This'n'That; October 23rd

Annual Physical Yesterday, I had my annual physical. Seems I'll be good for "another 12,000 miles." Being a diabetic for most of my past, this physical has me concerned [again] with my diet. My A1C reading was elevated from the last reading. This reading indicates my blood/sugar levels for the past several months. Granted, I haven't taken my illness as seriously as I should have. I enjoy cooking and baking [with emphasis on BAKING] and practically every cook/baker samples his own wares. Other than the A1C level, all else was within normal ranges. Ten Things The Food Industry Doesn't Want You To Know Earlier this year the CDC released a study that indicated that 32% of children were overweight but not obese; 16% were obese and 11% were extremely obese. Makers of junk food have a greater obligation to their stockholders than the country's children!! The company management that doesn't show increased increased stock value and profit levels will soon find itself unemployed. The company has a vested interest in continuing to provide the CRAP that Americans have come to demand, regardless of the health risks to the consumer. Here are some of the things that junk food manufacturers don't want you to know: 1. Junk food makers spend billions on advertising unlealthy foods to kids. Promotions often use cartoon characters or free giveaways to entice kids into the junk food fold. 2. The studies that food producers support tend to minimize health concerns associated with their products. A review led by Dr David Ludwig, pediatrician and author, of hundreds of studies that looked at the health effects of milk, juice and soda, the likelihood of conclusions favorable to the industry was several times higher among industry-sponsored research than studies that received no industry funding. 3. Junk food makers donate large sums of money to professional nutrition associations. As an example, The American Dietetic Association accepts money from companies like Coca-Cola, which get access to decision makers in the food and nutrition marketplace via ADA events and programs. The ADA even distributes nutritional fact sheets that are directly sponsored by specific industry groups. The ADA's reasoning is that "these collaborations take place with the understanding that ADA does not support any program or message that does not correspond with the ADA's science-based healthful-eating messages and positions. ADA President Martin Yadrick stated, "In fact, we think it's importand for us to be at the same table with food companies because of the positive influence that we can have on them." 4. More processing means more profits, but typically makes the food less healthy. Fresh fruits and vegetables aren't where food companies look for profits. The big bucks are in turning government-subsidized commodity crops-mainly corn, wheat and soybeans-into fast foods, snack foods and beverages. High profit products derived from these commodity crops are generally high in calories and low in nutritional value. 5. Less processed foods are generally more satisfying than their highly processed "cousins." Fresh apples have an abundance of fiber and nutrients that are lost when processed into applesauce. The added sugar or other sweeteners increase the number of calories without making the applesauce more filling. The even-more-processed apple juice has almost all of the fiber and nutrients stripped out. Dr Ludwig says this same stripping of nutrients happens with highly refined white bread compared with stone-ground whole wheat bread. 6. Many supposedly healthy replacement foods are hardly healthier than the foods they replace. As an example, in 2006 major beverage makers agreed to remove sugary sodas from school vending machines. The industry mounted an intense obbying effort that persuaded lawmakers to allow sports drinks and vitamin waters that-despite their healthier reputations- still are packed with sugar and calories. 7. A health claim on the label doesn't necessarily make a food healthy. Health claims such as "zero trans fats" and "contains whole wheat" creates the false impression that a product is healthy when it may not be. The claim may be true but the product is not going to be a health benefit if it's also loaded with salt, sugar, saturated fat and lacks fiber or other nutrients. These claims make people forget about the calories. 8. Food industry pressure has made nutritional guidelines confusing. The food industry has a history of preferring scientific jargon to straight talk. Since 1977, public health officials have attempted to include the advice "reduce consumption of meat" in an important report called Dietary Goals for the United States. The authors of the report capitualted to the intense pushback from the cattle industry and used this more ambiguous advice: "Choose meats, poultry and fish which will reduce saturated fat intake." The government has a hard time recommending that people eat less of anything. 9. The food industry funds front-groups that fight antiobesity public health intiatives. Unless you follow politics closely, you wouldn't know that a group named the Center for Consumer Freedom [CCF] has anything to do with the food industry. This group lobbies aggressively against obesity-related public health campaigns such as the one directed at removing junk food from schools. According to the Center for Media and Democracy, the CCF is funded primarily through donations from the likes of Coca-Cola, Cargill, Tyson Foods and Wendy's. 10. The food industry works aggressively to disredit its critics. The Center for Consumer Freedom [CCF] boasts that "our strategy is to shoot the messenger. We've got to attack activists' credibility as spokespersons." The bottom line in all this is that kids need to EAT LESS, include more FRUITS and VEGETABLES and LIMIT THE JUNK FOOD !!! Til nex'time.......