Wellness versus IgnoranceWritten by Dr. Donald A. Miller
If you ask most Americans whether wellness is important, most will agree. Parents will usually say that family health is one of their major concerns. Yet most are rather ignorant about nutrition information. Blame our public education system, false or misleading reporting, and ads, ads, ads.Recent news increasingly reports that obesity is epidemic in United States, and that it is major cause of early death, after tobacco. Yet solution is really simple. It used to be that people who claimed simple life is key to anti aging would be met with a big yawn, or strong doubt, or rude noises. Now, such reliable sources of health information as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are saying that good diet and moderate exercise really are keys to long life. The same ad blasters who helped get us into health troubles are eager to sell us pills, potions, books, quack cures that dance all around truth. After all, folks really want magic bullets to fix problems, so they won't have to take responsibility for consequences of their own choices. It's not merchants' fault if they get rich off public stupidity. Or is it? People, WAKE UP! America is a country in which even poor people are FAT. History tells us that this is a very unusual situation. It is a principle of physics that matter-energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Therefore, if our weight exceeds medical ideal, it can ONLY be from consuming more calories than we need. The only healthy solution is to be more careful of what we eat, and to increase our exercise. Drugs or surgery to cheat on this equation are life threatening. Wild claims to "turn up your fat burners" are total NONSENSE, even though some of "experts" telling this are physicians and nutritionists who really should know better.
| | Health News as Source for LaughsWritten by Dr. Donald A. Miller
Google News can be entertaining (http://news.google.com/). Late August 2004 headlines show that at least some USA government experts understand difference between "good" and "bad" sugars. However, they stopped short of telling us to limit refined sugar intake, in updated dietary guidelines for 2005.Could this reluctance to state obvious be signs that commercial interests are taken seriously by Feds? News articles said that 7 of 13 panel members have financial interests in food industry. Duh! The full "2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Report", released August 27, 2004, is available at http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/report/ Most of panel's recommendations are consistent with those in my two health books. Restrict salt, meat, dairy, alcoholic beverages, trans fats. Eat whole grains and fruits and vegetables. Eat foods with omega-3 fatty acids. Get at least 30 minutes of exercise daily, such as brisk walks. And don't get hung up on "low carb". "Good sugars" are those that occur naturally in healthful foods, such as fruits and vegetables. "Bad sugars" are those which are refined to have no nutrients other than calories. But representatives of sugar and soft drinks industries maintain that overeating and lack of exercise, not a particular food or beverage, are causing America's obesity.
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