I just watched an interesting show on PBS, Unnatural Causes, Is Inequality Making Us Sick? I watched Episode 3, Bad Sugar. I wish i had watched Episodes 1 and 2, but i know they will rerun the series; they always rerun.
We all know that inequality makes us sick. Poor people cannot afford to eat as well, they are more likely to live where there is pollution, and stress is always a factor. But it is interesting to watch a show that goes into the problem in a thoughtful way, in more detail.
In Bad Sugar they talked mostly about diabetes, as one would expect. The parts that got me all excited was the part about, broadly, stress. People who live, specifically, without hope, are more prone to diabetes. I find that interesting both in a general sense and personally. People who feel hopeless are more prone to diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes, not only because they do not eat as well or exercise as much, but because hopelessness affects hormones and other things going on in the body.
🙂 And here i was, afraid i was going to write a very loooong entry on the subject.
Maybe i will write more later. I am still pondering.
Some shows are available to watch online. I wish this one was.
I expect that they go into this, but one thing to keep in mind:
Mass produced food, as one finds in most cheap fast food resturants, is not healthy. To get healthy food you need pay more. Sometimes you don’t pay a lot more, but those couple of dollars add up quick Especially when you only make 20-30k a year, or less, often with kids to support.
Point being that for folks that are on the low end of the ‘have money’ scale, the cheapest food is often the worst food.
I’m also annoyed that in today’s world, growing a small garden for yourself isn’t the standard. Imagine if everyone had the know-how, time, space, and social acceptability to grow some seasonal foods in their backyards. Perhaps it wouldn’t feed your family, but it could supplement in a good way.