by Christine Farrell

Created on: April 24, 2008

A Quick Look At Our Diet & The Role It Plays In The Global Picture

Believe it or not, our diet the food industry, food production and its subsequent distribution all play a significant part in the global picture.

The old adage, 'you are what you eat' has never been so relevant - we have in just decades, thrown the common sense approach of yesteryear away and have, in our masses turned to the fast, the convenient the ready made, the pre-packaged and the take-away. The family meal has all but disappeared.

Our staple diet now contains too much of many of the food types that are potentially life threatening, the high salt, high sugar and foods that contain excess fats are everywhere, our bodies now crave them we are, in many ways, junk addicts -
In recent years pressure from industry and Government has improved our labeling - but in reality how many of us read the small print? We need as consumers, to take back control of our trolleys! Say no to the soda, the double cheeseburger and extra fries and regain a sense of control - ditch the junk!

FACT: Saying NO to the processed, the pre-packaged and the chemically modified food stuffs will not only help our burgeoning waist lines it will dramatically reduce the waste mountain!

FACT: Children who are given fizzy and sugar-sweetened drinks on a regular basis are much more likely to have a weight problem.

Improving our diet, contrary to what we may believe, is not hard, nor will it cost us more in terms of time or money. The first step is to recognize, that a diet high in fat, salt and sugar is of low-nutritional value and with every additional meal, we are increasing our chances of becoming overweight or obese. As obesity figures soar, the cost of treating many often, life threatening diet-related diseases including, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart problems will spiral ever upward.

The Golden Rules

As boring as it sounds READ THE LABEL

Learn the food groups, each day we need to eat food from all 5 categories

Avoid the 'E" - Foods containing the many E-numbers are not good so avoid them!

Eat breakfast - breakfast is the most important meal of the day it wakes up our metabolism and gives us the energy to concentrate through our morning slog! Replace high sugar and sugar coated cereals with low sugar alternatives - too much sugar sends your blood sugar levels spiralling and then you crash - which starts you snacking its a vicious cycle.

Say NO to mid-morning snacks - snacking in between meals is NOT good -

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