We can't change the last 40 years, but lets change the next 40 years

40 is quite a significant number, for myself as that birthday looms & also for the 40 years of damage we have all been doing to our bodies.  Just watching The Men that Made us Fat - 1974 seemed a year of major change in the way my nation ate.  So consequently I knew nothing different, until I discovered Sweet Poison.  I grew up on those British ads like "a finger of Fudge is just enough" & "Milky Way, the snack to eat between meals", no wonder I was misled to believe it was ok to just have a bit of a sweet treat.  But its the addiction to sugar & our bodies inability to say no to more & more fructose that makes us fat (& sick).  And thanks to an abundance of the sweet stuff in our society & the food industries desire to get rich - we got fat.

The doco points the trigger finger to Earl Butz.  I ask - "Did this man make our Butz big?"

It appears he certainly made a BIG impact on the way Americans & consequently their foods spread into the worlds everyday food.  His slogan "Get Big or Get Out" to Farmers, should have simply just been "Get Big" to the rest of us.

A subsequent key turning point for the US & the other countries that followed suit was the 'Ancel Keys vs John Yudkin' debate of 'Fat vs Sugar' as the cause for weight gain.  The former over-ruled & discredited the British scientist... who had his finger on the pulse way ahead of his time.

We could wish if only that had been different maybe this obesity epidemic & subsequent "new" resulting illnesses would not be so endemic in our new world.  History is what it is however, so for the sake of our own health & that of our children lets not ignore Yudkin once more.  "Pure, White & Deadly" is an insightful read, add to your booklist this year.  Then lets look forward to the next 40 years being healthier & conscious.

Many will choose to continue the path they are on & many think that fat is only external & a measure of gut girth.  Whats clearly shown in the documentary that is worth for ALL to note is "internal fat".... fat that sits around your vital organs.  You can't see it, but if you've been eating sugar pure or hidden for most of your life you can bet its there.  I for one plan to continue reversing those effects... & preventing this happening to my children.  So all you potential TOFI^ wake up & smell the Coffee - straight black decaf probably safest for now!

On a lighter note - heres a yummy Fructose-free & Failsafe dish that I conjured up for lunch today:

ChiQuinoa Dish

Rinse 1 large cup of quinoa, cook in boiling water.  Meanwhile finely chop about 1-2 inch of leek, & crush a garlic clove.  Sauté both in butter until soft.  Add some finely chopped cooked chicken* & 1/2 cup of vegetable stock**.  Mix together well.  Add the drained quinoa, some chopped parley & toss together.  Serve warm.

This made a filling lunch for myself & 2 kidlets. You could also serve as a side dish.

Simple ingredients & very yummy.

*    I keep cooked roast chicken meat sliced up & frozen in ziplock bags for sandwiches.
     It makes Failsafe that little bit more convenient.
**  I boil up Failsafe veggies to make stock & freeze to use in other meals.
^   TOFI - Thin Outside, Fat Inside.