Americans let everyone else make them sick and overweight….

We have a huge obesity crisis In America today.  And it is not just obesity, it is a long list of chronic illnesses that are making us sick and ultimately killing us (diabetes, heart diseases, arthritis, high blood pressure etc.)  As I learn more about living a healthy lifestyle and sharing my story to help others, it is not hard to realize that the odds are against us creating change in America.  We have been so conditioned by society on what is "right" that even facts and logic are thrown out the window when you introduce what seems to be new ideas!  How did we get here?   Well this blog is not big enough to answer that, but I wanted to mention a few things that seem to come up all the time when I speak to others and see the trends on TV and internet.

Our government is heavily influenced by lobbyist, and who are the biggest food and health lobbyist?  Big food giants and pharmaceuticals companies. Do you think these organizations want us to get healthy when they make money selling their stuff?  Their influence runs deep and no matter what facts are uncovered, their influence will remain strong in government.  The foods that are the healthiest get little attention in Washington becasue they do not have huge lobby groups supporting them.  The apple farmer, or broccoli grower has little influence even though they have the best message to share.  It is all about following the money.

What about mass media!  How easy do you think it would be for ABC to run a documentary on how cereal giants make us sick and fat at the same time taking money from them to run their commercials!  Can you imagine Nickelodeon telling kids to not eat sugary snacks while they are running ding dong or fruit roll up commercials!

Remember big tobacco?  They are the best at hooking people on a known dangerous products.  Back in the day, Doctors even said smoking was ok or even good for you in some cases.  Did you know that several of the big tobacco companies now own big food companies?  What does this mean for the consumer?  It means that no matter what the food item is or what the nutritional values is, they can figure out a way to make you buy and eat it!  They will also spend billions of dollars fighting negative ads against their own products so they can keep selling them to us.

Our school provide some of the worst food for our kids and yet as parents, we are scrutinized for sending our kids with lunches packed from home.  Want to question your local school?  Go for it!  They will tell you they have to serve what they do because the government mandates it, no matter how much you are against it or provide evidence to how bad the food really is for our kids!

What about our Doctors and Nurses, are we any safer in hospitals?  Doctors traditionally cannot go against traditional medicine when more viable options are available.  They would rather give you a pill to fix a symptom than treat the cause.  Even the Doctors who go against the grain receive  a lot  of scrutiny by their peers, even though their programs work.  It is not always their fault, it goes back to the government and the training.  Where does the money come from to sell products to our doctors or to educate them in medical school, you got it – the pharmaceuticals companies.  Do you think they want the patients to know there is a healthier way to reduce high blood pressure by changing your diet vs. selling statins!  Our healthcare providers received very little nutritional training in medical school.  Their objective is to fix the patient and move on to the next.  I know this may seem harsh and an over generalization, but the core problem is we have too many sick people in America, and people do not want to know that we are eating improperly because that is judging them, they just want a pill so they can go back to work or not have to worry about the problem for a few more years.

When you tell a person there is a better way to live, or to reduce or eliminate the need for medication, 9 times out of 10 they do not care!  They want to take the pills and be done.

I am lucky, I did not get unhealthy enough to be chronically ill when I decide to make  a change, but what I have realized is I have reduce my chances of needing any future healthcare by a lot!  I was on the road to chronic illness but changing my lifestyle has reduce that risk significantly.

I wanted to write this post to make you stop and think!  You have a lot of forces working against you and I know it is not easy, BUT you do have control if you choose to take it!  If decide not to take advantage of the information that is your choice, but don’t say you do not have a choice, do not say you have to live with problem.  Step outside the box and take a chance on life!