Image by d70focus via Flickr
Why do we blindly accept that the major food companies, of which only a handful supply 70% of our food, are looking after our better interest? There is strong evidence they are not, and you should be paying attention so that your health doesn't suffer and you are free to enjoy your retirement in the best of health.
40 years ago, almost 20% of our paychecks went to buying food and only 5% went to health care. Today those numbers are reversed as we spend about 9% on food and 20% on health care. Very soon health care (if left unchanged) will cost 50% of our income. Fast food, food additives, growth hormones in food, have added significantly to the overall poor health of the population and Obesity, cancer, heart disease and other health problems are a direct result.
Emmy winning director, Robert Kenner , has recently produced a documentary exploring the food we eat called Food Inc. and it is an excellent expose on this subject. It also resembles in part, a horror film as he documents how chickens we buy from our supermarkets grow in windowless coops in 6 weeks grow so big so fast, they actually fall over as their legs cannot support their weight by the time they are harvested. Now, if you take that chicken, slather it with flour and spices and deep fry it in fat (Lard, which is mostly saturated and trans fat), you get what passes for food in our daily diets. Add to that some potatoes, grown with anti pesticides built in through trans generation experimentation, and deep fry those in the same fat, as a side dish. Then drink one full cup of pure, granulated sugar (which has absolutely "no" food value but lots of calories or "empty calories") dissolved into a flavored drink, and you have the typical North American meal. A meal that actually "exceeds" the total calories an adult male should have daily, and believe me, they are not good calories. I have not even mentioned the amount of salt in such a meal, that's before you shake raw salt on it.
Why would you pay so much attention to your Retirefund if this is the type of food you eat daily? Eating such foods daily will ensure you don't get to enjoy your retirement at all, that's if you make it to retirement. Why? I'm glad you asked. Obesity, Diabetes, heart disease, cancer and stroke, to name just the big five reasons. In a nutshell, dead people don't need retirement funds!
During this recession, there has been a marked increase in people growing their own vegetables in back yard gardens, even raising their own, "free range" chickens. Now I know that, if you live in a city, this may not be possible, however such products can be found in your grocery store if you look for them.
Certainly, there are companies producing such food and this niche market is growing fast, so look for one of these companies that may fit your retirefund. Your body, mind and spirit will thank you for it, as well as your wallet. Sadly, many refuse to change their diets and refuse to exercise. Your retirefund can actually benefit from this. Look for companies utilizing good science, that are tackling the obesity epidemic, heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes. Small companies with great science are the best as they are either destined to grow substantially, or be taken over by one of the industry giants.
Now, for your own health benefit, here is a great resource site where you can get great advice for free, on keeping a healthy diet, without doing the Hollywood shuffle. Go to the Canada Food Guide now.
Get healthy, stay healthy, exercise, eat right, love, laugh and enjoy your life and your retirement. After all, you deserve nothing less.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=3994c127-bbc8-4dab-9ad2-e95914e049a9)
No comments:
Post a Comment