All the same, I did give a gasp of astonishment when I read the ingredient list on the box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes. And it was pretty dramatic.
We're not big corn flake people. In fact, we have traditionally tended to buy corn flakes primarily to top casseroles. And that's exactly why we had this box. However, this past week we were a wee bit low on snack food, and on a whim I offered corn flakes to my boys. Dry, in a bowl. Maybe they would pretend that they were eating ultra-thin crackers. I was actually pretty surprised when they liked them. Not displeased, but surprised.
Again, we were low on snack food. In fact, we were getting pretty low on a lot of foods (I'm still figuring out this shop-once-a-week-on-a-budget thing). We were pretty much out of bread. I hadn't made crackers for a while. They were eating into my cashew stockpile, and getting weary of pistacios. So once again, I found myself reaching for the Corn Flakes...this time for Owen. He had barely started munching when I glanced at the side of the box, and--
"What?!"
It reads: "Ingredients: milled corn, sugar, malt flavoring, high fructose corn syrup, salt."
Ugh. Ew. Gross. I mean, this isn't one of those blatantly sugary cereals...you know, the ones with chocolate and technicolor marshmallows. These are corn flakes. And yes, there is another list, which begins with the words "Vitamins and Iron." But you know what? Somehow I'm not convinced that these are vitamins the body can really use. It's this list of unpronounceable, synthetic vitamins.
The fact is, it's incredibly important to read labels. Because these days, the ingredient lists are, frankly, appalling. There is very little food in our food these days. It's small wonder that our country is in the poorest health it's had for years. God did not design our bodies to live off of man-made consumables. He designed us to fuel our bodies with food.
In How to Stay Young and Healthy in a Toxic World, Ann Louise Gittleman says, "Sugar is not an innocent substance that gives us pleasure and causes no harm. Quite the contrary; there is perhaps nothing else in the diet that promotes disease and aging more over the long term than excess sugar." Her report of the increase in the consumption of "nutrient-robbing sugar" is alarming. "At the end of the 1700s, sugar consumption was less than 20 pounds per person per year. By the end of the 1800s, sugar consumption had risen to 63 pounds annually. Now, 100 years later, the average American eats 0ver 170 pounds of sugar each year." (emphasis mine)
To loosely paraphrase Dave Ramsey, if that's normal, I don't want to be normal.
The news has been full of reports of the rising number of people struggling with obesity. According to Jordan Rubin, author of Perfect Weight America, "If present trends continue, the percentage of overweight American adults will increase from 67 percent to 75 percent by 2015, portending profound effects on individuals, families, and even the nation's public health."
Please hear this: I'm not perfect. I don't eat "perfectly," nor does my family. We are only just beginning to turn our diet around. I'm still trying to strike a balance in terms of what my kids eat. I don't want to be the crazy, wacko mom who causes everyone to roll their eyes. Maybe I'm already there. It's possible.
But the truth is, I am appalled at the trends in our country today. And I'm truly worried about where it will end in terms of our national health.
8 comments:
Great post! I feel the same way. We are trying to eat more whole foods in our house. Processed foods are scary sometimes.
Good post, mindy - & nicely worded too.
Thanks, guys. I appreciate that! I don't expect this to be a popular post, but it's something I feel strongly about... In case you didn't notice! ;)
You're an inspiration! I appreciate your comment about finding balance. It's pretty discouraging to think that if you're really going to go great-guns and do this thing, you won't be able to even eat at a relative's house! So finding a balance, not being an extremist, not making the people you're eating with feel like they're 'sinning' because they're eating the crab rangoon and chocolate cake when you're 'righteously' abstaining...I think that's important too. Especially since there is so much more to eating than ingesting nutrients - the whole fellowship thing. It all seems quite daunting to me at this point, but I'm confident this is the direction I should be taking my family. Thanks for sharing.
Ahh, I can totally relate to this! It's so hard and so frustrating - I mean, seriously...Cornflakes?!
It's such a challenge to transform our thinking in the area of food. I've lived most of my life eating things, thinking they were just FOOD...and all along, they were simply edible substances - which DOESN'T make them food. You know??
I think you'd probably like an author I've been reading, Michael Pollan. His books, particularly The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, are highly informative and encouraging when it comes to deciding the all-important question, "What should I eat?" If you feel like you can ignore all the evolution talk (in relation to us and food), there's quite a bit of helpful information tucked in there. In Defense of Food is great because it's more like a "how-to," which I was seriously in need of! I'm still working through The Omnivore's Dilemma, but so far it's been really good. It helps me to remember WHY I'm doing this in the first place...especially when he talks about the industrialization of corn, its tendency to pop up in almost every processed food, and its aliases...I've been thoroughly disgusted, but it's GOOD because it keeps me committed. Does that make sense?
I'm really excited to read about your journey of eating healthy - it's encouraging to see other people working toward the same thing!
By the way, do you have a post on how to make crackers? Or a recipe you could send me? Ever since I gave up on "convenience foods," we haven't bought crackers...but we really LIKE them and I'd love to learn to make them myself!
I agree; I'd love to have a recipe for crackers! I've started making our own granola bars and a few other 'snacky' things.
I can't believe how many grocery store items have hfcs! (not to mention the other scary stuff) I bought English muffins for Mr. A the other day - the package said 'Now without high fructose corn syrup!' Seriously - glad that it isn't in them now, but why was it there to begin with? Ugh - such a journey.
Like others, I admire your dedication to eating healthy, and have enjoyed witnessing the changes you've made in your family's diet. We've been making some changes as well, and I've found great information from your blog and links that you've shared. :)
Wow, thanks for all the lovely comments, ladies! I was expecting an awkward silence after I published this post.
Missy, I know, I was really unsettled by the thought of eating away from home, too. It's still tricky. Thankfully our families are pretty good about serving real food. But church potlucks are hard... I wanted to say, again, though, that I'm having so much fun with my meals lately! I'm the happiest I've ever been in my kitchen.
Rissa, it's funny you should mention those books; I had just requested them from my library the day before! I've mostly read Sally Fallon & Jordan Rubin up to this point, but I have a lot of more books that I'd like to get my hands on.
Ami, I know, it's very upsetting. I tend to be too trusting, but I'm learning that we've just gotta check labels, even on "All Natural" stuff.
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