Fast food lies & marketing tools

Hello everyone-I hope you are having a blessed day! 🙂

Continuing on with my fast food rant. I think a large part of why 2/3 of Americans are overweight is simply because we are not informed or we are simply being lied to by numerous food companies.

For example, I took it upon myself to take a peek at the Wendy’s menu online-I wanted to check out the nutritional information of their “healthy” salads. Well, one salad had close to 600 calories, 40 grams of fat, 17 of those being saturated fat (the BAD fat), and 1,500 mg of sodium. I was shocked. I don’t know how these companies can market their food as being “healthy” when clearly, they are not.

A lot of people choose these salads over other choices, thinking they are getting a good lunch/dinner, when in fact, they are probably better off getting a hamburger or a grilled chicken sandwich.

Poor marketing can be found everywhere. Food companies tell us to “indulge”, “treat yourself”, or that the product is “fat-free!” (found on licorice labels-since when has licorice ever had fat anyway?). These are all ploys to get us to buy the product, to eat more of the product, and in turn, our health declines while these companies grow richer. More interesting marketing tools I’ve seen recently (and you may disagree with me, which is okay!):

Dentyne chewing gum. On the package, it says it is made with Xylitol (which is a natural sweetener). Take a closer look at the tiny ingredient list and you will also find a slew of artificial sweeteners, such as sorbitol and aspartame. Clever marketing, indeed.

Splenda! Made from sugar! This is another big lie, and I believe that the truth about Splenda will show itself (just as saccharine and aspartame did) in the next few years. Splenda is an artificial sweetener and we are overusing it–children are even consuming it, which I feel is criminal. Please see thetruthaboutsplenda.com for more details. Splenda is made from a chemical compound that includes chlorine. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is!

The Cookie Diet. Atkins. South Beach. Etc. Etc. Etc. I often have thought of a book I could write that would make me millions in revenue, but I’ve rejected the temptation because I’d rather sleep well at night. There is no magic diet or pill that will shed the pounds and keep them off for life except for that of a lifestyle of moderation and calories for your needs (and plenty of movement and exercise). All the rest is garbage. YES, these diets may take off the pounds (and some of them do), but they are just tools, gimmicks-and eventually, after you stop eating the way that the writers of these books tell you to, you will put the weight back on. I guarantee it.

Alcohol and chocolate are good for you. I don’t believe it for a second. I understand that people have been drinking alcohol for centures- just look at the French! They drink and eat whatever they want and they are slim! They have less heart disease than us! How can that be you ask me? Sorry to tell you this, but we are not living in France.

As Americans (and especially in LA), we barely move, we overeat, and our food is heavily processed. We are not the French! They have a completely different attitude about food and a radically different way of living. So stop telling yourself that alcohol and chocolate are good for you and research the truth. Most people do not have these foods in small enough amounts to benefit from them in any way, shape, or form. I understand-alcohol is lovely and fun, and chocolate is…DELICIOUS! But…have you ever seen an alcoholic without a potbelly? A slim chocolate addict? I rest my case.

So folks, the list goes on and on. Just open your eyes a bit to the world of clever marketing. It is astonishing. I just hope that something will be done soon. We need to re-educate ourselves and get back in touch with the way we are meant to live/eat/move. I hope I see these changes in my lifetime.