Raw Milk and Presidential Politics…

While raw milk might not be the first thing you think of when comparing candidates in the next presidential election, one of the Republican presidential candidates running for the GOP nomination sure thinks it is worth mentioning.  As part of his platform, Congressman Ron Paul is pledging to overturn the ban on interstate trafficking of raw milk. If you recall, I have written about this issue in the past and advocated that the ban be repealed legislatively. In fact, Congressman Ron Paul is the original sponsor of the legislation I was touting in one of my first blog posts.

To be clear, I am not a supporter of Ron Paul for President.  His views on foreign policy and his off-the-charts anti-government conspiracy theories make me unable to support his campaign. But regardless of what you think of Ron Paul as a presidential candidate, we should give him credit for raising an interesting debate about food policy in the U.S. that most other politicians are unwilling to explore.

Support the Personal Health Investment Act!!

I write this blog post with (perhaps) impure motives…

When I first read about the Personal Health Investment Act, which allows individuals to deduct a percentage of their costs for health and fitness classes and memberships, I saw dollar signs.  I am a Jazzercise Instructor (and have been for more than fifteen years) and this type of legislation can help lure new customers to my classes.  If I weren’t typing this right now, I would be rubbing my hands together in glee.  My profit motives aside, however, this legislation is needed now more than ever – and America’s ever-expanding waistlines prove it.  We simply must exercise (in addition to eating right) if we want to live long and HEALTHY lives. While many Americans understand this, many are too willing to make excuses for not making a commitment to fitness. 

"The Flavorists"

Do you ever find yourself reading the list of ingredients on the back of your favorite food item and ask yourself, “What the hell does ‘natural flavorings’ mean?”  If a flavoring is “natural” then it should by definition occur in nature, right?  And if that is the case, why would any “natural” flavors need to be added at all?   

As Americans, we clearly like to believe that our food is natural – and that’s why millions of processed (read: artificial) foods found in the grocery store routinely claim to be “natural.” Peel back the onion a bit – a natural onion, hopefully – and we see that the whole notion of “natural flavors” is a complete fraud.

Guess What? Ketchup is a Vegetable Again

Remember when ketchup was considered a vegetable? This was the butt of many jokes when I was a kid and still gets referred to from time to time. For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, back in 1982, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed to reclassify ketchup and pickle relish from “condiments” to “vegetables” – thereby allowing schools to cut out a serving of cooked or fresh vegetables from the school hot lunch program. This was nothing more than a short-sighted way to save money on federally-funded school lunch programs when USDA was facing a budget crunch. As you can imagine, this proposal was met with outrage from nutritionists and millions of moms across the country. Because of the outcry, it never went into effect.

Almost 30 years later, our fiscal situation is even worse than it was then.  So it should come as no surprise that we see similarly misguided efforts to shortchange our school-kids to save a few bucks.

Sugar is the Devil!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

How many times have I said “Sugar is the Devil?” This will be my first attempt to step onto my soap box in a blog post. Those of you who have heard my recent rants about the food supply in the U.S. know that doesn’t mean I don’t get on my soap box at all – I just try not to be preachy about it on the “internets.” J But I decided I had to start a blog and share this lecture with all of you because I think it is important that we all understand what is happening to our bodies internally when we ingest as much sugar as we have become accustomed to doing in this country.

All-Star Foodies

I almost never read Sports Illustrated.  My boyfriend always does, and this past weekend he handed the magazine to me, opened to a specific article and said “You need to read this.”  And he was right – it was a great article titled “The New Training Table.” The article gives readers a peek into the new “food consciousness” that is revolutionizing both pro and big-time college sports.

To Drink Or Not To Drink

This was a big week for hard news... Kim Kardashian's sham wedding ended in divorce, Michael Jackson's prescription-happy doctor could be spending some time in public housing, and oh by the way Greek debt is threatening to take down the world economy. So perhaps you might have missed the coverage of the new Harvard study linking alcohol consumption to breast cancer. If you did catch a headline or a 30 second blurb on your local news, you probably immediately swore off alcohol for good… or maybe you cracked open a bottle right then and there because, at this point, what does it matter? You are obviously already doomed.

The new study indicates that drinking as few as three alcoholic beverages a week may increase a woman’s risk for breast cancer.

Why Raw Milk?

Raw or “unpasteurized” milk has been on my mind a lot lately. The truth is I don’t even drink milk anymore. Aside from my love for cheese and my occasional indulgence in it, I have pretty much cut out all dairy since I discovered a few years back that dairy was actually causing what I thought were seasonal allergies. I had spent thousands of dollars on allergy medication for a decade, and I didn’t even have traditional allergies. I literally took Allegra D everyday for ten years! How’s that for a swift kick in the purse?