The battle of American food, part one
Yesterday Associated Press reporter Stephen Ohlemacher filed a story titled US Slipping in Life Expectancy Rankings. He reported that this country had slipped to 42nd place in world life expectancy statistics.
Ohlemacher wrote that “Adults in the United States have one of the highest obesity rates in the world. Nearly a third of U.S. adults 20 years and older are obese, while about two-thirds are overweight, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.”
I am one of these overweight Americans, and just over three years ago, as a result of long time hypertension and diabetes, I had a major stroke. Right after the stroke, I made the decision to stay away from refined sugar. At the beginning of this year, with blood sugar figures in good control, I further decided to stay away from sodium.
In my latest physical the figures spoke for themselves. I had lost significant weight, my blood pressure had come down to normal levels, and my ankles were no longer swollen, indicating that I was no longer holding water.
The problem is what I have to give up to get figures that make my doctor smile -- almost everything.
Shopping in modern supermarkets is a reminder of the food i grew up on, all the stuff I have to stay away from. Starting with the bakery with all the goodies loaded with sugar and icing, flashing past the processed meats, including sausages and sliced meat products and diary goods including American and cottage cheese, all the canned vegetables and boxed foods, and just about everything in the interior of the supermarket.
I have to walk by the spaghetti sauces, canned spinach and macaroni and cheese because of all the sodium. My dietician has me on sodium budget of 2,000 milligrams of sodium a day, which sounds like a lot until I read on the label that a can of chili takes me over by itself. Forget most pizzas, potato and processed chips, and most food that has been either processed or packaged.
Part two of this experience will be filed tomorrow..