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09/10/2007: "You Are What You Eat – and breath, and touch, and…"

The Federal government has stated that either diet and/or toxins cause sickness. Unfortunately, the FDA, according to a retired head of the department, has claimed that the agency is not looking out for the health of the American public but on the side of big business.

So if you are working on your own health, then it is a constant diligence on your part. Don’t trust that your government will keep your environment clean and control the bad foods. And as a result, the American diet is mostly convenience and fast foods. We have diets consisting of sodas full of sugar and corn syrup, unhealthy fats, meats that are full of hormones and pesticides, and produce that has lost its nutritional value. Thus, if you want to stay healthy, you can’t dine anywhere that has a drive-through.

On average, Americans are gaining one to two pounds a year, says James Hill, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. Hill predicts that, at the current rate, two out of five Americans will be obese by 2008. Obese is defined as being roughly 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight. And being overweight is said to cut 7 years off your life in addition to putting you at risk for heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers.

Besides the issues with weight gain, I think we are lacking in nutrition. My friend Linda swears that her parents and other older folks in her Midwest hometown are living longer and staying healthy because they have always grown their own food. Mineral rich soil causes mineral rich produce. Farms and soil here in California are so overused and artificially fertilized that the amount of beneficial minerals is much less than years ago. So our store bought produce actually has less nutritional value. And once cooked or processed, it loses even more of its benefits.

Since we are lacking, I highly recommend taking a multivitamin that includes essential minerals as well as vitamins.

With this administrations support of big business and fossil fuel consumption, there are few if any regulations that curb industrial pollution. We are exposed to more heavy metals and other environmental toxins than ever before. As a result we are seeing an exponential increase in cancer, ADD/ADHD, Autism and other maladies. We are just learning of lead paint on Chinese manufactured toys. How long has it been going on? I know I chewed on a few China-made toys in my time. The Mothball Fleet here in the San Francisco Bay has just drawn attention as the old war ships decay and leach heavy metals and other toxins into our water. Our Concord Naval Weapons Station is moving to civilian ownership and thus housing developments. But this area has been a holding area for nuclear weapons since the first one was used in 1945. The cleanup of this base and others like the Alameda Naval Air Station and Treasure Island will takes years.

But as I mentioned the other day that if you get sick, we can only offer a for-profit drug to address your symptoms. Soit is left up to you to do the research and figure out how to cure your ailment. I predict that the future will bring an increase in services that specialize in detoxification, chelation (the removal of heavy metals), herbal remedies and other tools to help your body get on a better footing for health.