Everywhere you look, obesity is there. I am not advocating to be a food policeman, but we need to start making a voice in our land. People do not like being overweight. But certain foods are addictive and the public needs to be educated on proper unbiased nutrition. Meat and dairy products and foods that are fried are absolutely in no way beneficial to the human body. The human physiological system is completely adaptable to a total vegetarian diet. But with the refined sugars and fatty foods that poison our body and cloud our minds, addiction sets in deep and becomes 'nearly' impossible to break the bonds.
I am challenging every nurse to take up the baton on this one. If we, health care professionals cannot make the first stand on the nutrition value of America, then the general population have little to no hope.
Lashon 20 . . .my dear girl, 70% of post-partum women leave the hospital breastfeeding their babies. So you are wrong about most women NOT breastfeeding.
In my Nutrition class in college, we learned about Seventh Day Adventists, who practice a vegetarian diet but also abstain from alcohol and tobacco AND are usually a very physically active group of people. Lots of physical therapists, doctors, etc in that group of people. And they do live, on average, longer and have a healthier life.
There is also a new study that shows limiting your daily calories to 1200 will allow you to live to 100 with little to no health problems.
There is also much evidence for the Atkin's Diet lowering cholesterol and blood lipids and sugar levels, thereby helping with heart disease and diabetes.
Here's my take on this. Genetics probably play a larger role than almost anything. My husband's grandmother lived to 97 eating a high fat diet, was not overweight, had her mind totally clear up until her last day on earth. Anecdotal perhaps but there is NO ONE way to health.
We are designed to eat meat no matter what your books tell you. Simple biology or anatomy tell you that.
BTW, the correlation that an animals digestive tract is shorter than a humans, and therefore the reason why we should not eat meat is flawed.
While it is true that the intestines of a lower animal is shorter than that of a human there are other things to take into consideration.
Humans cook their meats for the most part, therefore the protiens are denatured. We do not need the extra HCl produced by the lower animals in their stomachs due to this fact. Nor do we ingest raw bones of animals like the lower mammals do.
As for teeth, since we have hands and can use tools and weapons, we don't need to have sharp claws and teeth to kill our "prey." We do not have teeth like the vegetable eating animals, our teeth are very unique. We have teeth that are good for eating veges and meat. Have you ever seen a cows teeth or a horses teeth? Very different from ours, to say the least.
While it is important for a human to ingest vegetables for the vitamins and the fiber, the human body has nothing in it that digests plant cellulose, so it passes right through us (which is a good thing, cleans us out!).
Lashon20, after you take A&P you will be fascinated with how truly sophisticated our digestive system is! I for one am thankful it doesn't work like you say it does, because I enjoy being an omnivore, and to me that includes a nice juicy steak as often as I can get one.
Instead of just reading the propaganda that some miltant vegetarian books and websites promote, read some books on the physiology of the *human* body and you will have a better understanding of what our bodies are capable of digestion wise.
While America certainly does have a weight problem, the culprit is not any one single food group. The culprit is our collective lack of self control and discipline to not overeat and to get plenty of exercise.
I couldn't agree more. All this noise about fat taxes and banning vending machines is just that.. noise. Until our culture puts a value on reasonable meal portions, increased exercise, and moderation we will have the same problem. Banning a specific food group -- even if it is snack foods -- is too radical and not getting at the heart of the problem. The public needs to educate itself on what we are putting in our mouths.
I just read an article about a study Peter Jennings (a journalist) did on the fattening of America. He said that government subsidies should be given a very close look -- specifically highlighting federal government policies and food industry practices as encouraging the consumption of unhealthy foods. Interesting, no?
Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN
11,305 Posts
Lashon 20 . . .my dear girl, 70% of post-partum women leave the hospital breastfeeding their babies. So you are wrong about most women NOT breastfeeding.
In my Nutrition class in college, we learned about Seventh Day Adventists, who practice a vegetarian diet but also abstain from alcohol and tobacco AND are usually a very physically active group of people. Lots of physical therapists, doctors, etc in that group of people. And they do live, on average, longer and have a healthier life.
There is also a new study that shows limiting your daily calories to 1200 will allow you to live to 100 with little to no health problems.
There is also much evidence for the Atkin's Diet lowering cholesterol and blood lipids and sugar levels, thereby helping with heart disease and diabetes.
Here's my take on this. Genetics probably play a larger role than almost anything. My husband's grandmother lived to 97 eating a high fat diet, was not overweight, had her mind totally clear up until her last day on earth. Anecdotal perhaps but there is NO ONE way to health.
We are designed to eat meat no matter what your books tell you. Simple biology or anatomy tell you that.
Open your mind my dear . . .
To each their own.
steph