The glaringly obvious is never as obvious as it would seem. Never the less, how often have you seen something so stupid that it boggles your mind? Your common sense is the uncommon assessment for others and I guess that is why Mr. Rogers told us we’re all special. What is the elephant in the room (for me) this time?

People eat shit. I don’t want to be disgusting, and hence the paraphrase. The things people actually are eating turn my stomach more than shit (any kind really). I know those first three words weren’t fun to read, but I’m not writing a rogerian appeal anxious for agreement. Products that are edible are treated as food and have been long enough that most of us aren’t aware there is a difference between the two. You will find food defined as anything that can be metabolized and used to build tissue. Edible substances can fit that interpretation, but you will also find food defined as something not made of synthesized substances.

Why is this worth consideration? Obesity and the related health issues that come with it. Since the CDC started tracking the rate of obesity in 1960 the figures have been on a steady upward trend. That means that each year has a higher occurrence of obesity that the year before, quite literally exponential growth. Cancer rates have risen in the same period of time with a nice reduction in the 90’s as medical technology improved (treating cancer became a profitable industry). Now I know it is false logic to positively correlate two variables just because they have a consistent reaction to each other. Correlation does not imply causation, it merely suggests the link between two variables.

That said, look up the ingredients in a twinkie. Polysorbate 60? Grew that in the garden did you? If you dig a little, you find that the polysorbate 60 is an emulsion that can contain ethelyn oxide, a tumor promoting carcinogen. Don’t trust me though, I’m kind of biased. Don’t trust .com and .org sources either, they’re probably leaning one way or the other pretty strongly. If you like being taken seriously, you need data and logic before you present your hypothesis. Turns out science is your friend. When in doubt check out the NIH’s website for some good data.

My daughter (9 months old) is demanding I turn over the laptop, and I think I had better. Read all the ingredients of the next meal you sit down to eat, then decide what you really want going in your body.