we gain perspective

We become inured to life's conditions. It's part and parcel of how adaptable we are. When change is gradual it sneaks up on us, and we're in a new reality that has become normal. We may have accepted sub optimal conditions without realizing it. There will even be very simple things we can do to get back to a better place, but we won't see them because they are not "normal".

Rich Roll, author of a wonderful book called Finding Ultra, speaks to this topic in this presentation:

Dr. Lustig's New Book - A Critical Topic For Our Time

Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist known for his campaign against refined sugars, has a new book that surprised me a bit. It surprised me because it's rare (unheard of?) to see an established and well known health authority take on the the powerful processed food industries in such a public and confrontational manner. The title alone is worth the price of admission:

"The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains"

https://www.amazon.com/Hacking-American-Mind-Corporate-Takeover/dp/1101982586/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Well done Dr. Lustig! Bravo.

I've been calling the raping of health for profit "An Accidental Genocide", because I do not believe there was a developed conspiracy at the advent of the processed food industry. We genuinely believed, based on best interpretations of nutritional science at the time, that concentration of nutrition with technology was a very good thing. By now we realize that we are not evolutionarily adapted to these concentrated substances, our bodies don't "recognize" them and don't know what to do with them, they clog us up, then make us fat, and then eventually make us sick. And we now know that a whole foods plant based diet is the very best thing we can do for our bodies, our health, and our happiness.

Lustig's current book however is not about how to eat better for health, it delves into a dark topic depicting the ongoing and very real destruction of the health of the majority of developed world citizens. There are dystopian resonances here, and Lustig is to be commended for raising a brave voice against the forces perpetuating this tragic state of affairs.

I call it an "accidental" genocide because these now deeply rooted industries "backed in" to a situation where the profits are simply too compelling to give up because nutrition science is now clear on the relationship between whole foods plant based diets and health, and in direct opposition to the activity of the processed foods industries. "Elephant in the room" applies more aptly than any where else I can think of. So I believe the intentions at the advent of processed foods were not conspiratorial. But I also believe it has gradually shifted toward covering up facts as they have become more and more clear, and yes, that can be called conspiratorial if you like.

My opinion of Lustig's book is based to this point on the linked Youtube video where he's talking about this topic.

I may have more to say after I read it, but for now it appears to overlap the topic of "The Pleasure Trap" substantially, and adds the topic of conspiracy The Pleasure Trap does not really get into.

I'm going to take this opportunity to promote The Pleasure Trap again, because I truly believe it is one of the two or three best books on health one can read. I will also say, based solely on Lustig's comments in the Youtube video, The Pleasure Trap is also the better book if one only wants to get to the critical and relevant points as quickly as possible. It's a tour de force basic primer on what blocks our understanding of the forces and conditions that prevent the creation of health in our own lives. I can't recommend it highly enough.

This Is (Almost) All You Need To Know

This is nothing less than the demystification and simplification of the relationship between diet and health, elegantly explained by dietitian and nutritionist Jeff Novick.

https://youtu.be/0CdwWliv7Hg

Jeff's bio:
http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Bio.html

Get This Book!

The Whole Foods Diet: The Lifesaving Plan For Health and Longevity by John Mackey.

https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Foods-Diet-Lifesaving-Longevity/dp/1478944919

John Robbins says about this book "it wouldn't surprise me if this book becomes the definitive guide to optimum health and wellness, it's that clear."

I have posted a few blogs with the title "Tipping Point", as I've sensed a ground swell of changing attitudes about nutrition, the foods we eat, and the immediate and very real impact of foods on our health. If john Robbins thinks this book will play a significant role in that tipping point it's good enough for me.

We boomers grew up in a time where medical doctors would say "eat what you want, it doesn't make any difference". That was 50 years ago, but many of them are still saying it!

What's the deal with that? They're not completely fu**ing stupid are they? Well, no, they are thoroughly educated (and highly magnified, tip of the hat to H.M. Wogglebug, T.E.). They know what they've been taught, and what they've been taught is yet another example of the part myth, part reality meme "better living through science" that has informed our epoch thoroughly.

We wanted to believe we could go into space, squirt goo from a plastic tube as food, take a multi vitamin, live and work in an environment we are not evolutionarily adapted to, and all would be fine.

And back on earth we could watch TV for hours a day while eating depleted (but fortified!) food-like substances from boxes and bags.

As we see all around us, it's not working out so well.

This book may be the best summation to date of the actual facts about the creation of health. Read it and prosper.