DO THE TV PITCHMEN

 KEEP IT REAL?

LET’S KEEP IT REAL

Since I’ve begun writing my blog on a daily basis I seem to pay more attention to the information being offered about wellness and fitness. Earlier today, my wife and I watch a commercial that promised to burn belly fat without changing your lifestyle. In fact that was the primary selling point; get great benefits from doing nothing. You slather on the thermogenic cream and put on what looks like a girdle over your belly and hips. Leave it on for ten minutes and you lose belly fat.

Come on folks, has anyone really spent money on that?

I assume they have sold quite a few since the commercial was on during the day and not in the middle of the night. In this economy, people are spending money on weight loss products like never before. With the perception of less resources people are spending more of their money on things associated with weight loss and for medical conditions related to weight gain than ever before in our history. We may conclude 3 things from these factors.

 The first is people are desperate for a cure to the obesity disease that has overwhelmed our selves, families and communities. “Taste great and gain weight” seems to be the trend. The problem is we have been taught to request and wait for a magic bullet or the Holy Grail to health and weight loss. We have been conditioned to seek an easier solution. Truth be told, we have all benefited from advances in science and technology and the world has made great strides when it comes to developing some magic bullets, like the cell phone, remote control, and even automatic windows in our cars.

However there is also a down side to this as well. I frequently wonder what would happen if someone pulled the plug. I mean literally pulled the plug and the water, gas, and electric went down. As a society, we have become so conditioned to rely on gadgets and technology to do the job for us that I wonder if we would even have a clue how to turn on the television without a remote control in one hand and a bowl of potato chips in the other.

The honest truth is: There is no magic bullet for getting well and staying well. It is plain and simple. You must Get Up & Get Moving to get well and stay well. No one can do it for you since your formula and execution will be unique. What you need is real information and motivation.

The second factor is that there is a lot of bad information and bad products that claim to be good for you. No wonder people are confused and you are probably thinking the same thing my wife asked, “How can they lie like that and shouldn’t our government protect us from this stuff.” Isn’t this the same government that told us, certain classes of people were not human; there was a lone assassin that killed MLK and JFK; Hussein had WMD’s. I am just saying folks, let’s keep it real, we know they lie to us everyday and yet we still expect to hear the truth.

How many times will we pull that finger and get the same result. I always told my kids to pay attention and they would be fine. Now I am saying it in full voice to you.  Pay attention to what you are eating and how you feel. Pay attention to the medications you are taking and how you feel. Your body will not lie to you. Believing for one second that you can change any part of your life without doing anything different is foolish and detrimental to your health. Anybody who is trying to sell you the easy way out is dishonest and probably a crook. Pay attention and seek good information by looking at the real outcomes. When it comes to fitness and health, if it is easy it is probably false.

The third thing that came to mind is I have been blessed to be raised by parents and a community that valued hard work, support, and education. I have been fortunate to be exposed to men who worked hard every day and came home to their families to provide sustenance and protection. This has made me value hard work and, enjoy the fruits of my labor with a sense of pride, knowing that I put in the work to create the life I want. 

The challenges that I face have become my motivation. I hope to pay it forward to you. We all need motivation because the road may seem long. Stop concerning yourself with the length of the journey and think about what a story you will have to tell. I want to hear it and I am sure others do as well.

“ We were born to make manifest the glory of
God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.”

—Marianne Williamson

Will you be the one to step up and lead your family, community and friends to a healthier lifestyle? Will you work at it with me? I am inviting you to join me in creating a healthier world for yourself and those you love nearly and dearly. Is your spiritual community healthy? Get something started wherever you go. I want you to be the one to Get Up Get Moving and Get Folks to go with you on this journey to better living.

Remember,

“CHIT CHAT WON’T BURN FAT”

AMERICA'S DEBILITATING INFLUENCE

On The World's Health

The 4 M’s, 

Mc Donalds, Microsoft, Medications and MTV

 have promoted a sedentary lifestyle and are explicit contributors to our poor health.

People around the world are hungry for American products—movies, television shows and cigarettes—and they love our food. American fast-food restaurants are sprouting up worldwide. McDonald’s announced its plan to open 700 new restaurants in China by 2013. 

As our eating habits become fashionable throughout the world, so do our health concerns. In December 2010, the European Commission reported that 50% of European women were obese. Food corporations spend millions of dollars to influence people in developing countries to consume more of these modern foods and abandon their traditional diets.

Overweight people now outnumber undernourished people in the world. The World Health Organization’s estimates agree: globally, there are about 1.5 billion overweight adults, and 500 million of them are obese; in contrast, about 800 million do not have enough to eat.

Even Africa, a continent previously thought of as being synonymous with hunger and food scarcity, is seeing a drastic rise in obesity and diabetes. More than one-third of African women are now overweight.

Creating A Turning Point

If we want to be healthy, we need to eat nutritious foods. It really isn’t difficult. Unfortunately, billions of dollars are spent every day trying to seduce us not to do it. The food industry, drug companies, politicians, civil servants and even the medical profession all have strong vested interests in making money and not in protecting our health.

In one way or another, almost all the sources of information we would expect to support our quest for overall health are contaminated for reasons of financial gain. Face it America, being sick and overweight keeps corporate profits healthy. But when will the world wake up to the reality that healthy food creates healthy people.

We see it in the papers, on television commercials and hear all sorts of people talking about it. Sales of organic produce in the U.S. increased from $1 billion in 1990 to $24.8 billion in 2009. 22 Corporations are responding. The success of stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s and the incorporation of organic sections at Wal-Mart illustrate that consumers are concerned about their health and the quality of their food. Concern is not enough; we must educate our communities so they are able to make real healthy choices.

When individuals, like you and me, stand up for improving our own health, things do change. If we buy our food from health-food stores, farmers’ markets, and don’t spend our money on unhealthful foods, corporations get the message loud and clear. Don’t become a silent victim within the system. Use your money wisely and strategically to make the statement, “We want better choices.”

We are killing ourselves, and our children are suffering because of culture that calls for instant gratification. This we see in everything in our society today. Everything is made to be faster/easier, this is why we have fast food rather than cook; hop in the car rather than walk a block or so; take medications rather change our lifestyle. Creating and living a healthy lifestyle is not easy but it certainly takes less effort and money than treating an unhealthy lifestyle.

I challenge each of my readers to change one thing today and one more next week that will promote better health for you and your family. Me I have a nicotine patch on and I am serious about quitting this unhealthy habit. I am heading into week 3 and doing quite well. Write me and let me know what you are going to change and we can march towards better health together as an online community. Change one thing per week or per month but please, please start now.

Get up Get Moving and Remember

“CHIT CHAT WON’T BURN FAT”

Excerpts from Integrative Nutrition

MEDICATION VERSUS

Nutrition and Exercise

Something has gone terribly wrong in the pharmaceutical industry today. Medications in America are increasingly expensive. Every month a new magic pill emerges, and we are bombarded with commercials for drugs that cite side effects that sound worse than the original ailment. Does this make any sense to anyone out there?

Does this sound familiar? “Warning: may cause nausea, headaches, constipation, dizziness, drowsiness or in extreme cases death.” In the case of one drug they mention sleep driving. Are you for real; sleeping while driving? Americans spent $230 billion on prescription drugs in 2005. Pharmaceuticals are ranked No. 3 on the Fortune 500 list of most profitable industries in the country.

You name the health concern and a drug is out there for it. Drugs help us control cholesterol, lower blood pressure, regulate the menstrual cycle, prevent osteoporosis and end acid reflux. The idea that these drugs are helping you is a short term illusion created by the instant gratification of symptom relief. You may get the same relief from nutritional changes and have no risk of side effects. They only work as a band-aid to a larger problem.

She says profits for pharmaceutical manufacturers really took off in 1980, when new legislation allowed university medical researchers and big drug companies to form an alliance. Before that time, taxpayers funded drug research, and findings were available to any pharmaceutical company that wanted to use them.

With the new law, universities could patent their discoveries and grant exclusive licenses to drug companies. Suddenly, unbiased research disappeared. Then, Congress passed another series of laws extending monopoly rights for brand-name drugs to 14 years, another big win for the pharmaceutical industry.

Under this law, pharmaceutical companies could market their drugs without competition for 14 years, charging whatever they liked. Only after the 14-year period could companies sell generic copies of the drug. This law allowed government granted monopolies in the form of patents and FDA-approved exclusive marketing rights.

As profits increased from these new policies, so did the political clout of drug companies. Claiming to help with a particular condition, there is another way—a healthy path that involves nutritious food, physical activity and a healthy life.

By 1990, the industry had unprecedented control over its own fortunes. If it didn’t like something that its regulatory body, the FDA, decreed, it could force change on the policy through direct pressure or friends in Congress. The new found clout of the pharmaceutical industry led to a transformation in the ethos of medical school.

Medical schools began searching for commercial opportunities and now welcome big sponsorships from drug companies. Pharmaceutical sales teams offer presentations to medical students, teaching them about the benefits of their products. Future doctors may have idealistic notions about preventing illness and making Americans healthier, but many of them graduate believing modern drugs are the quickest and most effective way to cure any symptom.

Every year, 2 million Americans become seriously ill from toxic reactions to incorrectly prescribed medicines. Hello, where is the FDA? They appear to be overly focused on helping drug companies maximize profits rather than protecting consumer interests. Almost no one in the government is asking the right questions.

People don’t need more drugs. Maybe they need to understand disease prevention, the importance of exercise and how to eat a healthy, balanced diet. The fact that so many people are on medication should be questioned, discussed, and addressed. The greatest threat to our communities is not violence it is our poor health and the conspiracy to keeps us sick.

The reason I share this information is not to blame the FDA or drug companies. I want the American public to wake up to the fact that our system is broken. I want people to understand that even though a pill is out there claiming to help with a particular condition, there is another way—a healthy path that involves nutritious food, physical activity and a healthier life.

What I find so curious is that with all the money we spend on medical bills and pharmaceuticals each year, our life expectancy is nearly the same as Cuba’s. To be exact, life expectancy in the United States is 78.0 and in Cuba it is 77.1. We need to wake up and make change for ourselves. The health care industry is broken and they have no reason to support your healthier choices.

So folks what are you going to do? Will continue to take the medications and suffer the outcomes of poor medical practice? Or will you decide to take action and create a healthier environment for you and your family. Go to your cabinet get rid of the junk first, dairy second and wheat third. While you are up Stay Up Get Moving and remember,

Source: Integrative Nutrition

"CHIT CHAT WON'T BURN FAT"