Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead

So I don't want to undermine the philosophical integrity of this blog post or anything, but I'd really like to talk about this interesting documentary called, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" which I saw last night. Rob, the 41 year old Australian protagonist in the movie, was a successful business investor who over the found himself falling into the unhealthy eating trap and gaining excesive weight. Coupled by this weight gain was this rare skin rash condition that would flare up at random moments. Being the proactive type of individual which he was, he decided to drastically alter his diet and make a movie about it ;) He chose to embark on a fruit/vegetable smoothie diet for the next 60 days while traveling across America to get a better understanding of the food obsession plaguing our country. Apparently, after drinking only liquids during these 60 days, he had a physical and emotional epiphany. The crux of his argument lay in the fact that fruits, vegetables, and other "microfoods" are the most energy-laden and efficient resources available for our consumption. Having a disproportionately large amount of it in our diets can roll back all sorts of medical conditions including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, allergies, and mental deterioration in old age. He believes that the bottom of the food pyramid should not be reserved for carbs but for fresh fruit and vegetables.

Personally, I agree with him because by sustaining a natural diet, you avoid all sorts of artificial ingredients, chemicals, and processers that go into pre-packaged food items. The closer a food is to its natural state, the healthier it is for you. It is pretty ridiculous that as the wealthiest country in the world, we have the worst health of the world's developed countries and spend significantly more on health care costs. Imagine how many billions of dollars would be saved on healthcare if we focused on prevention programs rather than waiting until the last minute when a person has a heartattack.

I think the real story behind this is the amazing power that food production businesses hold over our governments. The amount of money poured into lobbying for favorable government contracts or FDA approval is unseemly. Why, for instance, do we add high fructose corn syrup ( a highly fattening, corn-based ingredient) into items ranging from ketchup to pepsi cola? Logically, why would you need to add a corn product into either of those products? Think about it...obviously, it has to do with economics. Corn is the easiest and cheapest crop to grow and the one most heavily subsidized by our government. In fact, we produce so much of it in the U.S., we don't know how to get rid of it. Hence, all sorts of creative ideas and product placements.

What are your thoughts on all of this?