We’ve all heard that old school phrase before, “you are what you eat.” Surely somebody’s mother if not your own or a teacher or television character somewhere on down the line in your life must’ve uttered the phrase, “you are what you eat” in your presence , no? But let me ask you something. What in the hell have you been eating? Ya know, I’d actually always known that I had been eating bad for for a long time, I really did. But like an STD, everyone thinks it’s okay to go rough-riding Johnny Bareback with their talan-talans all willy-nilly, thinking it won’t happen to them just before they get burned. Well the same applies after a lifetime of Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, KFC, Burger King, Domino’s, Wendy’s, Popeye’s, Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, 7-Up, Mountain Dew, Snapple, Gatorade, Sobe, Campbell’s, Sara Lee, Cheeto’s, Doritos, Frito’s, Tostito’s, Snickers, Twix, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and M&Ms, supplemented by arsenic infused mass produced factory farmed chicken that’s further complemented by genetically engineered and hormone injected beef and pork, and cheese, cheese, more cheese, and before I forget, cheese whiz. But it will happen to you eventually and probably is already is happening to you currently whether you’ve realized it yet or not. Everything that you are eating is specifically designed to kill you slowly, and slowly but surely indeed it will kill you if you aren’t eating correctly. I know very few people with the personal discipline to take total control of their food intake to ensure that they’re truly eating clean It’s not cheap to eat healthy, but at the end of the day your health is essentially all you’ve really got in this world. It’s your primary asset unless you’re one of those people with the mind that can function beyond the necessity for functional mobility, and still, who wants to be that guy? Nobody I know, surely not me. What is the point of achieving the height of wealth, personal fulfillment, and success, if you won’t live it comfortably in good health? Why get rich or successful at all if all you’re going to end up doing is having a bunch of doctors, pharmacists, and health insurance cartels literally eat you up like a school of hungry piranhas? Ask yourself, is the food that you eat actually eating you from within?

For me, it all started a long time ago when I was bar-tending at an Italian restaurant in Manhattan Beach. I have a certain charm that would magically award me a big piece of tiramisu from the pastry chef almost daily when my back was turned. I had ballooned up to an unforgivable 196lbs, which at just under 5’6″ is more than a little thick. I had heartburn all the time, waking up nightly with stomach acid splashing the lower extremity of my esophagus, eating an unconscionable number of Tums or Rollaids on the regular.  I wanted to lose weight.  Before this job at the restaurant, I worked at Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach, which was an experience in which a random job saved me from myself only to get myself caught up in shenanigans stemming from my sudden popularity with the local cougar community, but I digress.  I realized at the time that I was a soda addict and that I was drinking more soda than water. I weened myself off of soda by buying Perrier or Pelegrino sparkling water and mixing it in with a splash of cranberry juice cocktail. It took about a month, but that was my first step in weening myself off from my soda addiction.

The USA is under a severe healthcare services affordability crisis right now. Had you ever entertained the notion that perhaps the system is acutely strained with rising costs in everything from visits, to treatments, to tests, to prescriptions, to insurance, to imaging, to even so much as talking to a person live on the telephone, because the American public doesn’t eat actual food? The road to salvation lies within recognizing the fact that this is no accident. If you ever find yourself wondering how to control 300,000,000+ people with access to firearms, just remember that more often than not it’s our vices that kill us in the end.

MORE TO COME!!

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Remember that? I grew up believing that statement and it ended up costing me dearly.  I was juicing apples everyday thinking that it was good for me.  You know, it’s “all natural”, right?

“Milk, it does a body good.” Remember that little doozy? Maybe not, you might not be that old.

Back when I was a kid, Health Education was always a requirement. You had to take Health to graduate both middle-school and high-school. We were taught about the 4 Basic Food Groups.

1. Dairy group
2. Meats group (fish is meat, folks)
3. Fruits & vegetables group
4. Bread & cereals group

We were indoctrinated into believing that you’re supposed to have a little something for all four of the food groups at every meal.  Breakfast became the most important meal of the day when I was a kid.  I don’t know how it was for the kids raised  before the 1970s and 80s, just my generation.  What was everyone’s favorite thoughtless breakfast food to let their kids serve themselves?  Cereal, of course, and since it was served in a bowl of milk, there’s 2 of the 4 groups right there.  Add banana slices to the cereal with a few strips of bacon, and you had all 4 of the 4 basic food groups covered right there already.   We knew eggs were bad for you, but you could always count on Madison Avenue to follow the Edward Bernays propaganda model.  Have a look. 

Later on, and I think we’re still rolling with this one, the Food Pyramid seems to have become the go to indoctrination mechanism.  But before we go getting into any pontificating or finger pointing, understand that you alone are responsible for your own health choices.  I’m just letting you know what you’re up against so that you can make better ones.  I’m not trying to tell anyone that I know everything because I’m not a nutritionist, only an individual who knew better anyway and didn’t make good choices when I knew better and ended up developing multiple sclerosis because of it.  People have a tendency to follow the experts when it comes to health experts.  But when it comes to health experts, just remember one thing…

MORE TO COME…

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