Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Life as a Nutritionist – Food INC

Today I found the rare opportunity to sit and watch a documentary with my oldest son. Being a mom of four children means that daytime TV is infrequent, and often continuously interrupted with requests, spills and the bustling activity of busy household.  We are a new family to the world of Netflix and I was thrilled to discover that there are several documentaries I have anticipated watching.  Food INC was one of those documentaries and late this morning, I decided it was as good a time as any to sit and watch this documentary on how our food is being produced and the implications mass production has on our health and the environment.

At the end of viewing this information with my son,(he was shocked to say the least and is at this present moment searching for Genetically modified corn as an ingredient in his favourite foods) I feel happy and yet somewhat apprehensive to have shared this information with him.  Is this information appropriate for an 11 year old boy?  I am not sure many parents would agree 100% with this content, but I believe (aside from some footage of the butchering of animals) this information could be incredibly valuable as my hopes is that it will impact his choices and purchases in the future.  As consumers we MUST remember our every single one of our purchases support the industry that supplies our products, food included. 

It’s a sad realization that our farmers are pressured to use GMO seeds and spray thousands of pounds of chemicals on these foods as they grow.  It is an even sadder fact, that there are families starving in our communities simply because they lack the money to purchase food, not because there is a shortage of it. Or they are forced to fill their bodies with cheap, processed and toxic foods because a burger on the dollar menu in reality costs less than a head of broccoli!

Modern farming revolves around FASTER, FATTER, BIGGER AND CHEAPER. 

They want to Grow Faster

Grow Fatter Animals

Produce Bigger crops

And do it as cheaply as possible

This unfortunately Results in

Fast Food

Fatter Bodies

Bigger Health Consequences

Cheaper labour resulting in a population that can only afford the garbage food of society.

The meat industry alone creates such a toxic product, that tainted meat with acid resistant strains of E-Coli is the norm not the exception.  This is such a problem with the modern meat industry that people die every year from E-Coli poisoning from not just meat products but even from vegetable products that have been cross contaminated with these strains of E-Coli from the meat industry (e.g. Spinach).  On top of all this it is estimated that 70% of meat is treated with chemical Ammonia to help manage the bacteria content (which is entirely the result of mass farming and butchering). If you`re not sure about the health consequences of Ammonia, simply Google it.

I had to pause this documentary at one point and take a few moments to collect myself, as a mother describes how she lost her child (still in diapers) in just 12 days after eating a hamburger tainted with E-Coli.  The documentary then goes on to explain how every hamburger you eat at a local fast food restaurant is made up of the meat of at least 1000 cows!

Much of this is hardly new information for me, but the fact that it is so well explained in this documentary gives me hope that there is a potential for a different future.  We are ``waking up``, and despite the fact that the food industry wants us to remain ignorant consumers of their poisonous foods, we are learning the truth and the truth gives us a great deal of power!

I highly encourage you to take the time in the very near future to watch the documentary Food INC.  In the meantime I also want to encourage you to make the following Three changes:

1)      Always Choose Organic! As much as possible. This is a food industry that truly has our best interests in mind.  Look for organic before you consider anything else.

2)      Shop Local. Did you know it’s estimated that the amount of energy required to transport a single cow to the processing plant is 60-70 litres of oil.  We are blessed to be surrounded with good Canadian Farmers who treat their livestock with care and grow produce as best they can. Support your local farmer and let them know you want local, organic food for your family.  Farmers markets are a great place to shop every week.

3)      Avoid Junk Food.  Junk foods include chips, most cereal, granola bars, soda, French fires, donuts, most crackers, white flour products and anything with food colouring or added sugar and everything from your local fast food restaurant.  Basically if it does not look the way the earth provided it for you, it’s damaging to your health.  This is a hard one for most families. Working with a reputable Nutritionist in your area is a great way to learn how to do this well!

I don’t need to tell you there is a serious problem with the health of many people around us. Cancer is tearing families’ apart, food companies are feeding us chemical laden foods that make us addicted, fat and destroying our chances for a healthy future.  The hardest realization is that we are funding this every time we make an uneducated purchase.

You however have the power to feel the benefits of health every single day and the power to help create a better world and environment for your children and grandchildren.  We have that power in each and every one of us; we only need to do this by making better choices and being aware of what we support each time we do!

 

Cancer Education Course (Certified Wellness Co-ordinator for the prevention of Cancer) Sept 15th, 2014

Cost $295

Includes: Text, course material, anti-cancer cooking class and anti-cancer lunch. Each participant will also create their own cancer prevention programs.


For healthy living advice join Alisa’s blog at: www.nutrinityhealth.blogspot.ca
Alisa Herriman is a Registered Nutritionist, Certified Professional Cancer Coach and mom of 4 children. Alisa is a fully insured practitioner who has spent the last 9 years working with individuals and groups. She offers several courses through Georgian College including both diabetes and cancer education programs for health care professionals.  Alisa is also a professor at Edison Institute of Nutrition.  She provides corporate wellness services for many local employers. You can learn more about Alisa at www.AlisaHerriman.com  email: nutrinityhealth@hotmail.com 

https://www.facebook.com/Foodinc 
http://www.hungryforchange.tv/ 

 

 

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