Copyright © 1996, 1997,
2001 by Galen Daryl Knight and VitaleTherapeutics, Inc.
Social Ramifications of an "Industrialized" Diet
The food industry in its zeal to bring new and more convenient products
to market that will attract consumers' dollars may be embarked on a campaign
that removes much of the nutritional value from our foods, either surreptitiously
or inadvertently. The social ramifications of this are made clear by the
following questions:
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If we can become thirsty on a raft in the middle of the ocean, do our bodies
also crave nutrition when awash in a sea of "empty calories", i.e., foods
that have calories but not the balance of vitamins, minerals, and other
nutrients needed to process them into useful energy and building materials?
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Does this hunger for nutrition cause us to overconsume foods that lack
the nutrients we are craving? People adrift at sea will eventually gorge
themselves on sea water when the urge to drink becomes too great, even
though this almost always ensures further dehydration and death.
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Can and are these cravings for nutrition being exploited by the food industry
to encourage overconsumption? Unfortunately, improving their "bottom line"
through the sale of processed foods (and the vitamins and nutrients extracted
from them) may have the undesirable effect of also increasing our "bottom's
line" and "waistline" as well.
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Are fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids taken out of the fat-free
foods with the fat, and if so, what happens to them? Are they put back?
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"What happens to fat-soluble nutrients in our diets when one pushes a fat-soluble-vitamin-grabbing
fat substitute through one's intestines?"
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Is it easier, safer, and more cost effective to i) take the fat out of
foods, ii) the fat-soluble vitamins out of the extracted fat, and then
iii) to put, hopefully, all the fat-soluble nutrients back into the food
or iv) at least into supplement pills to sell to the public, and v) to
treat those individuals for disease that do not get adequate nutrition
or
is it easier and more economical to provide fresher, more nutritious (vitamin
and mineral rich) food that does not require as much processing nor as
many preservatives to make it "appear" fresh?
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In a related fashion, how does the "total cost" of whole grain bread compare
with the cost of "industrialized" white bread plus the cost of the removed
bran and germ plus the cost of vitamin pills and other nutritional supplements
(to ensure, hopefully, the replacement of any other nutrients that were
lost in the "process" of making white bread) plus the added medical costs
for those who don't consume vitamins, bran, and wheat germ? Would "ENRICHED"
on the label of breads be more accurately represented by the label, "DEPLETED
and PARTIALLY-RECONSTITUTED"?
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The problems with processed foods ("industrialized diets") seems to be
obvious and bordering on common knowledge, so how do we go about changing
the quality of the food available for us to eat? We vote most effectively
on this issue with our pocketbooks at the grocery store.
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