Tuesday, November 30, 2010

So you want to eat healthy? But wait..




Many people really try to get on better diets and eat healthier. But what if they can't afford it? It is said that healthier food prices in supermarkets are increasing more and more throughout the years. Large families or even a small family may not be able to buy such expensive food. I mean think about all the expenses that families have to deal with.. these expenses may be the reason they just go to fast food places. The fast food places may simply be cheaper and have easier access.

If Americans want to help try to lower the obesity rates in America then all these healthier food choices should be easier to access and affortable. Salesmen need to try to consider families and other business issues within today's society.

What do you really know?

There are many food/nutrition issues in todays society. One really made me think and wouldn't surprise me if happened often but I believe it is a biggie that we all should be aware of..

When picking up items in a grocery store, I don't know about you, but I always look at the expiriation date and make sure I am purchasing the same thing. Well ranked number 2 out of 5 major nutrition problems in today's society is the fact that some of the foods we buy are not marked as the right expiration date and isn't really what we think we're buying. How disgusting!!!!

So broken down version.. you could be in a store buying some mashed potatoes (or anything) and there could be something else in that container or it could even be old.. how messed up is this??? Why be so lazy to the point that you don't know what you're putting out there for innocent consumers to purchase?! Of course the majority of people in America are so lazy that they do not care how the work is done or what conditions they just want it done quickly..

I know we can't worry about buying food items everytime we're in stores but it is very sad to know so little people care about how they're doing their jobs and what the harm or future outcome can be on a person.

Canned Foods

Do you know what IBS is? IBS stands for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Also known as spastic colon. Irritable Bowel Syndrome can be caused by many foods but there is one type of food in particular that I believe is so popular, and happens to be the main cause of IBS.

Canned Foods is said to be the main cause of IBS. Think about how popular canned foods are in todays society. Whenever churchs or schools want to help out the poor they donate canned foods. Yes people are doing this for a good cause but in reality it could be hurting people. Their bodies may not be funtioning normally, now not only from being so hungry and not being able to eat but also from eating the wrong food. Also, not many people grow vegetables anymore it is just easier to buy the can and heat it up. The healthier choice of course would be to grow vegetables but who is going to take the time to do that?? Instead just be aware of problems with canned foods. It really isn't worth the risk of getting majorly sick in the long run.
Not to mention this type of disease can not be derived from an infection. It's very hard to pinpoint and find its exact location. I just want everyone to be aware of this and if excessive symptoms continue people are aware of this issue.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Red Bull + Vodka

Teenagers today love to mix energy drinks with alcohol, especially red bull with vodka. I don't know what it is but it is a very popular drink especially for highschool and college students. After thinking about it, is it really a good choice of beverage? Think for a second, alcohol with the mixtures of energy drinks.. does that really sound like a good combination? There are some negative effects on this beverage.

First off, when people drink these beverages they get a false sense of intoxication. The feeling for wanting to drink more and more increases and people are not aware of how intoxicated they really are. (The person may be a lot drunker than they really feel) With all of that being said, the risk for alacohol poising increases.

Not to mention, all of the caffeine that is mixed in these drinks. Red Bull alone has over 100 calories so take that and add it to the calories in vodka.. you get a lot of caffeine. All the caffeine eventually will add up too and cause harm to the body.

Our motor skills are directly harmed from these drinks and the bad thing is we don't even realize it because we get a sense of intoxication. So dangerous.. one of the most dangerous drinks a person can consume.
I can't say that I've never drank one of these mixed drinks but I can say after reading these dangers I will not consume a lot of this drink again. I do not want to lose my life from something that stupid.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Meat and Poultry Irradiation

Irradiation is a basic method of using radiation to destroy or inactivate microorganisms that cause other diseases that can cause food-borne illnesses or spoil food. It is said that this process still does not kill all microorganisms so is this a safe method that should really be used?
If a lot of irradiation is done then it begins affecting the taste, color, and smell of all meats. Would we enjoy that? Would you? You never know when something could go wrong with this process. Not to mention once this processed is done the meat loses some of its nutrional value. (Similar to the one's lost in canned food.) There is also the risk of increased levels of carcinogens and other toxins in foods after this process.
Many people are so controversial with this topic. The approval of doing this to foods was passed in February of 2000.
When this procedure is done it has to be done very specifically with proper training. So what if the training goes wrong? It's us who has to suffer from the bad food.
I feel like this could be a very dangerous procedure especially if it isn't done right. Then we are the one's suffering and it can turn into a life long injury.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Disease in fast food



So many people eat fast food, Taco bell, Mc Donalds, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. Is this food we all eat safe food? Is it all cooked thoroughly or are we eating raw or contamintated food?
A few months ago there was a salmonella outbreak in taco bell foods. As many as seventy five people were really sick by eating taco bell. Even though none of these outbreaks were in the state of Arkansas what if it does begin happening in Arkansas? What if that one person to get it is you?
Salmonella is a very bad disease. Specifically is a gastrointestinal disease that can also lead to dehydration. Salmonella can cause three specific illnesses.. gastroenteritis, typhoid fever, and bacteremia. Gastroenteritis examples would include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, nausea, and/or vomiting. All of this just from a person eating taco bell. Is it worth it? Not to mention, typhoid fever can last 5 to 21 days! YES, that long!! Bacteremia can also harm a person's brain and spinal cord from infection in the blood.
Clearly, this is a very dangerous disease! Why would any fast food restaurant, or restaurant in general, want to have dirty foods that could infect people like this? It's just like if a restaurants health inspection got bad reviews then why continue to make food? That shouldn't be allowed in my opinion.
Not only could salmonella be a disease in fast food but e coli is also known to be one. E coli is commonly found in beef and vegetables. A helpful type of E Coli is known to live on our large intestines that is benefical for the break down of foods but there are also the "strains" of E Coli that are not beneficial and end up getting in our blood streams causing serious conditions to a person's health. Beef can contain E Coli because that bacteria often infects cattle. It can be in meat that comes from cattle and it's also in cows poop, also known as manure. Cow poop in our foods? Really, how does this happen??

The whole situation is very disturbing. We should be able to trust in the people that are making these foods and the producers. No one should have to be worried about recieving diseases from fast food places.


Monday, November 1, 2010

Expired Caf Food??

A few weeks ago, my roommate and I were in the caf getting a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich. She got hers first and started saying how hard her bread was not very happy about it. I was eating a salad but decided to go ahead and go get mine after hearing what she said. So I went up to prepare my sandwhich  and I looked at the expiration date, of the wheat bread. Come to find out.. it expired nearly a week and a half ago to that day!! Yes, there was molded bread in the caf available for students to use. Can you say gross?  I hardly doubt any student takes the time to look at expiration dates before eating foods in the caf. I mean shouldn't the cafeteria staff be checking that?
It worries me now about eating almost anything the caf serves. What about the foods that are taken out of the package and prepared? Are they expired, old foods also? I noticed one night how I wanted a salad and when I looked down in the tray of lettuce it had a light shade of brown. The next day it didn't thank goodness but this is very disturbing and we should have fresh and clean food to choose from, not old!
Just thinking about eating old food makes my stomach cringe. So many people could get really sick from this. The staff should take more initiative to make sure all of the food is healthy and up to date. I get the impression that they are just lazy and do not want to do their job when students like me find expired bread. Not just expired for a few days either, like a said a good week old! What about people who don't look at their food before eating it either? They would have no idea if they put a piece of mold or a bug in their mouth.
I also heard someone talk once about the pasta in the caf. They were saying how it is prepared at night and then sat out during the day. But if it is not all used at dinner one night that will be the next day's lunch. Really? To me that is not very sanitary, or am I the only person thinking that?
Students like us shouldn't have to worry about that! We should be able to have enough trust in the staff members of the cafeteria about what they are preparing and making available to us!
I am very cautious now and everything I eat in the caf. Although I can't worry at least I can have a heads up on the foods like bread and lettuce.