Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’ve had a busy weekend of kids, writing, and housework. I can feel the energy changing because it’s getting close to the holidays. I know it’s getting busier which means I’m going to be frustrated because I won’t have as much time to write. Boo. But it’s always like this during this time of year, so I just have to suck it up and get through it.
But enough about that, today I want to talk about our country’s weight issues. I wrote a post a couple of years ago titled “Is our Food Industry making Us Fat.” At the time I had just learned that food manufacturers had added sugar to much of our processed food so we would like it better and buy more of their brand. This added sugar adds calories, thus making us gain weight.
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I also learned today that our portion size has grown through the years. I call it portion distortion. Many fast food places have made their portions bigger. For example, a portion of French fries twenty years ago was 2.4 ounces and two hundred calories. Today, the portion size has grown to 6.9 ounces and six hundred and ten calories. This is the reason Diabetes is on the rise and our children are obese. Even if you’re exercising, there’s a good chance you’re still taking in too many calories.
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I don’t eat fast food very often, but there are times when I use processed food for cooking. For example, canned tomato sauce. Did you know there are two grams of sugar in a fifteen ounce can? I know two grams doesn’t sound like much, but why in the world are manufacturers adding sugar to tomato sauce? Because sugar is like cocaine to our brain. It turns off our over-eating inhibitor, so we eat more, and it is addictive. Doesn’t this sound like what the tobacco industry did to cigarettes? They added nicotine to them so people would become addicted and keep buying their product even though smoking causes cancer and heart disease. They didn’t care. Am I the only one who sees a trend here? To learn more about the negative effects of sugar consumption click here . Negative Effects of Sugar
Sugar does not cause cancer, but it does cause us to be overweight which is a precursor to cancer, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. So, while the food industry isn’t necessarily causing these diseases, it certainly isn’t helping by adding sugar to our processed food.
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What can we do? We’ve got the food industry working against us. First, we can stop eating fast food. I know, it’s hard to do when it’s convenient and we just don’t feel like cooking. However, we must get back to the basics where we cooked our own food. We need to get away from processed foods and fast food. Once we do that, food manufacturers will change their products because they want to keep selling it, and fast food joints will offer healthier alternatives. Wouldn’t you agree? Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. How do you feel about our food industry? Do you think they’re making us sick? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!
Related Articles:
Is Processed Food Poisoning Us?
Is our Food Industry Making Us Fat?
Is Our Food Industry making us Sick?
An Insidious Epidemic: Childhood Obesity
Yes the food industry is definitely adding too much sugar to fast food, but of course it’s up to us as to whether we buy it. I tend to buy lean meat and fresh vegetables and fruit. Lean meat and fresh veg seem to be the only foodstuffs not laden with sugar.
You are so right, Stevie. We need to get away from processed foods. Lean meat and fresh veggies are definitely the way to go. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
This was a great post.
The more I learn about what’s being added to even normally-healthy foods like spaghetti sauce, the more I’m making as much of my own food from scratch as is feasible.
Good for you! That’s the only way we can fight this issue and maintain our health. Thanks for stopping by Lydia! I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with all of us! 🙂
You’re welcome. 🙂
Restaurant portions are ridiculously large–I can never finish them and I hate to waste food!
I hear you! I always bring home a doggie bag. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!!
I am so lucky to be at home and able to cook all of our meals from scratch. I have taken processed food out of our diet, and removed the sugar as well. The changes have been amazing.
Good for you, Cheri! We make most of our food from scratch but there are some things like canned tomato sauce that I still use because I don’t have time to can my own, but you go girl!! I’m totally impressed!
Thanks for stopping by!
Another well done post, Lisa! Though, I’d like to add that not only is the quality of food points to childhood obesity, but the change in environment – namely kids would rather be on their devices rather than playing outside and getting lots of exercise like we used to do. Just a thought. Cheers!
You are so right about that, Sharon! I should have mentioned that in my post. Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate your support. Maybe someday we can meet in real life. 🙂
That would be awesome 😊 Cheers, Lisa!
I admit I’m an abuser of the fast food restaurants. I’ve been trying to eat better for the past year or so but sometimes it’s so much easier to grab something and eat it on the 45 minute drive somewhere. I mean, I’m just sitting there with nothing to do but drive and I need that extra food prep time at home to do other things so why not do double duty while I’m on the road right? Sounds like a time-management issue to me, but that’s my rationale. I do try to cook healthy when I do cook and I do cook quite a bit.
But, I agree, portions have gotten bigger and we always have the option to “supersize” our orders too for only like $1 more so why not? It’s a vicious cycle. And the added sugar keeps the sugar producers happy but the amount of overweight people is astounding.
Anyway, we could all go on. Thanks for the reminders.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
Thanks for stopping by, Patricia. I hear you about the time issue. When I was working as a sales agent, I had to eat on the run a lot as well and fast food was the only option. But now I eat a lot of salads and as far as I know, there’s no way to add sugar to lettuce or broccoli, so I think I’m okay in that regard. 😉
Take care of yourself and thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Home-cooked food is the best answer. Obesity is a byproduct of prepacked food industry
You are so right, Arv. It’s scary what processed food is doing to us. I’ve read somewhere that we’re the first generation who will not live longer than the previous one and I think it’s all because of processed food and technology. Technology because we don’t get the exercise we need, but that’s another blog post. 😉
You are right Carol. Capitalism and consumerism I suppose are behind it.
Thanks for stopping by, Arv and sharing your thoughts. 🙂
You are welcome, Carol 😊