On Saturday, I was at an all-day retreat with my religious
education students at a local high school auditorium.
There were about 500 kids from churches all over the state
there.
There were large presentations, music and small workshops
that focused on making good decisions--saying no to drugs,
being a good friend to others, not giving in to peer
pressure, etc.
We were told ahead of time that lunch and snacks would be
provided.
Having been to a number of these events, I knew I couldn't
count on a lot of healthy food there, so I brought my own
lunch.
And was I glad I did.
Here's what everyone else was stuck eating...Hostess
cupcakes, Hostess chocolate chip muffins, a bag of chips (a
choice of Fritos, Doritos, Lay's or Combos), two slices of
Pizza Hut cheese or pepperoni pizza and a bottle of Gatorade.
In addition, there were 5 different kinds of soda and 8
different candy bars.
There was not even a piece of fruit or a bottle of water
to be had.
Now, all morning most of the kids paid attention, spoke up
in discussions, sang along with the band on stage and
prayed quietly.
After lunch things started to unravel.
It was like watching 500 Dr. Jekylls and Mr. Hydes all at
one time.
After the sugar and chemicals from that processed food
nailed them, the kids start text messaging their friends
during the presentations. Some of them were laughing at
other students, throwing things at each other and mocking
the people on stage. Others were laughing or talked over
the workshop leaders.
The day was supposed to be about teaching kids to make
good decisions like saying no to drugs, yet their bodies
were so full of chemicals from processed food that the
entire afternoon was a waste for many of them.
This is why we have an obesity problem in America.
The average person took in about 2,000 calories that day,
but not one mouthful of food anyone ate had anything good
in it. What happened was, after eating the cupcakes and
candy, people kept going back for more 30 minutes later,
because even though their stomachs were full, their brains
were telling them they were still hungry--The brain needs
real nutrients to survive and function properly.
An hour later they'd be going back for even more, because
even though their stomachs were literally stuffed, their
bodies were starving. This is the cycle that creates
obesity.
Foods like these are why kids can't concentrate at school
and why adults can't focus at work. When you load your
body up with sugar, caffeine and chemicals, sitting still
in Algebra class or concentrating on creating the Board
presentation is just about out of the question...very hard
to do.
Remember, my friend, all food can be viewed as a drug.
Even tomatoes have chemicals inside and create chemical
reactions in the body. So the only question is, are you
dumping in mostly unnatural, chemically altered drugs into
your body in the form of processed foods, or are you
putting in foods that create health, energy and a happy,
long life?
It's hard to know what healthy eating is
today...especially if you read the colorful packages in the
grocery stores or watch a lot of commercials on TV.
Learn what healthy eating is from me, my friend. And
you'll get to feel what extraordinary health and well-being
really feels like.
To your health,
Sherry
PS: If you have trouble with getting yourself to eat the
way you know you should, then I have some news that will
excite you. At the bottom of this page:
- www.greattastenopain.com/great.asp
when you click the link to place your order, there are two
bonuses listed that will completely eliminate that as a
problem in your life.
Those two bonuses combined will make eating healthy a
pleasure.
