
Toxic food is cheap and good food is comparatively very expensive, as it is not artificially subsidized by the federal government. People with the least amount of money eat the most calories in our society because we have created a system where the most calories are the cheapest. Most processed foods are man made concentrations of sugar, fat and salt that contain way more calories than any food found in the natural world. These foods can easily contribute to a diet so high in calories, burning them off in a single day is actually impossible. With soda, the body has a hard time recognizing liquid calories. The worst part of these foods is that they are also addictive - foods high in fat and sugar provide the release of opioids in the brain. Nature delivers whole foods as nutrient complexes on purpose, not concentrated isolates like high fructose corn syrup that wreak havoc on our blood sugar control mechanisms.
Because many people fail to see the correlation between quality nutrient dense foods and good health, they cannot justify the investment of money and time to buy and prepare the foods we need. Cooking in the home – the best single thing you can do to improve your health – is not commonplace or valued in our society. Quantity has become the most important measure of food quality but as long as you are starving on a nutritional basis, you will remain hungry regardless of the amount of calories you consume. People tend to eat based on the amount served to them on a plate and restaurant portions are 5-7 times the amount of food we need. We need a paradigm shift to value eating for nutrients, not calories.
In America’s toxic food environment, only 1 in 3 people can maintain a healthy weight. Regional differences are different shades of terrible. A child born in 2000 has a 1 in 3 chance of being obese. If that child is of color the chance in 1 in 2. In America, less than 1% of citizens qualify for the 7 factors of ideal cardiovascular health.