Your Life Depends On It

 This post was inspired by the fabulous-ness that is Jillian Michaels.

Jillian Michaels is the SHIZZ-NIT!  Her new book, Master Your Metabolism breaks it down, detailing why it's so hard for us (women and men) to be healthy. If the goal is to lose weight, obviously being healthy is the key. But what if I just want to feel better?

The world system is based on profit FIRST, so just like BigBank, BigFoodCorp and BigPharma are thinking about their bottom line first; the consumer, not so much.  The more unnatural shyt BigFoodCorp can use to create 'non-foods', i.e. processed shyt, the more injectable-pill-inhalants BigPharma will create to help us because we're clogged up from eating too much non-food.  It's a conspiracy I tell ya!

In the meantime, every system in the human body is screwed .  We all know that obesity is linked to killer diseases like hypertension (HBP), diabetes and cancer.  Our hormones (male and female) get out of whack as we age, but they're also affected by the antibiotic-hormones given to Wilbur and Cow and Chicken.  Don't fret my pet, BigPharma's got it under control.  There's a pill for EVERYTHING under the sun (Extenze-e-e, anyone?).  Trips me out how the doctors have their pads poised to write a prescription for whatever ails you, but there's supposedly no cure (except death) for the aforementioned diseases.  Pill A lowers blood pressure/cholesterol but now your muscles ache.  Take Pill B (likely an NSAID) twice a day for the muscle pain, but soon your tummy aches. Could it be you're bleeding internally from popping too many NSAIDs? Well, just cut Pill A in half and take 1/2 at breakfast and 1/2 at 3pm.  Then take Pill B once every other day.  If all else fails, Ol' Doc has a new pill that a BigPharma rep dropped off just the other day and it takes care of  all-a-dat.  What kind of foolishness...it's just like two magnets working against each other. Our bodies can only take so much for so long.

Cancer, MS, and other autoimmune diseases often come out of left field.  HBP and diabetes are at times linked to genetics, so pill poppin' and insulin injectin' can't be helped.  I know this.  But at the end of the day, we are responsible for what we put in our mouths.  Too much salt, too much sugar, too much charcoal (for you grill-meistahs out there, including me), too much processed crap and the list goes on and on and on and on and...

A surefire solution to these problems..buy organic.  Sure, but that would entail sacrifice...that new bag/outfit, a killer pair of boots or a night out on the town...all from the same paycheck.  I'm being sarcastic, but for most people buying organic foods would require a major revision in an ever-changing household budget held by the spaghetti straps of an uncertain economy.

I'm curious though, how did we differentiate food before the term organic became popular?  I mean, Granny an'nem got by on a few acres (and a mule) and raised their own cows, pigs, chickens, etc. Heck, they grew their own fruits and veggies, too.  Ma Dukes cooked real food, often twice a day, back in the day (eating out was a 'treat' back then, lol).   I'm a Gen X-er, so I've had more than my fair share of convenience.  My point is, food was organic long before BigFoodCorp came along with their genetically altered seeds and whatnot.  So why do we have to pay more for organic now..shouldn't it be the other way around?  Of course not, that's ludicrous!  I have a choice between a 12oz.grape soda-nacho-cheese-honeybun or a 16oz.water-sunflower-seed-organic-orange?  I'll take cheaper-sweeter-saltier for 500, Alex. We pay for convenience; the world is smaller now and moves almost at the speed of light.  We're all busy-busy-busy and unknowingly (sometimes) killing ourselves. Sacrifice.....

This is where baby steps come into play.  I certainly would not throw out every unhealthy item in the fridge or pantry; the groceries been bought and money's tight around these parts..what I look like?  Call a meeting with the fam (if you have one) because these changes will affect them in a MAJOR way. Come to some kind of consensus with the picky/finicky eater, who is sure to raise all kinds of hell, and start anew.  Instead of spending, say 50% of the weekly/biweekly/monthly grocery budget on unhealthy convenience, maybe reduce it to 30%.  Challenge yourself to use the (new) 20% on more fruits and veggies (I'll go out on a limb and assume that most of us buy the good stuff anyway).

I wouldn't start off with the organic stuff either unless you just wanted to.  Most grocery stores sell organic items now, but like I said baby steps. More veggies, less processed food/meat can go a long way.  Learn how to cook, surf the 'net for new recipes to incorporate your "new" foods or coordinate a healthy potluck for family and friends. Just try something different for at least a week.

These small changes can improve heart health, decrease blood pressure and decrease or eliminate the need for insulin among other things. Might get a little crazy in your house what with the sugar withdrawals/gas/funky 'tudes and all.   Give them a dose of re-al-i-tee: taking care of them entails taking care of you FIRST.  Your life really does depend on it.