Posts Tagged ‘food’

Obesity has a connection to the English language. They have found that the countries with the highest obesity rates are the USA, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland. This list is from the highest to lowest, America is number one. Goes to show America is first in something even if it is only fatness.

The one thing that all these countries have in common is that they are English-speaking nations with the exception of Mexico. The latest Organization for Economic Co-Operating and Development (OECD) report on obesity rates of 33 countries 6 English-speaking ones are in the top 7 of the list.

Among the ten slimmest countries in the OECD are Japan, Korea, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Austria.

The implications for American’s are loud and clear learn a new language, and stop trying to teach everyone English. The real problem is the exposure to the material that you can read, view, and understand when you speak the language of the country that can fill, pasteurize, put in pouches, blister  pack, and vacuum pack, shrink wrapped, genetically modify, color, preserve, and chemically imitate flavors to bring it to market as food.

We need fresh ideas to help stem the tide, so we don’t become the biggest exporters of lard. America is flexible like a rock when it comes to taking responsibility on solutions to the 21^st century need to change food packaging and manufacturing.

Currently America can crush competition on high shelf life products. We can win the battle on the economy front because we have the technical resources for thermoform packaging, production, delivery, and the means to gauge global viability and vulnerability. We may stand tall in the market, but we also stand wide, with waist sizes growing by the day.

Obesity is connected to the English language, because it may well be the language of greed in the food packing and manufacturing industry.

Chefsters goes beyond Showtime, its accessibility to some real time lessons in survival for the next generation.

The Next Generation

The next generation is going to live in a very fragile world. They will need training to live in this new world. This is the first generation being introduced to a new model of living. Shaping their future are forces that aren’t capable, dedicated, or passionate about their wellbeing. The decision makers are openly corporate, incredibly powerful, and profit driven.

Food The Arbitrator

Food is the arbitrator and tool of health for the upcoming generation. Never before has the emphasis on this commodity been more important. In times of famine this was always an issue. Now, in times of plenty it has become a complicated relationship. So much so that it now can be characterized as either an addiction, or a psychological problem such as bulimia, anorexia, or obsession. We are in uncharted waters where a healthy relationship with food holds the key to our health, our children’s future, and probably our planet’s future.

Being obsessed with what a scale says is not the least of this generation’s problem. The topic du jour is dieting. Health is the real arbitrator of our future. 

Food Rules

Unless you know the rules you are overwhelmed with choices. It is obvious we are eating over processed and chemically-saturated food. It is more than making us fat, it is killing us. Unless our kids understand the connection between what they eat and their future, it is mute. If this sounds simple, it is actually not. It will take a great deal of effort to get this message across.

According to all statistics it is an exaggeration to think that anyone is listening to the message. Just eat real food is something that now has to be ingrained. This is a generation that thinks food is fast, prepared, and loaded with sodium and sugar for flavor. Bright colored cereals, candy, baked goods, get their attention, while vibrant plant foods sit on the shelves, and on their plates.

Our children like us are addicted to the sweeteners and manufactured additives that their palate is use to. What they are consuming is edible substances that are a far cry from food.

Real Food

One of the things that this culture must realize is real food is something that is hard to find in packages. Even eating in restaurants will insure that you will be ingesting exorbitant amounts of sugar and salt.

Real food means some cooking skills, preparing and storing skills. These are a little more time consuming than opening and nuking a dinner. Raw vegetables and fruits are terrific choices, but this generation needs skills so they can choose all sorts of healthy fare.

In fact they need to be educated to what is real food, and why it is so important for them to make the right choices.

Food Educators

The only food educators that our children are exposed to are TV commercials. This has to change, because the only educators that care beyond the profit incentive are the parents, and schools.

Parents have given this generation life, now they must save their lives. One of the ways to do that is by equipping this generation with the knowledge and tools to take care of their health. This is a big job, in the age of fast media messages, and little family time we need help.

That is why Chefsters isn’t Showtime, it is lifetime learning that will coach our children and help them identify what good food is and what it will do for them.

It will empower them to eviscerate the television commercials and join the health revolution that Jamie Oliver, Chuck Pardee and the Chefters staff is starting. In the Chefsters kitchen is where amazing things are happening for this generation.

Phytonutrients your personal pharmacy means that it doesn’t take a hike to the Pharmacy; just a few steps to your garden will help heal what ails you.

phytonutrients

Phytonutrients are compounds that naturally occur in plants and provide a range of potential health benefits. It’s believed that the health benefits come from the pigments in fruits and vegetables that give them their vibrant colors. By boosting phytonutrient intake, it can help decrease the risk for certain chronic diseases, including cardiovascular, cancer, and diabetes.

A study, supported by the Nutrilite Health Institute and presented at the Experimental Biology Meeting, April 25, in Anaheim, California, found that despite the availability of a wide range of foods that contain phytonutrients, many Americans are getting phytonutrients from a relatively small number of specific foods that are not necessarily the most concentrated sources.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise; processed food is the food group of choice. With that being the main stay of the American diet, eating has become risky. There is no understanding of what are the primary foods for the human body to function at peak performance.

The next generation will have no compelling evidence, because this is seldom stated as the cause of ill health. The drop in plant consumption has resulted in many of the chronic health conditions plaguing us.

Produce Intake Among Americans

A previous study conducted by the Nutrilite Health Institute concluded that 8 in 10 Americans have a Phytonutrient gap, which translates to a lack of fruit and vegetable intake. If such great things come in small packages that could result in better health you would think that we would partake of it.

If fruits and vegetables were pharmaceuticals we would have the medical community touting the remarkable results that it produced.

Common drugs accelerates mental and physical decline in the elderly. Yet, changing to a good diet curtails both of these events. Pulling all the research together shows that produce promotes health and longevity.

Phytonutrients offer powerful protection optimizing digestive, circulatory, hormone function, bladder, liver, pancreas and vision function.

With all the health giving benefits produce intake which is the foundation of health is quite low. This is more than an apple a day will keep the doctor away. It literally is the fountain of youth that everyone is so intent on seeking. It is right in front of your nose, the plant food that lines the produce department of super-markets, and the farmers markets that spot the landscape.

A Short List of Potential Live Extending Produce

Beta-carotene – carrots

Beta-cryptoxanthin – oranges/orange juice

Lutein/zeaxanthin – spinach

Ellagic acid – strawberries

Isothiocyanates- mustard

For each of these phytonutrients, however, there is a more highly concentrated food that could be chosen instead:

• Beta-carotene – sweet potatoes
  Sweet potatoes have nearly double the beta-carotene compared to carrots in a single serving.
• Beta-cryptoxanthin – papaya
  A serving of fresh papaya has roughly 15 times the beta-cryptoxanthin of an orange.
• Lutein/zeaxanthin – kale
  By substituting cooked kale for raw spinach, it is possible to triple lutein/zeaxanthin intake.
• Ellagic acid – raspberries
  Serving per serving, raspberries have roughly three times the ellagic acid compared to strawberries.
• Isothiocyanates – watercress
  Just one cup of watercress as the basis for a salad has about the same level of isothiocyanates as four teaspoons of mustard.