In Part 1 of this series of posts I stated “the process of aging is nothing more than the buildup of genetic and cellular errors and many of the environmental conditions that cause DNA dysfunctions can be avoided and even eliminated.”
If all of these attacks from our environment weren’t enough, the food industry is slowly, methodically killing us. My earliest recollection of processed foods was when General Foods created Maxwell House instant coffee, a product that was supplied to soldiers and ultimately introduced to the public in 1945.
From that time until the 70s I never heard the term obesity, while today some 34.9% of adults are considered obese and another 45% are considered overweight. Not to sound like one of those old farts that says, “In my day…” but, in my day we walked to and from school, actually had physical education classes plus before and after school sports. We brought our own lunches and we ate whole foods, except for a few processed food treats like M&Ms and there were almost no fast food joints.
“Back in My Day…”
We cooked with real butter, ice cream came from whole milk and we were lectured about the starving kids in China when we didn’t finish our veggies. Add to that there were no GMO foods and no DDT pesticides. We could actually walk barefoot on grass without getting sick from soil pollutants such as pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and fertilizers.
Yes, I spent my entire youth in the sun, sans SPF, soaking up freckles and vitamin D.
Our produce and meats were free range, our salmon from Alaska and shrimp were harvested from the sea. As early as 1962 we began to realize that DDT was poisoning wildlife, the environment and endangering human health, and the public reaction launched the modern environmental movement in the United States; DDT was banned.
As seniors we have been exposed time and again to all of these unfortunate, unregulated and man-made hazards in our environment and yet we are still here. But what if anything are we doing about this purge on our health and well being?
That’s the subject for the third part of this post, stay tuned.
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