There's an epidemic of unhealthy diets destroying millions of children and adults in this country. We all must inoculate ourselves from this dreaded virus. To do this, we need some information and resources on how to begin buying and eating healthy foods.
The current debate over health care reminds us of the importance of having good health, and of not ending up in a medical facility where our lives depend on the limits and coverage of our insurance. So it's important for us to do every thing we can not to become ill and need medical attention
Today, there are many young people, particularly, young, inner-city and rural girls, who are fully developed by the time they enter junior high school.
They are typically overweight, with bloated stomachs that require second looks to determine if they're pregnant. Unfortunately, some studies speculate they are the victims of hormones from the food they're eating.
There's little debate about the harmful effects of daily diets of fast foods, fried meats, chips, candy, ice cream, and so on have on poor, inner-city and rural families of all races, but seemingly more startling and devastating is the impact on African American and Latino families.
When we are young we don't think very much about dying, much less about eating unhealthy foods. We think we're going to live forever or that we will never really grow old.
Unfortunately, we do grow old and die. Frequently our deaths are premature and caused by unhealthy lifestyles. Many of us succumb to debilitating illnesses --diabetes, high blood pressure, strokes, kidney failure, and so forth -- resulting from years of unhealthy diets and emotional stressful lifestyles.
The current debate of the affordability of health care for everyone is laudable. If, for no other reason than it makes us think about health care, it causes us to look at how we're treating our own bodies and minds.
Now, whether it will do anything to spur us to changing our diets or engaging in daily exercise, that remains to be seen. Most of us are stuck on our lifestyles.
Some of us, like myself, are vegans. We are striving to be mindful about what we eat and also what we think. It's a choice available for us to choose. All of us don't have to make the same choice. There are other ways to have healthy diets and relatively clean minds.
Nevertheless, we must become cognizant of the deleterious effects certain foods have on our bodies and mind. And regardless to the government paid or unpaid heath care, we still must make some significant changes in our diets and our responses to food and exercise.
Beyond the political rhetoric, there lies us. We are real people fighting to live in a world where we don't always have the financial resources to be treated special.
No one is going to treat us as if we are important, because to society, the world can function without us. In other words, we are not some important political person who's needed to pass laws to govern how we should be treated when we become ill and require medical attention.
Meanwhile, if we flip the script on them, and begin to treat ourselves as very important people, then, hopefully, we will begin to take better care of our health. If we don't do this, then we must surrender ourselves to a health care system and take our chances.
Perhaps if we took better care of ourselves, we wouldn't need to suffer needlessly. We could minimize our illnesses by changing our diets, exercising more, and practicing daily meditation or prayer to mitigate our stress.
We don't have to be sick; at least at the rates we are now.We are responsible for the foods we eat, the drinks we drink, the anger, the sedentary lifestyles, and the beliefs that someone really cares if we are ill.
We can do something ourselves to prevent most of our illness. There are enough resources available on the Internet, television, books, health food stores, and so on to guide us on how to select healthy foods. And then we can share this information with our neighbors and friends whom we notice are eating too much unhealthy foods.
Here's a simply formula, not a medical one, for having healthy lifestyles:
1. Eat and drink in moderation.
2. Lighten up on eating fried foods, particularly meats and french fries.
3. Include lots of fruits and vegetables in our meals.
4. Eat oatmeal or another suitable cereal for breakfast.
5. Eliminate soft drinks, drugs and cigarettes.
6. Read the labels on all the products before buying them.
7. Eliminate color additives from our food.
8. Spend at least one hour each day in meditation or prayer.
9. Spend at least 30-60 minutes a day doing physical exercise.
10. Treat yourself like you plan to live for a long time.
These suggestions are not from a medical doctor. They are common sense things we can do to improve our health. And by doing them, we minimize the risks for illnesses.
This doesn't mean we won't ever become ill, it means we are mindful of our bodies and minds.And of the foods we eat and thoughts we think.
Enlightenment means becoming mindful of what we eat, drink, and think. It requires us to accept personal responsibility for our lifestyles.
It's important to remember that we cannot buy good health, we have to earn it.
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