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Monday, June 6, 2011
The Unveiling: Paint is Done
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Another Take on the New MyPlate and Federal Farm Subsidies
Another one of my favorite sources for perspectives on food and nutrition, in addition to Marion Nestle's website, is The Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine.
This week they have once again brought to the surface the extreme politics behind the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans with this stark image:
You can read more about it here: Breaking News! USDA Replaces Food Pyramid with MyPlate | PCRM.org.
Keep in mind that the vast majority of grains produced in this country end up on our plates in the form of highly processed, nutrient-devoid substances resembling food. The government secretly, or not so secretly, hopes these are the grain products we will purchase and consume when they tell us to "eat more grains." Ironically, the minimally processed grains that are actually good for us have far smaller profit margins and are therefore produced in far smaller quantities resulting in higher cost to consumers. Though that interpretation of cost depends on how the cost is calculated. If one considers the true end cost, including the dollars spent on healthcare to treat diet-related diseases, then the choice is a no-brainer.
Just imagine how the collective health of the country might look if the government was putting our tax dollars toward subsidizing produce growers instead of the meat and dairy industries, as well as the production of the sugar and oil that go into the processed foods this country is consuming by the bushels.
Instead our government prefers to ride the merry-go-round of promoting the production of disease- and obesity-causing foods which then contribute to the billions of dollars that must be funneled into our healthcare system to treat diet-related conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. What's wrong with this picture? Nothing if you raise cattle, corn, or are a top exec at a health insurance company.
This week they have once again brought to the surface the extreme politics behind the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans with this stark image:
You can read more about it here: Breaking News! USDA Replaces Food Pyramid with MyPlate | PCRM.org.
Keep in mind that the vast majority of grains produced in this country end up on our plates in the form of highly processed, nutrient-devoid substances resembling food. The government secretly, or not so secretly, hopes these are the grain products we will purchase and consume when they tell us to "eat more grains." Ironically, the minimally processed grains that are actually good for us have far smaller profit margins and are therefore produced in far smaller quantities resulting in higher cost to consumers. Though that interpretation of cost depends on how the cost is calculated. If one considers the true end cost, including the dollars spent on healthcare to treat diet-related diseases, then the choice is a no-brainer.
Just imagine how the collective health of the country might look if the government was putting our tax dollars toward subsidizing produce growers instead of the meat and dairy industries, as well as the production of the sugar and oil that go into the processed foods this country is consuming by the bushels.
Instead our government prefers to ride the merry-go-round of promoting the production of disease- and obesity-causing foods which then contribute to the billions of dollars that must be funneled into our healthcare system to treat diet-related conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. What's wrong with this picture? Nothing if you raise cattle, corn, or are a top exec at a health insurance company.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
USDA's New Food Plate - Beautiful!
Marion Nestle, one of my nutrition heroes, wrote today on her blog, Food Politics, about the unveiling of the USDA's new Food Plate image. Finally, a very simple graphic that anyone can understand. As posted on Nestle's blog, even the "instructions" that go along with it are easy to read and follow.
Previous attempts by the USDA at educating the public about nutrition ended up looking something like spaghetti with convoluted messages that attempted to avoid roiling politics within the food and agriculture industries.
The new Food Plate doesn't entirely avoid industry politics, but it is less in-your-face. It is important to remember the fine line the USDA must walk. Not only is the USDA responsible for establishing dietary guidelines for Americans, they are also charged with promoting the heavily subsidized U.S. agriculture industry. Think corn and all of its dozens, if not hundreds, of by-products, as well as dairy, and meat producers to name a few. These industries are represented by some of the most powerful lobbies in country and have billions of dollars behind them. Makes it quite difficult for the USDA to even suggest that perhaps meat and dairy are not necessary daily components of every American's diet. Many would argue they should not be.
But I digress. I think the new Food Plate is about as good as it gets coming from a government agency as wrought with conflicts of interests as the USDA happens to be and for getting the well-balanced diet message across to Americans of all ages. Good job, USDA!
Previous attempts by the USDA at educating the public about nutrition ended up looking something like spaghetti with convoluted messages that attempted to avoid roiling politics within the food and agriculture industries.
The new Food Plate doesn't entirely avoid industry politics, but it is less in-your-face. It is important to remember the fine line the USDA must walk. Not only is the USDA responsible for establishing dietary guidelines for Americans, they are also charged with promoting the heavily subsidized U.S. agriculture industry. Think corn and all of its dozens, if not hundreds, of by-products, as well as dairy, and meat producers to name a few. These industries are represented by some of the most powerful lobbies in country and have billions of dollars behind them. Makes it quite difficult for the USDA to even suggest that perhaps meat and dairy are not necessary daily components of every American's diet. Many would argue they should not be.
But I digress. I think the new Food Plate is about as good as it gets coming from a government agency as wrought with conflicts of interests as the USDA happens to be and for getting the well-balanced diet message across to Americans of all ages. Good job, USDA!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
A Little Funky After a Couple of Good Weeks
The past two days my inner ear has been making a lot of bubbling, gurgling, and popping noises typical after a good attack of vertigo. Of course, I didn't have vertigo. Now, I am not getting cocky and I don't want to give the gods any ideas that I need another lesson on the unpredictability of Meniere's even after gent. I get it.
But this afternoon I developed a touch of brain fog and a strong desire to lay my head down and go to sleep. Remember that feeling in afternoon college classes? The feeling when you desperately want to lay your head down on a desk and sleep right through the lecture du jour? Your eyes insist on taking extra long blinks? That feeling. Then, a couple of hours later, the bee in my ear started going to town and that finally culminated in a mild case of bobble-headedness for an hour or so. Seems to have passed... whew. But left me a little deflated as I have had a couple of really good weeks.
There has been a lot of talk about the possible role of vasopressin in Meniere's disease over at Meniere's.Org and it has me wondering if it also happens to play a role in nasal congestion. I wrote about the results of my allergy testing recently and that I seem to "simply" have nonallergic rhinitis. I sure wish I could remember all that physiology I tried not to sleep through in college! Can't help but wonder if that is somehow linked to my Meniere's and, if so, what the hormonal pathways are. I tried Googling it a bit and just kept coming up with papers on toad bladders. Yuck.
Rather than being told, "We don't know" what causes Meniere's or nonallergic rhinitis, for that matter, I wish the doctors would elaborate by adding, "But here are a couple of possible explanations that scientists are looking into." Otherwise when I try to imagine what is going on in there, my mind just wanders over to the same black hole it goes to when contemplating how electricity actually works or where to start and stop a geometry proof.
C'est la vie.
But this afternoon I developed a touch of brain fog and a strong desire to lay my head down and go to sleep. Remember that feeling in afternoon college classes? The feeling when you desperately want to lay your head down on a desk and sleep right through the lecture du jour? Your eyes insist on taking extra long blinks? That feeling. Then, a couple of hours later, the bee in my ear started going to town and that finally culminated in a mild case of bobble-headedness for an hour or so. Seems to have passed... whew. But left me a little deflated as I have had a couple of really good weeks.
There has been a lot of talk about the possible role of vasopressin in Meniere's disease over at Meniere's.Org and it has me wondering if it also happens to play a role in nasal congestion. I wrote about the results of my allergy testing recently and that I seem to "simply" have nonallergic rhinitis. I sure wish I could remember all that physiology I tried not to sleep through in college! Can't help but wonder if that is somehow linked to my Meniere's and, if so, what the hormonal pathways are. I tried Googling it a bit and just kept coming up with papers on toad bladders. Yuck.
Rather than being told, "We don't know" what causes Meniere's or nonallergic rhinitis, for that matter, I wish the doctors would elaborate by adding, "But here are a couple of possible explanations that scientists are looking into." Otherwise when I try to imagine what is going on in there, my mind just wanders over to the same black hole it goes to when contemplating how electricity actually works or where to start and stop a geometry proof.
C'est la vie.
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