Talkin' Bout A Revolution

I've come two weeks late to the "Food Revolution" that British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is in the midst of staging in a reality-based television show based on something I've over-the-moon passionate about--helping people understand that the food they eat affects every physical part of themselves as well as their thoughts, feelings and actions. Also that the US food system needs a complete overhaul. And, unless we wake up NOW and not only give up processed foods for non-genetically modified fresh foods but also have a keen interest and understanding of where our food supply is coming from it won't matter what health care reform Washington is able to put into place. It won't be enough to help the amount of people (and specifically children) who will be chronically suffering from Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis, and other physical, emotional and mental dis-ease.

Okay, that was a bit of a rant and rave. But I couldn't help it. I recently watched the first two installments of the ABC-TV reality series back-to-back. At various junctures, it had me laughing, crying and mostly cheering Jamie Oliver on. In fact at one point I was so excited that I fantasized I had joined Jamie on his Food Revolution. When my breathing got back to normal I realized I had......only I was doing it through this blog, through my website, through my teleclasses and teleworkshops and all my in person groups and one-on-one work. I left the television series to him!

Anyway, the premise for this show focuses on the success Oliver has had in reforming the British lunch system in schools. His changes convinced the British government to spend one billion dollars to overhaul the school meal programs. His task at hand here in the US is to start a similar Food Revolution beginning with the town of Huntington, West Virginia, a city that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has deemed as one of the most obese cities in the nation. The main challenge is to work on having fresh meals cooked--and even more challenging--eaten by the children on one elementary school. These kids, between the ages of 5-11, have taste buds already so trained on chemicalized, white-flour and sugar-laden meals that don't include many vegetables (unless you include french fries cooked in non-healthy oils) that these addictive, nutrient-depleted meals are the basis for their food/energy source 180 or so days of the year. And they like it. We learn that what they are eating outside of the school meal programs aren't getting much better points for quality. In tandem to this situation, Oliver is also working privately with one family comprised of a mother, father, two young boys and a four year old girl--all extremely overweight from their processed food diet.

From boxed potatoes (that have an inch of so more ingredients on the box after the word potatoes--most unpronounceable) to the serving of only sugar-filled chocolate and strawberry "milk"and including the ridiculous, militant USDA guidelines for things like two servings of bread to be included in every meal served at schools, it is a sad wonder to watch. My first thought was questioning how more people "in charge" aren't correlating hyperactive, attention-deficit and other learning and behavioral issues to all the foods made in a lab that the children are eating. Of course this questioning was rhetorical. The reason I believe that these correlations aren't being made is because the decision makers are eating poorly themselves. Simply, they no longer think clearly so they are not able to appropriately put two and two together. This is the stuff that really does bring me to tears. It's NOT rocket science, folks. It's common sense.

A few months back I blogged about an amazing documentary called "Food, Inc." (Which is now out on DVD and available for rental through Net Flix and your local video store.) Food Revolution is another step in this wake-up call regarding what we classify as food. The show is available to anyone with the ABC-TV network or a computer (You can stream episodes.) I urge you to check it out and expect it to be of particular interest to parents of school age children. But honestly it is my prayer that it is of interest to everyone who eats food and who shops at conventional supermarkets in the USA. It clearly and succinctly show where we collectively as a nation are headed if something huge doesn't change. A key needed change is in the way we are feeding our youth.

In the March 15th issue of Time magazine writer Vivienne Walt wrote a piece on French schools and the amazing time and care given around meal time. Her son, at age three, was being served meals that include an hors d'oevre, salad, main course, cheese plate and dessert. In addition, parents were sent home menus so that they were aware of what the children were eating--with no repeat dishes over a 32 day period. Included with this were suggestions to the parents for evening meals to better balance out the nutritional values encompassed within a day. Voila!

This is the stuff that gets me excited regarding what I have the privilege of doing for a living these days. Jamie, I've not braved the school systems, I'm leaving that to you, many of my colleagues and First Lady Michelle Obama as she takes on the cause of childhood obesity. While I have a handful of young men and women that I work with, I am mostly taking on the adult population. It's my hope to continue to be the alarm clock waking up the decision makers today. Let's make a nation of healthier folks that aren't relying on pharmaceuticals to change their health status. Everything you eat becomes your tissues, blood, organs, thoughts, feelings and actions. Quality counts.

Before I step down from my soap box today, here are a few things you can do to easily make a change or two for yourself:

1. Make leafy green vegetables a definite menu choice in one, if not two, meals a day. They are like a feather duster going through your body, clearing out the toxins and keeping your body running efficiently and smoothly.

2. Stop the white stuff insanity. This means all the white flour items --pasta, rice, breads, cakes, cookies, pies. There are amazing brown rice, quinoa and other multi-grain pastas on the market. Brown rice and alternative flours--coconut and almond to name two--make for a more nutrient-dense and delicious baked good.

3. Eat real, live food that doesn't come in a box. This is bottom line. It doesn't get any clearer than this.

4. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. I never can resist that one.

If you are interested in any of my in person or teleclass-driven workshops on common-sense driven nutrition and wellness, if you have a group you'd be interested in having me come and speak to on ways to shop, cook, eat and feel better and/or if you'd be interested in setting up a one-on-one in person or phone consult, please contact me through my website: www.wholebodyworks.net.