LET'S DO THE MATH

     Research has shown that the average American consumes - are you ready? - 130 pounds of sugar each year.  Of course, WE'RE not average, but be aware that sugar in its myriad forms is found in almost everything we eat.  Yes, even carrots or cauliflower or onions and in all fruits.  

     If we stuck to veggies and fruit they would provide us with all the sugar we require, and the accompanying nutrients and fiber are just (excuse the pun) the icing on the cake.  But what is life without an occasional scoop of ice cream or a slice of birthday cake?  Man - or woman - does not live by produce alone.

     Back to sugar, let's do the math.  If the average person does indeed consume 130 pounds of sugar each year, then

               I pound of sugar = 2 cups, so 130 pounds = 260 cups/year (WOW)
               365 days into 260 cups =.71 cup/day or a little less than 3/4 cup
               1 cup of sugar = 768 calories
               768 calories x .71 = 545 calories/day
               545 calories/day x 365 days = 198,925 calories/year
               Since 3500 calories = l pound of body weight
               3500 calories into 198,925 = 56.84 pounds of weight/year

                                                HOLY FLAB, BATMAN

     Too much sugar causes the pancreas to produce too much insulin which leads to insulin resistance (cells cannot absorb any more insulin) and here comes diabetes.

     At almost 57 additional pounds per year, how come we're not all grossly obese?  This is 57 pounds if you never moved a muscle.  This is 57 pounds if you ate nothing but sugar.  This is 57 pounds if you never (ahem) used the bathroom facilities (and then you'd have a lot more than 57 extra pounds to worry about). 

    Fortunately, most of us are active enough and eat enough protein, fat, fiber, etc to offset such a huge weight gain.  But next week when you bite off "just the ears" of that chocolate Easter  bunny, think twice before you follow it up with a handful of jelly beans.  Remember, dinner is coming soon - and that luscious Key Lime pie.

     

DEFTINITIONS

 AMNESIA

     A condition that enables a woman who has gone through labor to have sex again.

CONFIDENCE

     The feeling you have before you understand the situation.

DIPLOMAT

     A person who tells you to go to Hell in such a way that you look forward to the trip.

EYEDROPPER

A clumsy ophthalmologist

 FLABBYGASTED

     Appalled over how much weight you have gained.

INTOXICATION

     Euphoria at getting a tax refund which lasts until you realize it was your money to begin with.

POLYGON
  A dead parrot.

STERILIZE

     What you do to your first baby's pacifier by boiling it and your last baby's pacifier by blowing on it.

ANOTHER GMO RANT

     In case you may have thought I had resigned myself to a world loaded with genetically modified food (?) simply because I hadn't posted about it for a while, well.......

     I'm all for science and the many good things it has brought us.  The life-saving drugs and improved surgical techniques have saved many.  Even the researchers that once pooh-poohed the idea that what you eat could affect your health are now climbing on board the healthy foods bandwagon.

     That's good science.  Let's talk about Monsanto, et al and good-only-for-the-bottom-line science.  Years ago when the chemical companies were pushing their pesticides and herbicides, they had a real problem.  Unfortunately the products that could kill the bugs and weeds also killed the crops.  What to do, what to do? 

      How about messing around with a little gene splicing so that the seeds were resistant to the poison that killed bugs and weeds?  Now you could spray Roundup all over the corn, soy, etc. since the crops were Roundup-resistant.  Not only could you sell the heck out of Roundup, but now the only seeds the farmers could use were those Roundup resistant ones.  And the best part?  These little buggers produced sterile plants so no problem with saving some of the seeds to sow next year because all they would do is just lie there and rot.  The company bean counters were beside themselves with joy.  It was self-propagating profit!

      You will hear that the majority of these frankencrops are not in your supermarket.  They are, instead, used as animal feed.  Of course - just like us - animals are what they eat.  Since the GMO crops are cheaper than the old Mother Nature varieties, they are also sold to the food manufacturers to be converted into that super sweetener High Fructose Corn Syrup.  They are also used in most processed foods under a plethora of names that are not only unpronounceable, but give little hint of their origin.

      There are still some corn, soy and other crops that have not been 'improved' by agrichem (my word) companies.  They are clearly marked ORGANIC - NON-GMO.  If you make the decision to do without pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones, antibiotics, etc. in your food, it is difficult but not impossible.  The extra that you spend for real food will be much less than what you would spend at the doctor's office attempting to undo the damage done by our food manufacturers.