Navigating the disaster zone

It’s almost too good to be true, but I’ve pinched myself several times, and I’m not dreaming. A group of professors from Harvard, one of the most prestigious–and most mainstream–organizations in the country, really admitted,  “Judged by its impact on health, the American food supply is a disaster.”

I have been saying this for years, but when it comes from Harvard, it resonates with authority of a different kind.

The debate that led to this quote once again involved our government and their downright inability to understand how to help the health of our nation. (It seems there is almost nothing that they are getting right these days…but that’s another discussion entirely.)

This particular debacle focused on a federally funded program called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or SNAP), and whether to allow taxpayers’ dollars to be spent on helping lower income shoppers buy junk food and soda.

The controversy arose because New York City tried to place a ban on buying sugar-sweetened beverages with SNAP money, and the USDA refused to allow it. But it’s not as though SNAP funds are completely unregulated: The USDA has placed restrictions on using this money to buy alcohol. So what I’d like to know is, when are they going to wake up and realize that sugar addiction, obesity, and diabetes are each just as big a problem as alcoholism?

I would go far as to say that sugar addiction is our nation’s public enemy No. 1.

Yet, the nation’s supposed health authorities continue to do nothing about it. Of course, it’s important to remember that USDA stands for the United States Department of Agriculture. Their task as an agency is to promote things we grow in America. And what do we grow the most? Sugar, corn, wheat, and soy–all junk foods!

So of course their recommendations and policies are going to sway in that direction.

So the food that’s most affordable and readily available for most low-income families is junk food. It’s sad and it’s frustrating–especially because I see so many people who CAN afford to eat the fresh, unprocessed foods that will keep you healthy and diabetes free, and just don’t.

The fact is, most people can do better when it comes to the quality of their food choices. You may not be able to afford all organic, but with a little guidance you CAN make healthier choices that won’t break the bank.

I know it can be overwhelming to change the way you choose your foods–in supermarkets, in restaurants, and everywhere in between. But that’s what I’m here for.

Let me be your coach and your support system. I know how to win this battle–let me teach you, too.


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