What the Health

For those that have not seen the new Netflix documentary "What the Health," I highly recommend it while keeping an open mind. You will find that the source of your food really matters, that we should be eating way less meat than we eat today, and we really can't trust big food manufacturing companies...they are in it for the money, NOT your health.

This is unfortunate for us because we live busy lives, and we generally don't have time to make (let alone grow) our own food. We then are indirectly being fed food, even healthy foods, that poison our bodies and promote an environment for chronic disease progression, fueling this health epidemic in America.

Want almonds? Well, I hope they're steam treated and organic...conventional almonds are fumigated with propylene oxide, an anti-freeze derivative and neurotoxin. You can see that even when we are trying to make a healthy choice, we still can't seem to win. And this is just one example. Apples and diphenylamine, anyone?

While a vegan lifestyle is good for the environment and tends to promote more health benefits, it is just one diet. There is no one diet for everyone, and while it works well for some, it doesn't work well for others. I can attest to this personally.

There is a lot of truth to consuming a diet that is balanced and emphasizes moderation. But making meat, wheat, sugar, corn, and soy the staples of your diet is not healthy long term. And being vegan doesn't mean you are "healthy"...wheat, sugar, soy, and corn are all vegan, yet these are not healthy food groups to make up the core of your diet. Instead, eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits in their whole food forms is something we all need to start making the center of our diets. Again, it's about balance.

Only by educating the public and changing consumer needs can we start standing up to big food companies. These companies depend on their customers, so if there is a change in consumer demand, they will adapt to meet that need.