Thursday, March 8, 2012

HEALTH MATTERS - Boycott The Sickness Industry



Today for International Women’s Day, I am contributing the following article to women, children and men everywhere so we can resist the indoctrination of the Sickness Industry and take charge of our own health.


We were holed up in a run-down hotel in the poor neighbourhood of San Clementine in Southern California, killing time before a training course.

Desperate for some nutritious fruit and veggies I wandered along to the nearby shopping centre but was dismayed to discover no fresh produce in sight, only a strange 99 Cent Store that stocked a weird assortment of canned and processed ‘food’ to feed the low-income Mexican local residents.

Reluctantly I bought some plastic tubs of ‘dip’, corn chips, packets of dried soup and a pile of plastic thimbles of coffee creamers of irresistible flavours I’d become addicted to during our travels in the States.

Within a few days I started experiencing heartburn, a sensation I’d never had before, and was pleased to discover that American drug stores stock a fascinating variety of pleasant antacid chalky tablets for this common complaint!

We were amused by the bizarrely comical TV ads for a vast array of over-the-counter medications. After an elaborate mini-drama commercial extolling the miraculous effects of the drug, a smooth American voice-over, clearly a legal requirement, would outline an exhaustive and frightening litany of possible side-effects such as nausea, dizzy spells, heartburn, diarrhoea, constipation, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, cancer, depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s Disease, blindness, suicide and on and on. We had to laugh! Is this a joke? Could they be serious? Why would anyone use this stuff if it’s so dangerous!

I realised that the next problem after my heartburn could be diarrhoea, but not to worry, there was a medication for that! But hang on, how about questioning what was causing these symptoms? Of course! It was the chemical-loaded muck that passed for dip and the seemingly innocent coffee creamers.

I immediately stopped eating this toxic junk and the heartburn disappeared but not so for millions of Americans caught on the dizzy little carousel ride of consuming harmful foods that cause health problems, then taking medications for the symptoms that escalate over time and require stronger medications!

Another anecdote; through lack of choice in this poor end of town we found ourselves dining at the fast food restaurant, Denny’s, devouring the bargain breakfast! And even though we would share one enormous serve between us, loaded high with scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, deep fried hash browns, thick pancakes and syrup and much more, I started gaining weight at a rapid rate.

It is no wonder that Americans who live on massive portions of fast food are facing an obesity epidemic and leading the rest of the developed world down the same tragic path.

The World Health Organisation predicts there will be 2.3 billion overweight adults in the world by 2015 and more than 700 million of them will be obese.

Obesity is linked to a numerous other health problems including diabetes, also reaching epidemic numbers.

While people in rich countries suffer from sickness due to gluttonous over-eating, people in poor countries suffer from sickness and starvation due to lack of food. This is a crazy, unjust scenario where both sides of the world suffer.

At the risk of being accused of advancing a conspiracy theory, it is blatantly obvious that America’s harmful food manufacturers and myriad fast food outlets are in collusion with drug companies, which make billions off the chronic sickness of the masses. What a cosy little partnership!

And we the naïve consumers are indoctrinated on a daily basis by insidious marketing, enticing packaging, irresistible flavours and addictive substances that ‘normalises’ harmful foods.

This normalisation process is not confined to the Sickness Industry. It is used by the War Industry to convince us that war is a normal part of life. Please read my article The Normalising of War

And it is used by the Pornography Industry to convince adults and impressionable teenagers that perverse, immoral and damaging sexual practices are normal. Please read The Pornification of Healthy Sexuality

The point of this article is a warning and a call to action; we must take responsibility to resist the relentless sinister pressures to eat harmful foods.

We must resist being obedient, mindless consumers of toxic processed food that perpetuates the Sickness Industry.

We must educate ourselves about what is healthy food and search for truth while being swamped by an avalanche of ‘expert’ theories, laced with vested interests.

Here is what I have discovered after two years of research.

Eating all forms of meat causes horrendous and unnecessary suffering and killing of innocent animals (57 billion animals a year are slaughtered to feed a world population of seven billion humans) Factory farming and the meat industry perpetrate an indefensible crime against living, feeling creatures.

But individuals can boycott this cruelty by simply refusing to eat animals.

Eating all forms of meat is harmful to health. Please read I No Longer Eat Animals and The Case for Going Veggie. Visit Viva! Vegetarian Voice for Animals. View the life-changing film, Earthlings and read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.

Stop eating ALL MEAT (including fish and chicken).

Stop eating DAIRY FOODS. The dairy industry causes untold misery to innocent cows that are kept permanently pregnant after their calves are removed and slaughtered, and forced to produce massive quantities of milk from engorged and infected udders, while standing in agony on infected feet.

Cow’s milk, designed for growing calves, is full of growth hormones (which cause cancer in humans) and contains a fair dose of pus. (Yes, disgusting) Rather than a source of calcium, milk is so acidic it leaches calcium out of your bones.

Stop eating SUGAR. Cane sugar is not a food. It is an insidious toxin, which causes erratic Blood Sugar Levels and the release of insulin and leads to weight gain, diabetes, energy slumps, depression, hormonal imbalance and a host of other health problems. It is tough giving up sugar because it is hidden in most processed foods but feeling mentally and physically stable is worth the effort.

Visit http://www.patrickholford.com/ and read books on Optimum Nutrition by Patrick Holford, a pioneering nutritionist who makes the radical statement: “All illness is caused by what we eat, drink and breathe.”

I am doing an illuminating Zest4Life course with nutritionist Emily Fawell, who trained with the Institute for Optimum Nutrition. Go to http://www.4wellpeople.co.uk/ I really recommend this course.

Stop eating REFINED CARBOHYDRATES. White bread, rice, pasta etc, acts like sugar in the body, spiking your BSLs and causes an insulin rush and a ‘fat storing episode’ and after an initial high, you experience an energy slump and craving for another sugar hit.

Stop drinking COFFEE, TEA and COLA, which contain the drug, caffeine. Caffeine is addictive and causes adrenalin and sugar hits and plays havoc with your BSLs and causes weight gain.

One fundamental goal of good health is to stabilise your Blood Sugar Levels to give you a steady supply of energy to the brain and body throughout the day.

Stop drinking ALCOHOL. Alcohol is dangerous because it messes with your brain, causes dehydration and painful, debilitating hang-overs and messes with your behaviour, which can be harmful to yourself and others. You lose inhibitions and control over what you say and do when drunk, which can lead to high-risk behaviour, accidents and violence.

Alcohol is the root cause of countless social problems but still we are indoctrinated to drink (in moderation), which few people can manage. We are made to believe that drinking wine is sophisticated and cultured and that it’s impossible to socialise without drinking. It’s been hard to give up red wine because I believed this myth but now I sip diluted grape juice and still enjoy myself!

The body, comprising around 75 per cent fluid, requires plenty of O2 and yet clever humans have invented all sorts of ‘drinks’ rather than just give the body what it wants; pure water.

It goes without saying, to be healthy you must stop smoking, stop drug use and avoid medications that cause side effects.

What does it leave you to eat? Eat unlimited fresh vegetables (for vitamins, minerals and enzymes) and a reasonable amount of fruits, being careful of too much natural fruit sugar or 'fructose'. Tropical fruits are higher in fructose than others. My personal low-sugar favourites are cherries and berries.

Get your protein and complex carbohydrates from wholemeal legumes (soya, lentils, chickpea, red kidney beans etc), whole grains (oats, rice, wheat, rye etc), nuts (almonds, cashew, walnuts, peanuts etc) and seeds (sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, chia etc). You can make endless tasty meals from these simple foods. Hummus and oatcakes will keep you going for hours!

Although most vegans swear off eggs because of abject cruelty to battery hens, I believe free-range eggs are a good form of protein and I aim to have my own happy backyard hens in the future.

Bad fats - saturated animal fats and trans fats - are dangerous to health but good fats from avocadoes, coconuts and olive oil are essential for astute brain function. Eat lots of good fats.

I take supplements to ensure my body gets all the nutrients it needs, not necessarily supplied completely in the right quantities by food.

I am no expert but I have educated myself by studying the genuine experts.

My wish for you is to become aware of being indoctrinated by the Meat Industry, the Dairy Industry, the sugar pushers and the grog and drug pushers in this new aggressive Consumer Age we live in, where we are constantly being ‘sold’ for profits. Remember these foods are not “normal”, not necessary, not healthy and not ethical.

As women in charge of feeding our husbands and families, my wish is that you will educate yourself about nutrition, the starting point of survival, health and wellbeing.

Once your awareness shifts, I hope you choose life-enhancing, nourishing natural foods that bless you, bless others and bless our planet.