Recommended fat intake should increase?

“Recommended fat intake should increase, Canadian researchers say” is definitely an article title that caught my attention. The study cited suggests that “Low-fat diets have led to dangerously high carbohydrate consumption.” It goes on to say that policy on nutrition has been too focused on fat reduction and that we should limit carbohydrate intake. The report points out that “people who ate a lot of carbohydrates (more than 60 per cent of their total calorie intake) were at higher risk of death overall, as well as death not related to cardiovascular disease.” It stresses that “moderation in all foods, including fats and carbohydrates, is important.”

Given that many people in our society today struggle with being overweight and are considered “fat,” at first, the idea of ingesting more “fat” appears counterintuitive. For decades, it was believed that fat was the culprit, so the push was to replace the fat with carbs. With this in mind, the fast food industry jumped at the opportunity to peddle relevant products. If you were to sneak a peek at most fast food joints’ menus, it is quickly apparent that the “food” served is mostly made up of carbohydrates. However, by replacing fat with carbohydrates, the result was that people ingested more carbohydrates and inadvertently became “fat.” In essence, the fast food industry literally “fed” right into this craze and, in the process, padded their pockets at the expense of people’s health.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the fast food industry was actually behind the research that criticized fat and condoned carb intake. Politicians and nutritionists alike were likely paid off to promote one over the other. Bribery and subterfuge at everyone else's expense! For the umpteenth time, blame must be place where it belongs: Blame it on fast foods!

- B.J.T. Pepin

Fast food packaging - A health hazard

In his letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Senator Charles Schumer urges the FDA to launch an investigation into fast food packaging.  Senator Schumer cited the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics report and seven-year Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study that assessed the chemicals used in the production of fast food packaging and the adverse health effects on the human body.  He points out that the FDA has “done little-to-nothing to investigate these health concerns and protect the public from chemicals contained in the fast food products that wrap our sandwiches, hold our drinks or carton our fries.”

If the harmful effects that fast foods have on human health weren’t enough, now it’s the packaging that puts people’s health at risk.  To make matters worse, research clearly outlines the risks, but the FDA appears to be oblivious to the situation and hasn’t taken any action to rectify matters.  This is tantamount to adding insult to injury!

"How is this possible," you ask?  To me, the answer is simple: Like fast foods are allowed to exist, by extension, the packaging is as well.  It is all a matter of dollars and cents.  There is so much money involved in the production, packaging, and consumption of fast foods that too many conglomerates would lose money if laws were put in place to remove or disallow such harmful products.  Some might even say that the fast food conglomerates have the FDA in their back pockets!  It’s easy to have certain things “overlooked” when you throw money at people to sway their interest!

This is yet another example of how the fast food industry continues to control the government and our countries’ people.  Once again, blame must be place where it belongs: Blame it on fast foods!

-B.J.T. Pepin