#nutritionforlife
Are smokers idiots? Are they informed about the health risks? YES to both.
Are you an idiot if you eat processed food?
I used to get cranky about people smoking when I knew the health risks of the habit. Some years ago I actually looked at the known health costs in comparison to taxes paid and calculated that smokers were holding the Australian economy to ransom to the tune of several billion dollars per annum. They still are. The health costs of cigarettes are still in excess of the tax revenue raised.
But as time has gone on, I have come to realise that smokers have been clearly told of the risks of continuing their habit. It is common knowledge that over time cigarette smoking is associated with a wide spectrum of diseases. Watching someone die from these conditions is not pretty. But they knew about it along the way. They were definitely ‘informed idiots’ as are those that continue to smoke today.
What about most of the population eating processed food containing too much sugar, too much refined carbohydrate and polyunsaturated oils?
We generally know that eating too much junk food and processed food is no good for you but I still see the majority of people succumbing to it every day. I see seemingly intelligent people thinking they can get away with this constant trickle of pro-inflammatory material into their system and expecting to get away with it.
It’s all a bit like the smokers back 30 years ago that were ‘confused’ by the mixed marketing messages put out by the tobacco industry. There were the alert health professionals trying to warn the community and then there were the market forces with corporate dollars creating confusion and misinformation.
It all seems like dejevu now.
The Australian, American and British Heart Foundations as well as the Dietitians Association of Australia still cannot get around to publicly accepting that SATURATED FATS ARE NOT UNHEALTHY, let alone acknowledging that the polyunsaturated oils may be inflammatory and are potentially the cause of heart and cardiovascular disease. That is a class action in the making if there ever was one. They need to let go of their corporate sponsorships from the food and pharmaceutical industry.
Our food distributors have to know that processed food is bad over time but why stop selling something when there is profit to be made?
Most food retailers I speak to acknowledge that their product is bad for their customers but they still sell it ‘for their living’. Interesting term considering they are pushing something that goes against ‘living’.
It’s also interesting that the people I know who make their living selling ‘junk food’ don’t actually eat it themselves. I wonder what they know about their food product. Hmm.
I have issues with our food labeling system but is still better than most areas of the world. It does require reading the label and often with a magnifying glass. Look at the sugar content. Look at the carbohydrate content and look at what oils have been added to the food. Most likely, if it’s in a packet then sugar and polyunsaturated oils have been thrown into increase the shelf life and keep down costs.
So, I am not sorry for smokers as they are making an informed choice nowadays as there are significant health issues if one continues to partake in that activity.
I am sorry for the majority of us that have been given the wrong information when it comes to our food intake.
Hopefully you are starting to take back some control of what you eat and not getting caught up in the deception of our food industry.
Start looking at the labels