthy skin, and a clear mind unless he is willing to use discretion in choosing his meals. Even good foods, if taken to excess, may destroy the vitality of the body. Anything that is overdone may cause trouble, even too many vitamins.

A balanced diet is the very foundation of good living. To keep the body functioning smoothly and efficiently, it must be supplied with a constant stream of essential nutrients. This must be clear to all. Yet, it is a shocking fact that many farmers and dairymen are more interested in how they feed their cattle than in how they feed their children! Of course, it pays to see that cattle are well fed. But isn't it time we begin to think about ourselves and our children as well?

Today, thanks to modern medical discoveries, we have less to fear from serious infections. But degenerative diseases are becoming more frequent on every hand. How can these be avoided in your own particular case? This is something you should feel free to discuss with your own family doctor. He is the best one to advise you on such matters. But there is no question that a good, sensible diet will always help. And when we follow such a program, we will feel stronger and more energetic, our mealtimes will be happier, and we can look forward to enjoying better health for years.

Spending Your Money Wisely with Quality Food

Wherever possible, it is best to grow your own food. This is a help with the family budget. But many excellent articles of food may not grow well in your particular locality. They must be brought from a distance and exchanged for cash. If you are on a limited budget, how can you spend your money for the greatest value in food? This is a very practical question.

Foods which are manufactured and refined usually cost much more than those in the natural state. At the same time there is danger that some of the minerals and vitamins have been lost in the manufacturing process. In such a case you lose out in two ways, first, by paying much more for the product, and second, by the loss of essential elements from the food. This is not a wise way to spend a large portion of your money. Do not be carried away by all the glowing advertising material on the package or container.

Take the question of breakfast cereals so widely advertised today, particularly those flakes that have been coated with sugar. Such breakfast food is scarcely worthy of a place on your table and in your family budget. Dry cereals in any form offer less nourishment than do the raw materials from which they are made. Much of real value is lost in the manufacturing process. And when a sugar frosting is added, the effect on young children is far from good. That sugar coating is the worst feature of all. This excess sugar increases the possibility of dental decay and often results in chronic indigestion as well.

Cereals and similar products that are cooked at home are much less expensive than those that are already prepared. The same is true of breads baked at home. They, too, are more nutritious. It does take time to prepare such food. But in the end this saves money, and the whole family will be healthier and more satisfied.

People in well-to-do households may not have much trouble in selecting an adequate diet, provided they take the time to do so. Unfortunately, most of them do not bother. They just eat what comes their way or what is advertised over radio or television. This haphazard way of living is likely to result in serious deficiencies.

The family with limited means must be even more alert to the problem of selecting a diet that is suitable, but not too expensive. They must not allow themselves to be swept away by the flood of advertising so prevalent today. They must buy wisely and well.

Those who live in the country may find the situation a little easier. A small garden, with a few hens and a cow, may enable such a family to live far better than one whose means are not limited. Everything depends on the choice that is made.

Actually you can feed your family better than you think you can. But it does take a little planning. However, people who live on a well-balanced diet are naturally happier and healthier. Such a diet need not be an expensive one. In fact, there are many experiments in rats and other animals showing that a less liberal diet tends to promote a longer life. Many modern nutritionists believe that we live on only about half of what we eat. The rest only compels our hearts and other organs to work that much harder to get rid of the extra food.

Experiments at Cornell University seem to bear this out. A certain number of white rats were used. Some were allowed to eat all they wanted whenever they felt like it. Others were placed on special diets when they were in a rat's "middle age." Those rats which ate as they pleased lived 600 days or less. Those on the diet in middle age lived over 1,000 days. The oldest rat lived 1,400 days, and he never had a square meal in his life! It is not the quantity of the food, but the quality, that counts.

Planning Better Meals

Some people become confused over such scientific terms as calories, vitamins, minerals, and so forth. This is quite understandable. But don't let this scare you too much. Today you can balance your diet fairly well without knowing very much about these various terms. Without going into too much detail, you can reach a good middle-of-the-road plan that is almost foolproof.

During recent years nutritionists have worked out what is known as the "basic seven" food groups. If these foods are included in the diet each day, they will meet the needs of the whole family very well. One does not have to bother with all the endless details of a complicated diet. Just follow this basic plan.

These seven food groups are easily recognized. They should become the foundation of each day's meals. Some foods from each should be in one meal, others in another. But these essential things should always find a place at some time in the day. Other things may be added as desired. But it is best not to get too far away from this simple daily program. If any of these basic groups are missing in your daily planning, your diet is likely to be deficient in some things that are vitally important to good health.

Food Allergy Effects on the central nervous system (CNS)

This is a controversial area and one which tends to attract a lot of media attention. Basically, though, there are several effects on the CNS which can be linked to food allergy:

1. Migraine

The tendency to suffer from this severe form of headache runs in families. The headache is often proceeded by an 'aura' such as visual hallucinations in the form of flashing lights. Generally, only one side of the head is affected and the pain is usually accompanied by nausea. In most cases the migraine continues for 8-24 hours; sufferers often find it impossible to function normally while it lasts. In recent times the long-held belief that certain foods such as chocolate, wines, yeast extracts, hard cheeses, milk and eggs are linked to migraine headaches, has been proved beyond doubt and several offending compounds have been identified.

2. The Allergic Tension-Fatigue Syndrome

Many allergic children have pale faces with dark rings under their eyes, giving them a tired look. They may be difficult to rouse in the mornings and tend to concentrate poorly at school, also especially in the mornings. A large number are rather irritable in general and may be unable to fall asleep easily at night. It has been found that there is a link between this syndrome and an excessive intake of milk, cola drinks and chocolate. Cutting these problem-causers out of their diet can improve the behaviour of these children quite dramatically.

3. Hyperactivity

Dr Ben Feingold, an American allergist, has become well-known for drawing attention to the apparent connection between behaviourial problems and the presence of food additives in the diet. The story of how he reached his conclusion is a long one, but inessence depended on his observations that some adult patients reacted adversely to aspirin. He felt that in addition to causing their asthma, aspirin also appeared to change the patients' behaviour, making them more restless.

If this was so, he reasoned, then the effects in children diagnosed as hyperactive might be even more striking. Hyperactive children typically rush about in purposeless and often destructive activity, often putting their parents under considerable strain. It was thought that one solution might be to remove salicylic acid (used in aspirin) and its derivatives from their diet. (Several foods also contain natural salicylates.In Dr Feingold's view, these preservatives served no essential purpose and would not be missed if children ate foods that were free of them. He then went even further. The yellow food dye, tartrazine, has a similar effect to aspirin in some sensitive asthmatics, so he suggested that it might play a similar role in hyperactivity. From there it was only a short step to the elimination of all artificial colouring and flavours from the food of hyperactive children. Considerable success has been claimed in using this diet (known as the Feingold Diet) in the management of these children.

Unfortunately, however, no properly controlled study has been able to confirm this theory, which has resulted in much controversy in many countries.

The Seduction of Happy Meals

Worst of all is the rampant childhood obesity that comes from feeding our children an unhealthy diet of high-fat, high-sugar, fast food garbage. Many people questioned the validity of a class-action lawsuit filed against McDonald's in 2002 by New York teenagers Jazlyn Bradley, then nineteen, and Ashley Pelman, then fourteen, who claimed that the food giant's food made them obese and suffer from heart

disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Couldn't these children have just refused to eat so much fast food? But looking more closely at the lawsuit, we find remarkable similarities to the tobacco industry lawsuits. These teenagers claim that it was the unhealthy content of the food, not the amount of food eaten, that put them at risk for serious health problems. Although the teenagers' case was originally dismissed in February 2003, it was reinstated in January of 2005 and has yet to be determined.

Their case may have a greater chance of success because of the message of an extraordinary documentary film, Super Size Me, which charts the health of filmmaker Morgan Spur- lock, who, for one month, lived on nothing but McDonald's food. He followed three simple rules: 1) He could only eat what was available over the counter; 2) He could only super- size when he was offered; 3) He had to eat every item on the menu at least once. Although he started off with a clean bill of health after medical checkups with three different doctors, by the end of the movie he had gained twenty-five pounds, was suffering from chronic headaches and nausea, his moods were swinging back and forth between lethargic depression and manic overdrive, and his liver and heart became so impaired that his doctor was begging him to give up the experiment even before the end.

Monica Ferreria, a Roots & Shoots coordinator who works with young people in Salt Lake City, recently spoke with me about one area that is often overlooked: the improper nutrition of the struggling poor in the United States. Yes, they do have food, she explained, but they are being poisoned by the quality of food. She told me about stores where everything is a dollar. These stores are very popular with young mothers who have small children and not very many resources. The food is cheap, but it has horrible nutritional value. And Monica said, "Everyone loves Twinkies and potato chips—the marketing of these products to children is unethical. It is an interesting dilemma, when the poor are not starving from lack of food, per se, but from too much of the wrong food."

Exactly so. Indeed, it becomes increasingly clear that the giant corporations behind the fast foods and junk foods, which are inundating the market around the globe, are motivated by making profit rather than providing nourishment. So it is up to us—the consumers—to bring their unethical business practices to an end.

With so many people suffering from diet-related illnesses, consumers are beginning to realize that the fast food industry should be held accountable for its global agenda to produce cheap, low-quality, high-calorie food for profit regardless of the harm it causes. Our children are especially at risk because of the quality of school meals, and the shocking capitulation to corporations such as McDonald's who are now providing the meals, and have demanded, as recompense for "good" deals, the right to install vending machines for their products. Indeed, there are schools that encourage their students to work for the good of the school by collecting soda caps. Schools with good scores are rewarded with substantial cash prizes. In addition, the fast food chains specifically target their advertising toward children who are seduced by Happy Meals and packages with free toys, games, collecting cards inside, and who eventually come to prefer the excessive sweetness.

BEWARE OF CORN SYRUP

Corn is the most prevalent crop grown in the United States—some 78 million acres of farmland have been planted in recent years. And no USDA subsidy program sends taxpayer money to more recipients. Between 1995 and 2003, just under 1.5 million individual farmers, partnerships, corporations, estates, and other entities received at least one corn subsidy payment. Michael Pollan, the author of The Botany of Desire, believes that the U.S. subsidizing of corn crops is one of its most harmful agricultural practices. It has caused enormous damage to the environment as industrial corn farmers heavily rely on agrochemicals. And it is directly linked to the rising levels of obesity throughout the U.S.

In fact, the national problems with obesity can be traced back to the 1970s when the government began subsidizing farmers who grew corn. Cheap industrial corn meant cheaper, high-calorie food. Some of that corn got turned into animal feed, fattening factory farm cattle and lowering the cost of beef, contributing to the excessive amounts we consume today. Unless you buy organic free-range animal products, almost all your eggs, dairy, and meat was raised on subsidized corn. It's also worth noting that corn-fed animal products are much higher in saturated fats—and our increased intake of saturated fats is directly linked to rising obesity.

"Fattening" and "fats" are key words here, as we talk about all this cheap, excess corn. One of the most common corn products is high-fructose corn syrup, which now accounts for 20 percent of the daily calorie intake of many children. Government-subsidized corn syrup is the main reason soft drink and fast food companies make such a huge profit. In the early 1970s the average soda container was a slender eight-ounce bottle; nowadays it's more likely to be a twenty-ounce tub. From bottles of ketchup to children's breakfast cereal, at least one quarter of all processed foods in the grocery stores contain high-fructose corn syrup.

As the government issues stern warnings about rising obesity it continues to support an agricultural policy that makes some of the emptiest and most fattening calories the cheapest and most readily available.

The Cost of Organic Food

It's true, organic foods often come with a higher sticker price. Because of this, some argue that the organic movement is an elitist one—only offering healthy foods to the wealthiest. In fact, the mean income of a frequent organic food buyer in the U.S. is $43,280—solidly middle-class^— and 31 percent of frequent organic buyers make under$15,000 a year. And as more people buy organic, the more ,the prices will go down: Suppliers will have to place orders, which means more farmers will be encouraged to farm organically because they have a steady market for their goods. So this increases the easy availability of organic food, which often leads to a reduced price for consumers.

Some people willingly pay the price for organic foods, seeing this as a charity donation—a way to support the health of the planet or the farmers who are trying to do right by the land and their communities. In some spiritual communities it is even seen as "tithing"—which means taking a portion of one's income and giving it back to the world in a way that supports the greater good. Yet other people see it as a kind of health insurance payment, recognizing that by ridding their bodies, and the bodies of their children, of agricultural chemicals they may have fewer medical bills.

CAN WE REALLY AFFORD "CHEAP" FOOD?

There is another issue: We need to think carefully about the hidden costs of nonorganic foods. For years, we've been forced to buy into the chemical contamination of our planet and bodies under the guise of creating abundant, "cheap" food. But how cheap is it really? The real cost of industrial farming never shows up on the price sticker at the grocery store. The price never shows the money taxpayers pay for government subsidizing of agribusinesses. The grocery store price also doesn't reflect how much we pay for our damaged health and weakened immune systems. It's almost impossible to measure how much we spend trying to clean up and cope with the environmental damage caused by chemical intensive farming, but in the U.S., it's estimated to be $9 billion a year. We just cannot afford this "cheap" food much longer. About three million tons of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides are used on this planet every year! Every continent is burdened with the ongoing cost of cleaning up this chemical contamination, especially in streams, rivers, and lakes.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Unfortunately, it will take a long time for the earth to break down and heal itself from much of the poisoning caused by farming with chemicals. For now, we can't easily rid ourselves of what we have already done, but we can stop adding more. And there is one sure way to do this: Eat organic. If you buy "certified organic" food, you are guaranteed that it was grown without chemical pesticides, GMOs, chemical fertilizers, sewage sludge, or preserved with ionizing radiation.

Purists may think we shouldn't bother with organic certification if it's being co-opted by corporate interests. But we must also keep in mind that the booming organic certification movement is doing an enormous amount to protect consumers as well as the environment from the harms caused by industrial agriculture. Organic certification offers us important safeguards—forcing agribusiness to abandon some of its more destructive practices. A whole line of McOrganics or Organic Coke may seem like horrible aberrations, corrupting the sacred intentions of the organic pioneers. But any restraints we can put on the corporate world are important. And in some instances, corporations might actually give greater economic strength and consumer recognition to small, ethical businesses without corrupting their core values. For instance, when M&M-Mars bought Seeds of Change it helped finance a wonderful company that has remained dedicated to sustainable farming and protecting the purity and heritage of our seed supply.

As we said, the rising availability of organic foods gives us solid evidence of the power of consumers. It tells us that we are forcing the corporations, some of which are the biggest names in agribusiness, to change their farming methods in order to capitalize on the fastest-growing trend in the industry. And in the next chapter I'll tell you more about what you can do to directly support the small-scale, deep organic farmers we value so greatly.

Avoid Pesticides and Other Chemicals

Unless you primarily purchase organic foods, one item in three in your kitchen cabinet or refrigerator will likely contain pesticide residues. Government testing has found residues from as many as seven different pesticides on a single head of nonorganic lettuce. So if one of your main reasons for buying organic is to reduce your exposure to farm chemicals, you may want to substitute organic for the produce that typically has the highest levels of chemical residues.

U.S. shoppers should also avoid imported, nonorgani_c fruits and vegetables, since they consistently contain more residues than domestic samples. Also, many chemical corn.. panies take the pesticides that are banned in the United States and unload them in countries where there are fewer government restrictions.

Another bonus of certified organic foods is that they have to be processed without many of the food additives that have been linked to diseases such as cancer, heart disease, migraine, hyperactivity, and osteoporosis. For instance, the enhanced red color of some nonorganic strawberries comes from the fungicide captan, a probable human carcinogen that irritates skin and eyes, and is highly toxic to fish. Phosphoric acid in fizzy drinks has been linked to osteoporosis. Aspartame, an artificial sweetener in nonorganic foods, is linked to mood swings and migraines, and MSG (monosodium glutamate) is linked to asthma and headaches.

Feed Children and Babies Organics

As we said, children are especially vulnerable to the effects of pesticide residues. And we now have scientific evidence for what common sense already told us: Children and babies who are fed mostly organic foods have lower levels of pesticide residues in their bodies than children who are fed nonorganic foods. So it is well worth the investment in feeding children organic foods.

If you have no choice but to serve nonorganic foods, parents can reduce exposure by serving children vegetables with thicker skin, shells, or peels, since soft-skinned fruit and vegetables seem more likely to contain residues. According to research from Consumer Reports, pesticide residues in a single serving of peaches "consistently exceeded" the EPA's safe daily limit for a forty-four-pound child. Since pesticide residues can be transferred (often in a more concentrated form) through the placenta and breast milk, it is especially important that women who are pregnant or breast-feeding follow these guidelines.