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, academia and food scientists, health care practitioners, junk and fast food companies, media and celebrity endorsers. Together, we can bring about change if everyone will work for the common good!

 

Academia and Food Scientists

 

Honesty and ethics are fundamental to health. We, the general public and consumers, have the right to know the ingredients of foods we eat and beverages we drink. Processed, junk and fast food companies have an ethical obligation to honestly inform their consumers about their products and practices, as well as work together to find healthier alternatives for saturated fats, sugary foods and beverages, and designer salts in food products to address overconsumption and food addiction. Companies rely on the expertise of food researchers and scientists, who have unique insight and provide scientific data influencing the decisions of food industry and consumers. Thus, research scientists, academia and food scientists can work together with the food industry to generate nutritious foods and promote reliable, science-based nutrition information. Hopefully, they can learn and share with ways in which food impacts health and make the world healthier.

 

Health Care Practitioners

 

The health care community is uniquely positioned and trusted by consumers, because consumers look for nutritional advice from knowledgeable and trustworthy professionals. Health care providers should encourage consumers to make individual lifestyle changes that improve their health. The health care professional, in assuming such a role, can transform their interaction on this topic from clinical resolution to thoughtful prevention, thus helping patients develop and reinforce strategies for eating and physical activity that reduce overall individual weight gain, obesity and health care risk.

 

Junk, Processed and Fast Food Companies

 

Condemning these BIG Food industries as evil or a public health menace may be dooming many more to weight gain, obesity and chronic diseases. Instead, we should encourage these food manufacturers to use the expertise of their and other food scientists in order to gain deeper knowledge on how they can help solve the current obesity epidemic, especially among the young generations. The industry should be committed to giving clear, consistent, and honest product claims, as well as working with retailers and restaurants to offer consumers relevant information about the products they purchase. The industry can create new products that meet individual nutritional needs, pull back on their use of salt, sugar and fat perhaps by imposing industry-wide limits, reformulate existing products to be healthier, provide controlled portion sizes, create guidelines for the nutritional impacts of marketing, especially on children, and end false or misleading advertising. Perhaps then we can move towards being a healthier nation.

Let us always keep in mind the science of obesity: fat carries more than twice as many calories per gram as carbohydrates and proteins, meaning just a little fat can turn a serving of food into a calorie bomb. Sugar and other refined carbohydrates like pan de sal, cakes, pastries and donuts peddled by Goldilocks, Red Ribbon and Krispy Kreme are also “problem carbs,” which charge into the bloodstream as glucose in minutes, induce an energy rush and subsequent energy crash, and can lead to a surge in appetite, endless cravings and diabetes.

Meanwhile, here is the green secret’s healthy green juice to fight obesity. A major symptom of obesity is severe acidosis of blood and tissues. This juice has potent alkalizing properties in the bloodstream and kidneys, thus promoting efficient metabolism and excretion of wastes. Make sure to scrub and wash well all vegetables and fruits before juicing. It is a MUST to use organic vegetables only.

• 3 carrots (medium)
• ½ beet
• 1 cup spinach or 3 stems malunggay leaves
• 2 cucumber (medium)
• ¼ cabbage

 

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

Food is part of our culture and daily lives, and must be “managed” along with other activities such as work, exercise and sleep. If everyone pledges to abandon the dream of a “magic bullet” cure and maintain an open mind in discussing cause and effect, we can reverse the obesity epidemic together. This way, all factors that contribute to the problem can be expounded and modi?ed to be part of the solution. 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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