Food for thought.

I have been doing some major thinking, and some major reading. I have gone back to my "History" roots, and the need to just know random things. As you all know I am suffering from chronic necrotizing pancreatitis. This disease of mine has forced me into thinking twice about everything I eat. Eating ultimately anything causes me some degree of pain, whether it be severe or mild, whether it lasts for a few minutes or a few days. Right now, my children are with my mom in my hometown and they've been there for over a week now, which as allowed Red and I to be lazy. We've been going out to eat usually at least once a day, sometimes twice. This is something we used to do B.C. (Before children.) And like I said, I've been doing some major thinking and major reading.

I've found that America has the highest, and deadliest obesity rate out of all of the countries on our wonderful planet. We seem to be ignorant on so many levels. I am not sure if ignorant is the word to use. Probably careless is more like it but I would like to believe that we are ignorant instead because there is no excuse for carelessness. We are ruining our bodies, our planet and our lives. I didn't get pancreatitis from what I ate, I didn't get it from alcohol. We're not sure why I have it at this point but I've been forced to really think about everything I put in my mouth. I have to ask myself if my body is going to allow me to swallow that particular item, and if it will let me swallow it I have to try to think about what's going to happen afterward. I think if everyone did this, obesity would definitely go down. We're poisoning ourselves with food and drink. We live in the moment, in the now. Forget about what's going to happen to you later like the heart attack that you're going to have in the future, or the digestive problems. In a world where we live in our cars, we also live in the drive thru. Our vehicles are our new found kitchen table.

We ignore way too much. Do people even count calories anymore? Everything is processed to no end, preserved with things that aren't good for us in the first place. Do we even consider sodium a threat anymore? Or is it all about Trans Fat intake still? And what about calories in drinks? Do people consider their drinks if they consider their calories. Do people pay attention to serving sizes. I NEED to be on a low fat, low cholesterol, low sodium, low carb, low sugar, high protein diet. You have no idea how hard it is to actually achieve a diet with, well, mostly nothing in it. I do have diabetes. It was induced by taking steroids when I was deathly ill at the age of 12. I apparently have struck all kinds of whammy's in life but I think this one bothers me the most. If someone came up to me last year and told me that I would be nearly vegetarian with in a years time, I would have laughed in their faces but it is a reality I have had forced upon me.

I've learned that in today's world, the healthier food is more expensive. Making these cheap fast food drive thru's so appealing to society today. We're really do ourselves nothing but damage. Everybody ages. Everybody dies. We're speeding up the process at a record rate. No one thinks anymore, myself included. The world has changed as a whole. I almost wish I could go back in time when people were subsistence farmers. Producing their own natural foods. Working hard to feed their families. But the truth is I wouldn't make it in a world like that. I don't think the majority of people now could go back and do that. We've had a taste for convenience and no one will turn their back on that. Red and I saw a commercial for the Pizza Hut P-Zone and decided to look up the calories on it. First off, when 1 person orders a P-Zone, they eat the whole thing. The serving size is half. The calories in half are 690. Eat the whole thing and you're pretty much done for the day, especially if you swallowed it down with a soda or sweet tea. Even fast food salads are so loaded with preserves that some of them actually have more calories than the P-Zone.

How did we get so lazy? TV raises our children. Some kids are lucky if they even see a vegetable even once a week. Their world is full of fries and chicken nuggets. I will admit, a lot of fast food restaurants and chains have tried to incorporate healthier options but in reality they are still bad for you. And no, that diet coke DID NOT cancel out anything-- not the fries, not the burger. Our digestive tracks can't handle all of it. It seems pointless. Resistance is futile. Unless you're going to buy all organic products and produce, you're going to fill your body with toxins that it just can't handle. I never knew your pancreas could have an itis. And here I am struggling with the most basic need to sustain any type of life. There are so many other conditions that are affected by what goes down your throat. Trust me, I know. I was tested for all of them before. People do drugs, people smoke, people drink alcohol at record rates. Did you know last year the United States surpassed France in wine consumption? I am not saying I am innocent from these things. FAR FAR from it. I definitely take the easier way out. I think generations from the seventies and so-on have become so accustomed to the easy way out. It stems to all aspects of life too. Continuing to ruin our ecosystem, is easier than trying to prevent further depletion and pollution of our ozone and other natural resources. I think it's ridiculous that we actually have to put animals on endangered species lists, we declare forests to be national and state parks. Really? Our world has become a concrete jungle. It's sad that on my recycle bin it says "last year we recycled enough paper to save 41 million trees." Wow, right? Nope! That is honestly nothing when you think about it. Soon, we'll need to visit museums to see trees! Ok, yeah, that's a bit dramatic but so is what we're doing. The fact that there was ever a song that said "Plant a tree for your tomorrow," tells me there is something REALLY wrong with us.

It really is a shame. I have not yet figured out how to change this for myself, for my family. I do so very much like convenience even if it kills or hurts... or so it seems. Everything we do has an affect. And they are mostly negative. I thought about getting a tattoo for example. So I did research on the long term affects of having one and the long term risks. Let's just say, I completely changed my mind! They can even cause problems with MRI's and other scans needed for medical care. If I told you how many MRI's and CT Scans that I've had in the last year, not to mention X-rays you would probably wonder how I have managed to avoid cancer. It's crazy to have to be so cautious. The only conclusion I see is that the human race will eventually destroy itself and all of creation due to recklessness and carelessness. We just can't stop ourselves. Yep, we're nuts!