Naturalpath

My eyes were opened to the diverse uses of corn and the issues that this creates when I watched the independent film, "King Corn," by Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis.  These two friends have their hair analyzed and discover that on the typical american diet, they are replenishing their carbon supply with carbon from corn.  This is because corn is present in almost every processed grocery item you can imagine, as well as it fuels America’s fast-food empire.  High fructose corn syrup makes the sodas sweet, corn-fed beef makes the burgers fat, and corn oil crisps the fries. The boys then go to Iowa and grown an acre of corn and attempt to follow its fate as food. What they find is alternately hilarious and horrifying: genetically modified seeds and home- brewed corn syrup, a bumper crop of obesity and diabetes, and a government paying farmers to grow what’smaking us sick. At the base of it all, it seems that demand for fast cheap overproduction of unhealthy meat, sweeteners, and other products pushes the corn market.

Healthnotes Newswire (August 23, 2007)—People concerned about kidney health are told not to drink soda, and new research showing a link between cola drinking and chronic kidney disease backs this recommendation.

Healthnotes Newswire (August 2, 2007)—Sugar-sweetened beverages like nondiet sodas and fruit-flavored drinks can lead to excess weight gain in children, especially when kids drink them between meals.

Healthnotes Newswire (April 12, 2007)—Mothers and teachers have been saying it for years, and now science backs them up: kids who drink lots of sugary soft drinks have more trouble with hyperactivity and other mental health difficulties than other kids.

Soft drinks are a significant source of simple sugars. As much as 100 grams (about 7 tablespoons) of sugar is likely to be found in a typical liter of soda. Refined sugar has received attention as one of the major culprits in the childhood obesity epidemic, the rising incidence of type 2 diabetes, and tooth decay.

“Three tips that I would suggest for people who are looking to improve their overall sense of well-being are:

“Think about your posture, whether you’re standing or sitting. Most of us do have to work throughout the day, so one of the big things is let’s see how we treat our body throughout the day. A lot of that static loading in the sitting position does have detrimental effects on our health, so getting up and moving around every once in awhile becomes very important to maintaining physical health.

“I would also say to drink more water and less carbonated beverages. Those carbonated beverages, whether they’re filled with sugar, or whether they’re filled with nutrasweet, really offer nothing for health. If we drink enough water, what will happen is we’ll keep our bodies well hydrated.

“The third is to make sure you get enough exercise. Exercise should be a primary thing in your life. I do believe that daily exercise – and no it doesn’t have to be the same type of exercise every single day - but I do think some sort of daily exercise will help us to live longer, fuller, more happy lives.”