Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22: 6)

 

Is it possible to solve the obesity epidemic?

 

TO TRULY PREVENT/CONTROL OBESITY AND WEIGHT GAIN, WE NEED LARGE-SCALE, MULTI-FACETED TEAM EFFORT! A POSITIVE CHANGE MUST COME FROM ALL PARTS OF SOCIETY: government, schools and the department of education, individuals and families, health care practitioners, academe and food scientists, non-profit organizations, junk and fast food companies, media, neighborhoods and communities. Together, we can bring about change if everyone will work for the common good!

Individuals and Families – Family is the foundation of society! If we ask any parent what the most important thing in our life is, I think all of us would say our children. It baffles me, then, when I see overweight or obese kids. On one hand, parents care so much for them. On the other hand, they allow abuse to occur in their children’s bodies by bringing them to McDonalds, Jollibee, KFC and the like. If not feeding them outside the home with fast food, they feed them at home with Lucky Me.

In the last ten years, I have seen the number of young men and women that are affected by cancer, elevated cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, heart disease and fatty liver due to weight gain and obesity grow exponentially. After conducting research on this issue, we found that for men and women aged 60 and above, most if not all their foods were home cooked and the ingredients home grown. They had no highly processed, junk and fast foods, television was not available and children spent a good amount of time in physical activities. Rose Fritzgerald Kennedy said, “It’s wrong for parents to bury their children. It should be the other way around.” In the last five years, this scene has become more common.

Today we live in a toxic food environment, a nutritional wasteland. Eating real meals has become a thing of the past. Rather, we rely heavily on instant meals. Industrialization and modernization have pushed us, especially our working mothers, to resort or believe that processed foods are the answer to today’s fast-paced and busy life. Fast foods are more convenient and readily available- that’s what it really comes down to in an ever increasing 24-hour society. This convenience, however, comes at a high price.

Remember that when we pick up junk foods at the supermart or burger at a fast-food drive-through, we are paying to harm our own health, our children’s health and reducing our family’s quality of life because the toxicity of eating synthetic chemicals triggers illness.

As an adult, it’s up to us to set the example for making wise choices in order to teach our kids to make wise choices for themselves. The most logical way to stop this lethal trend is to start with us parents. Children’s bad habits are passed on by parents, so it is the parents’ responsibility to adopt and teach good habits. Given the fact that the processed, junk and fast food companies are engineered with addictive ingredients, we still have a choice. YOU and I are responsible for the food we eat. We decide on the food we feed ourselves and families.

There is really no excuse for anyone to eat fast food rather than wholesome food. We can start going to the market to buy real food, grow gardens and cook at home. Not only is this more nutritious, but it is also cheaper than junk and fast foods. Of course we must consider the time, effort, schedule coordination, and ability it takes to shop, cook, serve, and clean up. But anyone who truly wants to stay away from chronic disease and loves our children will start cooking meals at home IMMEDIATELY! We are fully responsible for what goes into our bodies and our children’s mouths. The great advantage of Filipino households is that we have extended families, and we can all help each other with eating healthier. Let us start our child with breast milk, and home-prepared baby foods instead of bottled foods with no nutrition. Until they become adults. . .

• Let us choose healthier foods for our families (fresh fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates like sweet potatoes and saba, healthy fats like virgin coconut oil, fresh-caught fish, beans and free range, organic chicken).
• Completely avoid or limit unhealthy foods (simple carbohydrates such as white bread, white rice, donuts and pastries, fast and processed foods).
• Encourage increase of physical activities.
• Limit television time, screen time and other “sit time.”
  Help improve their sleep with early bed times.

Meanwhile, here is the green secret’s healthy green juice to fight obesity. It is loaded with powerful nutrients. (Make sure to scrub and wash well all vegetables and fruits before juicing). It is a MUST to use organic vegetables only.

• ½ grapefruit (juiced)
• ½ small pineapple
• 1 cup spinach or 3 stems malunggay leaves
• ½ cup parsley
• 2 celery stalk

 

Juice all ingredients with your masticating juicer. Stir and serve at room temperature or chilled, as desired.

Remember, a green juice a day keeps the doctor away. We cannot individually change the direction the world is going, but we can change how our children function with conscious and responsible food choices. For more information or questions, email me at [email protected]

 

 

Christine E.V. Gonzalez is a doctor of naturopathic medicine and holds PhDs
in holistic nutrition and natural medicine. LLM (MS Environmental Laws & Labor)
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