How a ‘perfectly healthy’ Texas dad died from coronavirus
That was a headline from March 27. Sound familiar? The headline could easily have read the following:
How a “perfectly healthy” Texas dad died from … flu, pneumonia, heart attack, stroke, cancer, aneurism etc.
Writing one of those headlines is useless because we have become desensitized to those illnesses. We will scroll through those headlines because these things happen every day and we’ve come to accept them as normal. Rightly or wrongly that’s the state of our society. The part of the headline that I want to concentrate on are these two words “perfectly healthy”.
What is “Perfectly Healthy”?
Do you have a definition for “perfectly healthy”? I believe one of the problems in this country, and around the world, is we really don’t have a clear definition of healthy, let alone “perfectly healthy”. I’ve observed that for most people if they’re not obese. They’re able to get up in the morning and breathe then they consider themselves healthy. For others, they believe following a diet that restricts calories or promotes deprivation and going to the gym several times a week then they’re healthy. The likelihood of most people agreeing that if you’re not smoking or drinking, stay active and eat ‘”healthy” then somehow, you’re “perfectly healthy”. The extremes on the various definitions of healthy is quite mind-boggling and not based in any truth.
What the Data Says
Here’s where we need empirical data to help decipher what people are buying and how we can collectively move the needle when it comes to defining healthy.
- Organic sales account for over 4 percent of total U.S. food sales.
- At least 1 in 4 people eat some type of fast food every day.
So, 96% of the food bought and consumed in the U.S. is conventional/industrial food. That includes whole foods (protein, grain, eggs, produce etc.) and processed food (baking mixes, breads, candy bars, frozen prepared foods, etc.) and drinks (tea, coffee, soda, energy drinks etc.). And then there’s fast food. 1 in 4 people eat fast food every day! Now, back to the definition of healthy, do the numbers support your definition of healthy?
This is part of the reason I created the “What are you buying” pyramid. If you don’t know what you’re buying, then how can you possibly make a change? How can you possibly define “healthy” or “perfectly healthy”?
Awareness and the Current Crisis
Clean eating is an awareness campaign. A methodical approach, where every day we make progress by asking questions. Questions such as, how did ‘this food’ get to my plate? Knowing you can always ‘up your game’ no matter where you are on the What are you Buying pyramid.
During this uncertain time of self-quarantining, shoppers go to big box / grocery stores and load up on industrial foods filled with sugar and simple carbs. Bread, desserts, chips, pastas, frozen items etc. are continuously stripped bare but the industrial produce is largely available, and the organic selection is plentiful! Sugar and foods like simple carbs that turn into sugar suppress your immune system. How is that a good choice?
I invite you to take control of your life. Right now is the perfect time to educate yourself and take my online self-study course called Get Food Smart, Get Real. There is something for everyone, it’s not about telling you what to eat, it’s educating you on how to find foods that love you back. You develop the confidence required to ask tough questions and do your part in demanding better, more high-quality options.
We can all agree that a strong immune system reduces our risk during these uncertain times. However, if you’re not making the right decisions when it comes to fork to mouth then no amount of supplementation will help you.
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