The Health of Our Nation, and What's Not Being Done About It

As with many aspects of how the U.S. operates, our initial expectation is often times different than the reality. Cash crops run our nation; corn, wheat, and soy products are used to create the seemingly endless supply of packaged goods that are plunging our nation into a state of increasing obesity. The foods that are made out of these products are consistently high in empty calories, high in sodium, and of course, very high in sugar. At the same time, these packaged goods lack many nutrients that the body needs for its regular functions; such as fiber, calcium, iron, and vitamins that are absorbed naturally (and not the kind that is concentrated into a pill.)


It seems that the problem has been so apparent for so long, so why hasn't it been fixed yet? Shouldn't we be able to just redirect more government spending from the current major cash crops, over to the other healthier alternatives? Not only do we need a change in government, we also need a change in culture. As American's we need to realize the truth behind "ready to eat" snacks, and divert our hunger towards a more beneficial alternative. In our culture it seems as if the norm is to always be moving and to always be working, and as a result this leaves very little time for not only taking the time to choose what we may think is the right thing to eat, but it also restricts our time spent eating as well. Eating slower has many health benefits, but that is a blog post for another day. We cannot simply point the finger at the government for all of the issues regarding this topic, because we are at fault in many respects as well.



Obesity is now rivaling hunger as a global issue, and many countries in the world seem to be following the same pattern of unhealthy eating. If we are to reverse that seemingly irreversible damage that the american diet has enacted upon its citizens, we need to make our government care. We must emphasize the sheer importance of a balanced diet, not one that purely consists of only a couple of the food groups. The main goal we should have in mind is to not only improve the health of our nature, but to ensure that our future generation has the right mindset about healthy eating so that they too can lead us into a brighter future.


Sources:
"Do You Have ANY Idea How Absurd U.S. Farm Subsidies Are?" Mercola.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2015.

"What Vitamins and Supplements Can and Can't Do." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2015.

"Zen Habits : Breathe." Zen Habits RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2015.