How the Food Industry is Deceiving You

[Guest guest]

A must-see video and good summary (by mercola) below... Though the videos are focussed on American foods, the same stuff/logic applies to many of the developing/developed world (including india).

 

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http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/08/22/how-the-food-industry-is-deceiving-you.aspx

 

This terrific five-part video series by Peter Jennings explores how the food industry spends billions of dollars to sabotage your health.

Jennings also takes a critical look at our government's agricultural subsidy programs, and their unintended consequences on your nutritional choices and health. For example, sugar and fat receive 20 times more government farming subsidies than fruits and vegetables. Does this oversupply of fats and sugars, compared to fruits and vegetables, affect your food choices?

Some statistics, implicating both the food industry and the government as co-creating factors in the obesity epidemic, include:

 

 

In 2002, consumers spent $174 billion on processed foods.

 

90 percent of foods marketed each year are processed foods.

 

Last year, 2,800 new candies, desserts, ice-cream, and snacks were introduced to the marketplace, compared to 230 new fruits or vegetable products.

 

The food industry spends $34 billion per year marketing their products.

 

$12 billion is spent marketing to children.

The food industry is quick to point out that the choice is always yours -- they're not making you buy something you don't want. They also want to blame the obesity problem on people's unwillingness to exercise.

 

<LINKS to the 5 part VIDEO>

 

Dr. Mercola's comments:

 

As little as 20 years ago the public was still being told smoking cigarettes was perfectly harmless, and many believed the propaganda.. Since then society has paid the price for that fraudulent piece of misinformation. What you're seeing now is the next phase of this sad trend, where manufacturers, lobbyists, and government stay in cahoots to deceive you for profit, without regard for your health.

For the last ten years I have been ranting about how much the drug industry spends to manipulate and distort your perceptions on the proper solutions for your health challenges. Well they only spend $20 billion a year. The food industry is spending TWICE that much to brainwash you and your kids to chose convenience foods that are highly processed and will accelerate your path towards death and disease and the need to use drugs to control your symptoms. Fast food and processed food usually tastes good and is typically relatively inexpensive, so for many it is an easy choice. Pay less and get better tasting food, what could be simpler?. This is likely why 90 percent of the money Americans spend on food goes toward processed foods. What nearly all have not factored into the equation is that they will almost certainly pay a heavy price for it in the long run -- both literally and figuratively. Subsisting on "junk" foods alone is a surefire way to accelerate your aging process and compromise your health. There is just no way around it -- if you want to reap a healthy life, you, a spouse, relative, or someone you pay needs to invest some time in the kitchen preparing your food.

Your goal should be to reverse this ratio and strive for 90 percent non-processed food and maybe 10 percent from other food sources. Not only will you enjoy the health benefits, but the satisfaction of preparing meals and being in control over what you put into yourself can be a great feeling.

Following my nutrition plan, according to your nutritional type, might require a little more time and energy than automatically reaching for a ready-made processed dish, but it could:

 

Add years to your lifespan Give you more energy than you know what to do with Help you avoid:

Cancer Heart Disease Diabetes Arthritis

Taking control of your food is a commitment to your health, and to life itself.

Does Following the Food Pyramid Lead to Better Health?

Can you rely on the government to provide objective, health-promoting food and nutrition advice, via the Food Guide Pyramid? The short answer to that question is "No." The reality of how government bows to food-industry interests is shocking, and most certainly plays a role in the obesity epidemic.

When you consider that fruits and vegetables receive less than 1 percent of the $20 billion agricultural subsidies, whereas corn and soybeans (two of the processed food industry's most important commodities) get 20 times that, none of this should come as a surprise.

The truth is, everyone has a unique biochemistry and the only way to find out what you should be eating is by determining your nutritional type -- not by following meal recommendations influenced by an industry whose sole mission is to sell more of their products.

How to Avoid Junk Food Temptation The first step to avoiding processed junk food is to change your mindset, which admittedly is not an easy task -- but it is one that can be done. Rather than looking at junk food as a reward that tastes good, try thinking of it as:

 

Extra calories that will harm your body. A toxic concoction of foreign chemicals and artificial flavors that will lead to disease. A waste of your money. Likely to lead to increased health care bills for you and your family. Not something to give to children, whose bodies are still developing and in great need of nutrients.

And instead of thinking of healthy food as not tasting good, think of it as food that will fortify your body with nutrients, boost your immune system, fight disease -- even slow down the aging process. I can't think of a stronger advertisement than that!

If you are thinking, " Well I try to eat healthy, but I always feel hungry and crave other foods, " then you're most likely not eating for your nutritional type. If you eat the right ratio of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates -- and the right types -- for your nutritional type, you will naturally feel satisfied and full of energy after you eat.