FerrisBueller86
jhsu
Jr. Member
Posts: 507
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« on: September 20, 2020, 09:09:40 PM » |
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It's been a number of years since I've been here, but there's something I want to get off my chest.
Over the years, I've been reducing my junk food consumption. I've been avoiding McDonald's since 2004, when I first watched the movie _Supersize Me_. The movies _Fed Up_ and _That Sugar Film_ motivated me to cut back on sugar consumption. I even stopped drinking fruit juice a few years ago. (Fruit is healthy because it includes fiber. Fruit juice is not, because you get all of the sugar but none of the fiber.)
Over the years, I've also read that consumption of sugar and other unhealthy junk food ingredients weakens the immune system and promotes inflammation. This means a greater risk of getting infected AND a greater risk of getting the deadly cytokine/bradykinin storm. As a result, I'm avoiding all junk food and restaurant food until this pandemic is over. I never even thought of going this far in the past, but this now seems like a small sacrifice compared to everything else. Yes, I'm even skipping the holiday treats this year.
At the same time, I've added or increased my consumption of many superfoods. I'm now eating one Brazil nut per day for the selenium. My daily diet also includes sauerkraut (probiotics), natto (probiotics and Vitamin K2), water kefir (probiotics), milk kefir (probiotics), pineapple (bromelain), papaya (papain), and onion (quercetin and other nutrients). I'm eating more yogurt, more fruit, and more vegetables. (NOTE: I am complying with physical distancing. I'm making sure to wear a mask not only in stores but also in places where I cannot count on keeping at least 6 feet away from everyone else.)
In spite of all this, it seems that other people have been maintaining or increasing their junk food consumption. When I go grocery shopping at Cub, Target, or Aldi, I still see people filling their shopping carts with pop, Cheetos, potato chips, donuts, snack cakes, hot dogs, and other junk foods. It's as if they live in a different universe. I find myself tempted to ask them "Would it kill you to eat some real food?"
I find it obscene that there has been NO national dialogue about nutritional habits. The average American has a terrible diet. The average person consumes too much sugar, grease, and sodium but is short on fiber and probiotics. The USA has had a convergence of many negative factors in this pandemic, including a terrible federal response and shortcomings in the health care system. I believe that poor nutrition is another. However, nutrition is the factor that we have the most personal control over. Yet there's no official advice promoting this.
Earlier on, I assumed that the official recommendations left out better nutrition and Vitamin D supplementation due to fears that these measures would be interpreted as a go-ahead to disregard the main ones (face masks and physical distancing). Now there's a drive to reopen everything. I would have thought that those who insist on reopening would at least try to get people to improve their immunity and resistance to viruses. However, those who have decided to reopen are STILL NOT telling people to eat a better diet or take Vitamin D supplements. It's the worst of both worlds.
Other nations seem to be doing more on the nutrition front. Some Mexican provinces have banned junk food sales to minors. In other words, they're treating junk food like alcohol and tobacco. In England, Boris Johnson was motivated by his severe case of COVID-19 to eat a better diet and encourage his constituents to do the same.
So why is there a taboo about fighting the pandemic with better nutrition? I believe that if there were universal mask compliance AND universal proper nutrition, case numbers would drop like a rock. It's a scandal that drinking bleach and injecting bleach have been part of the national dialogue but better nutrition and Vitamin D supplementation have not.
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