The Friday Link for 7/9/21

Howdy all!  

I want to preface this Friday Link with a note.  This week's post isn't about shaming people's diets.  I have three kids and there are plenty of nights I've had to grab something convenient for dinner and run with it.  My kids ate mac and cheese, hot dogs, occasional fast food and pizza.

I'll add my family made the decision to try to eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day, and to try to make as much of our food as possible.  While for many people that sounds simple, that is freaking expensive. Many people eat convenience food not only for ease and schedule sanity, but because much of it is the most affordable food out there.

Do what you like, and be happy.  This is more informational than anything else.  I think these videos stuck with me because with my recent health crisis, I've been on a bit of a restrictive diet.  One of the biggest things I had to reduce was processed foods.  

The BBC put out a series on the rise of eating processed foods in England, but I think this is pretty close to how many people in the United States eat too.  It's amazing to see how processed foods have infiltrated most people's diets, but let's start there.  What makes a processed food, processed?  

Next up, now that we know what makes processed foods processed, how much has a diet changed over the last few decades?  Is it really that bad?  Once again this is the UK, but I think it translates directly to what's been going on in this country.

Here's where I will disagree a little with the BBC program.  I know a lot of people whose families eat processed foods but are very physically active and are in shape.  The most important thing to do when it comes to fighting weight issues is being active.  That being said I can say I know a lot of people who eat a lot of processed foods who do seem to be sick on a regular basis, and more often.  Just an observation.

Finally the host goes the path of eating processed foods at a pretty good tilt for 30 days.  I don't really need the part about his bathroom issues, but the results are predictable, and shockingly fast.  Mind you when that one guy did this with MacDonald's food for 30 days, that was fast food, but I think most of us wouldn't feel the result would be the same for processed foods.  Well...

Quick story before I wrap up tonight. I have a friend who signed up for one of those meal services, where they send you a supposedly healthy "gourmet" meal, for a bit of a premium price.  They initially raved about them, how they were so much better than the food she could make at home, and just as healthy, or she thought.  A month into her new diet plan, she was picking up weight and eventually came to the realization that even though these meals were marketed as healthy, they were far from it, harboring FAR more ultra processing in the final product.  She quit the meal plan, and immediately said the headache she'd had (similar to the host) went away after three days.

This is why the Minnesota DFL ensuring SNAP benefits being able to be spent at local farmer's markets with the Market Bucks program is such a win.  Just because you are on food assistance shouldn't mean you shouldn't have access to healthy, quality food.  And it helps the local farmer too.

Please, I beg of you, get vaccinated.  Stay safe and healthy.

Have a great weekend everyone.