A foodie's quest to turn up the heat through strength and conditioning with whole food and a hungry mind.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Thursday Rant: People's Lack of Healthy Food Knowledge


 I am bothered by general lack of knowledge on healthy food; something our bodies depend on every day. As mean as this soundss, it’s really because I care about the general health of friends, family, and other people around me. I know I have a lot to learn (you never stop, really), but it’s something I seek out as much as possible and feel others should do the same.

The media has butchered what is considered healthy and what’s not. Basically, “healthy” foods that are promoted by mainstream media are usually backed by big companies that sell their processed and packaged "healthy" foods….not the small, independent businesses and farmers selling whole unprocessed foods. I continually seek out information on my own and take what the labeling on packages say with a grain of salt.

My devotion to good health is why I started this blog and why I prepare most of the meals I eat. Seeing and hearing how ignorant people can be shouldn’t get to me like it does, but….it does. Why is this? I can only assume it has something to do with how passionate I am about an area that is important to all of humanity and feel everyone should be the same. I understand kids, if raised in a setting where nutrition is not discussed and food is just food, then they will not know better to question their food; they just eat what’s in front of them. But, with health being a main topic across all media sources, grown adults should try harder to teach their offspring to care more and seek information for what they don’t know.

Good health, after all, is directly related to a person’s diet as well as activity level. I am a huge advocate of daily exercise, but diet is the main contributor to health. If more of us cared to learn about nutrition, I bet there would be lower health care costs across the board and it wouldn’t be such a big issue as it is now. Yeah yeah, I know this is far fetched and can’t / won’t happen over night, but I can dream, right?

I consider this blog as a great way to help try and inform people on a healthier lifestyle that can still be enjoyed. I have a great time in the kitchen and it helps relieve stress while learning new things myself. I don’t have a kid now, but when I do, I want to make sure to pass on the importance of living healthily and how to do so. I try to teach others (sometimes without them wanting) about foods and their benefits or what to use instead of another, less healthy choice.

As mainstream as it is, you’d think some things are obvious, but many people are still clueless. Here are a few ways we can help educate people, please comment if you have more ideas and hopefully this can help all of us to educate the World on food and health

- Parents can and should get in the kitchen and cook healthy meals with their children (allowing them to help with what is appropriate). This increases bonding as a family and passes on healthy values to the next generation.

- As mentioned, blogging on healthy topics will help to increase any reader’s knowledge and hopefully they will enjoy the good read.

- Offer advice to people at the grocery store if they have a confused look or you hear them questioning something. Sometimes it’s well received, I’ve had good and bad experiences with this, but at least I tried

- If you’re into cooking healthy foods, make some for friends, family, and co-workers (hopefully they’re friends too) and let them taste how healthy food is good food. If they like it, you can show them how to prepare at home.

I took today’s post as day to rant (another great use for blogs!) about something I hold dear. Like I said, I know I can’t let how others feel about good health bother since it can’t be forced upon them; they have to want to know. But I remain persistent and will fill the ears of anyone who cares to listen.
I read a lot of blogs by other healthy foodies and can see many others who are as passionate about health as I am.

To all of you healthy foodies (bloggers and non-bloggers alike), do you ever feel this way? Besides blogging, how else do you try and get information across to others?

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