that a great deal of it has to do with what is IN our food/products as well as our sedentary life.
Before I go too far, let me apoligize for anyone I may offend, but I feel that this is a forum to speak your mind and agree to disagree...I LOVE YOU ALL
I DO however feel that the "Western diet" has changed so much that a large number of people eat not only more processed foods than WHOLE foods, but also there are more toxic chemicals used to grow our foods and that are PUT in our foods which are not good for us (I'll get to than in a minute...and yes, I'm so PISSED about it, I WILL vent which I normally don't). My GRANDMOTHER/'s were born in 1892 and 1903 (they both lived to the age of 91 and 92) and growing up they BOTH cooked from scratch (pre packaged food was NEVER in their house and quite honestly never in my moms house, though my father insisted on steak every Sat AND Fry Daddys on the counter for chicken, smelt etc...ie, he died of heart problems...calcified arteries which was also exascerbated by his diabetes...the man would have me bring Krispy Kreme donuts when I would visit and THEN after he ate one would want me to check his sugar and would laugh when it was 700, he was strange), but when I go to the "regular store" (I now buy most of my food at the health food store where everything is organic AND the contents in my sons cereal bars are "pure" not processed) I watch what other people are buying and the MAJORITY are buying pre packaged food (read the contents on them sometime...scary) and there MAY be a fresh fruit or veg, but not often. Growing up, no, there were foods I didn't like, but yes I had to eat them (or eat least try them) that's probably why I found myself binging on candy etc when I was a teenager and find it IMPORTANT to teach Tony moderation and that treats are ok once in a while, but the good foods will keep you healthy so that you don't get sick like mommy...between me, mom and I my refrigerator isn't big enough for the fresh fruits and veg I buy as we ALL like them and No, there are STILL foods I don't like, but I know they (along with the surgery, drugs, radiation, exercise etc) will give me a BETTER chance for long term survival (I know, there are no guarantees, BUT I do want whatever I can to be in my favor and as far as people saying that a "strict diet" prohibits them from "qol", I disagree, I think you need to have BALANCE, so YES, I eat ULTRA healthy 6 days a week, but I DO give myself 1 cheat day a week and I DON'T feel deprived). NOW, on to the environment...YESSSS I agree that the environment has a large role in the growing incidence of cancer and am CURRENTLY getting in a local fight (
http://www.wwmt.com/engine.pl?statio...agesearch.html) as to a problem in the town I grew up in (most directly affecting the elementary school I attended AND I'm having my fathers house tested as he still has well water and his house is in the affected area...I just found out that one of my friends growing up is one of the teachers affected and has brain cancer and is not doing well, AND the company they believe to be the cause of the problem is the plant and bulb company (not too far from the school) my mother was an accountant for for many years for just prior to being dx w/ rheumatoid arthritis (she says the owners son died in his 20's of prostate cancer) when she had to stop working. When I spoke to the the person at the health department yesterday about the well test, he "hinted" that he believes" that the herbicides DeGroots (this is the name of the company) used DO have carcinogens though the current level doesn't reflect that (the current "safe" level is .73, though he thinks it should be lower and the school has greater than 1.0 levels). I told him that in MY opinion, in a lot of ways (though not ALL ways) progress has set us back, he laughed. SERIOUSLY, do you REALLY think that if the environment were taken better care of AND if people would take better care of themselves, that the cancer rate would be what it is now? Now the "latest" thing is 0 trans fats (buy a bag of 0 trans fat Baked Lays and see not only the corn oil in it, but all the other CRAP...does it REALLY taste that good (like I tell my friends, no food tastes so good that it's worth going through chemo again..unless I HAD to). I'm just waiting to find out that the "sugar" component Splenda has carcinogens since it is added to all our foods and people who eat it think they are doing something good for themselves. No,
NOT IN ALL CASES, but in many. Healthcare is growing, WHY? Companies are pumping chemicals in us (from ALL directions, herbicides, preservative, other "unknown" chemical) so that the drug companies can make us better...OF COURSE healthcare is growing!!!! Kind of like, we drive a car to get us to work to pay for the car that gets us to work. The guy at the health department told me yesterday that you wouldn't BELIEVE all the stuff that has carcinogens in it...pumping gas, causes cancer. l Think of all the "latest and greatest" things to make our life easier (people are too damned busy or only want what they want, not what they need), it seems that with time, they are found that they are not safe for us. I'm sorry for going on so long, AND I know I will get grief about it, but I'm mad, especially since I know like in the environmental case, like the guy at the health dept said, they aren't going to investigate it TOO much (political reasons you know...remember Erin Brokavich), so we citizens need to push the bar. It just pisses me off that a friend of mine is dying because of an "asshole" my mother worked for (and she would confirm this due to his business practices).
Rhonda