Is Health Care Really The Problem?

Of course the health care debate matters. 

But no matter what Congress does, our health is not likely to get much better.

Why? 

Because the health care system isn't making us sick. It's our diet.

"The American way of eating has become the elephant in the room in the debate over health care," writes Michael Pollan.

"According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three-quarters of health care spending now goes to treat "preventable chronic diseases." Not all of these diseases are linked to diet - there's smoking, for instance - but many, if not most, of them are."

"There's lots of money to be made selling fast food and then treating the diseases that fast food causes."



Yeah, no one is holding a gun to our heads and making us eat this stuff. 

And many folks often make terrible food choices. 

By the time we reach middle age, though, we pay a price with our sick, fat and tired bodies.


Most people don't have time to do extensive research about health and nutrition. 

They also have a tendency to trust the government to protect them. After all, if they're allowed to sell it in stores, it must be healthy. 

Right?

It doesn't help that nearly all available food is not food at all, but spicy, addictive food-like substances, with lots of toxic chemicals. 

Even the meat and dairy in every supermarket is full of antibiotics and growth hormones. 

All this food-like stuff is made with artificial ingredients that have long shelf life and little nutritional value. 

But it's cheap.

There's a lot of money to be made selling unhealthy cheap food, and then treating the diseases this bad food causes. 

And we the people are going along with it.

Yeah, we don't immediately pay for it. 

But eventually we sure do pay, don't we?