Magic of Believing

“Let thy Food be thy Medicine and thy Medicine be thy Food” – Hippocrates.

The title of the documentary is Food Matters.  The focus of the film is in helping us rethink the belief systems fed to us by our modern medical and health care establishments. The interviewees point out that not every problem requires costly, major medical attention and reveal many alternative therapies that can be more effective, more economical, less harmful and less invasive than conventional medical treatments.  

The problem is - we don't want to change.  And we don't want to think for ourselves.  

We'd rather believe what our authority figures tell us.  We believe our parents, our doctors, our government.  We believe the deceptions handed out by the mass media.  We believe what we see on the news and what we read in our newspapers and magazines.  We will believe anyone and anything, as long as we don't have to do anything, besides maybe take another pill.   

We want to continue to eat the way we have always eaten.  We want our fried foods, our steak and bacon, our milk, and especially our sugar.  As long as what we see, hear, or read, conforms to what we already believe, without taking us out of our comfort zones, we are happy.  We're very sick - but we're also happy.  

This site is all about the Magic of Believing.  The point of this article is to just be careful who and what you believe.  Because most people do not realize just how badly they are being fooled.  And - sadly enough - it's all because of money.

To illustrate the point, I was thumbing through one of my wife's women's magazines.  This is a major publication that boasts some 22 million readers.  To say that they have an influence on young women and young mothers is probably an understatement.  So imagine my surprise when I flipped the page and found the following ad:

Make The Right Choice

The ad was comparing Kellogg's Pop Tarts to Pilsbury's Toaster Strudel.  The tag line says, "Kellogg's Pop Tarts, always baked, never fried", implying that their baked pastries are better for you, and your children, than their competitor's fried pastries.  They even list some of the nutritional information, to help you make the right choice.

Seems pretty obvious doesn't it?  I mean through the media, we have heard how bad Trans Fat and Cholesterol is for you.  The Kellogg's product is purely the healthiest choice. And it even has 7 Vitamins and Minerals!

However...........................Kellogg's fails to mention their actual ingredients in the ad. 

Ingredients such as flour, corn syrup (sugar), high fructose corn syrup (more sugar), dextrose (also a sugar), vegetable oil, soybean oil (soybeans and corn are the two most genetically modified crops grown in the US), Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil (with TBHQ and Citric Acid for Freshness - Less than 0.5 g Trans Fat per Serving),  and of course....more sugar.

Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil is a trans fat.  Even though they list their Trans Fats as 0mg, there is some included in their product.  Since the amount of trans fat is less than 1g, the FDA allows the packaging to read 0g, which is clearly false and misleading.  TBHQ is a preservative used to prevent oils from going rancid - meaning a longer shelf life.  It is also a form of butane (think lighter fluid) that the FDA allows processors to use sparingly in our food.  A number of studies have shown that prolonged exposure to TBHQ may induce carcinogenity.  And Citric Acid?  Citric acid is the active ingredient in some bathroom and kitchen cleaning solutions.

The point is - neither of these two processed frankenfoods is healthy.  But unknowing moms will gladly give this product to their children, thinking they are making "the right choice".   Keep giving this stuff to your kids and yes, your doctor will stay alive, and in business. 

The magazine was just full of junk food ads, and I soon found another comparison: 

Cool Whip uses hydrogenated oils (thanks to the media - we recognize that word now and know that it's bad for us) but Reddi Whip uses real dairy cream.  Easy choice.  Right? 

Looking at the list of ingredients for Reddi Whip we see, sure enough - Cream.  Also - Nonfat Milk, Corn Syrup, Sugar, and Mono and Diglycerides -  wait a minute.  What are Mono and Diglycerides?  Fat.  Hydrogenated fats.  Trans fats.  They just use the Mono and Diglyceride name to confuse use.  They are really no better than cool whip.  More misleading information suckering you into buying their products. 

Ask Your Doctor if Dying is Right For You

Besides the junk food ads and sugar laden, sweet desert recipes, the magazine was also full of drug ads.  No surprise.  After eating all of this sugary, processed junk - we will need some drugs - sooner or later - to counteract the sickness and disease that eating this way will cause.  

Have a Migraine?  Take (drug name deleted) because it is superior to all the other drugs in relieving migraine pain.  In fact, you can get up to $50 off your first prescription by calling now!  What a deal!

Just remember, with all prescription drugs, there may be side effects.  And we are all encouraged to report negative side effects to the FDA - that is, if you are able.    You see, (drug name deleted) may increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, serious stomach and intestinal problems such as bleeding and ulcers, and serious rash that may be FATAL and OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING. 

Hold on - if I understand that warning correctly, by taking this drug, I may die?!?  And without warning?!?   Plop?!

As John Stossel would say - Give Me a Break!

Another ad - this time for a popular feminine cream -  "to help relieve dryness and painful intercourse" - especially after menopause (I did say it was a Women's Magazine). Again, you can get $15 off your prescription by going to their website. Such a sweet deal. 

Of course there are side effects.  There are always side effects. 

Breast cancer, stroke, blood clots, gallbladder disease, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, cancer of the uterus, heart attack, dementia, ovarian cancer, and liver problems.  Some of the warning signs of these 'serious' side effects include: breast lumps, dizziness and faintness, changes in speech, chest pain, vomitting, yellowing of the skin, changes in vision, and severe headaches.  (hey - we can just take that other pill for the migraines).  

Is that ridiculous?  Would YOU take these drugs?  The sad thing is - people ARE asking their doctors if these drugs are 'right for them'.  In fact, many people actually demand these drugs, because they saw them advertised in their magazines, or on their TV shows.   They actually believe they NEED this drug or that one. 

Wake Up People

Americans are getting sicker and sicker.  As they said in the trailer, heart disease is going up, stroke is going up, cancer rates are going up, diabetes rates are going up.  Even our children are getting sicker, and fatter.  

But - as Andrew Saul says in the trailer - It's a choice - You Don't Have to Be Sick!

The answer? 

We KNOW the answer. 

Want to know what's wrong?  Look down at your plate - it's staring back up at you.  It's all the junk we are putting in our mouths.

The ironic thing is, if we changed the food we ate - we probably wouldn't need the pharmaceuticals. 

We have been led to believe that we eat for taste alone.  This is simply not true.  We eat to replace the vitamins, nutrients, and minerals that our body uses up on a day to day basis.   But most of the junk foods we eat have no vitamins, nutrients, or minerals.  It's all been processed out.  And so we get sicker, and take more drugs, and sicker, and take more drugs....

We can stop this mess of disease and sickness.  We can even avoid the mass hysteria of the Swine Flu Virus.  Bur first - we need to get healthy.  

And that - getting healthy - all depends on the food we eat.  Because - as we know:

We are - what we eat.  Food does matter.