"It is easy to beat up on corporations. But, keep in mind that without us people consuming what the corporations are selling, they can't make their profits. Right? Which means it is really we the people who are largely to be blamed if we think something is wrong. As an example, imagine what would happen if we decided that drinking carbonated sugary drinks is unhealthy and, therefore, stopped buying them. But we don't, and Coca Cola makes its profits. Yes?"
Coca Cola makes awesome ads, yes. It tempts the kids, true.
I remember being a kid and practically salivating after the likes of Limca. That's what we kids do. But, as adults, we have the power to resist, right?
It is also a selfish act to say no to those products. It is our health, dammit. We can and should say "fuck off" to all those companies that try their best to sell us crap that is unhealthy.
However, it is tough to beat back that biological response to those unhealthy products that are all sugar and salt. Did you notice that those corporations never attempt to make gazillions from selling other tastes like sour and bitter? As biological creatures we respond to sugar and salt. It reflects even in the language we use. We sugarcoat things. We share salty gossip.
But, first, we do need to acknowledge the reality:
an overabundance of simple carbohydrates, and sugar in particular, is the No. 1 problem in modern diets. Sugar is the driving force behind the diabetes and obesity epidemics.Keep in mind that sugar is a carbohydrate. And one that quickly rushes through the system. Our affluence has created this problem!
And, for most of us, the problem begins right at the very beginning of the day:
Many breakfast foods that sound as if they’re healthy are in fact laden with sugar. ... In the United States, as the science writer Gary Taubes says, breakfasts have become “lower-fat versions of dessert.”Yep, this is all the more an American problem!
In much of the world, including large parts of Asia, breakfast is a savory meal, not a sweet one, just as lunch and dinner are.When I visit India, I am often reminded of the awesome range of savory breakfast. But, even there, I am regimented. I end up having either idlis and vadai, or puri/potato and vadai. Note that I have vadai in either combo--it is packed with protein, which is the best way to start the day. If only I could do that here in the US! ;)
It’s normal to have some sugar in your diet. The problem is all of the processed sugar that has snuck into the modern diet. It’s so prevalent that you need a strategy for avoiding it. Once you come up with a strategy, eating a healthy amount of sugar isn’t nearly as hard as it sometimes seems.Not hard at all. You can have your cake and eat it too ;)
