American Health Problems – Nutrition

I don’t need to tell you that Americans are overweight, malnutritioned, and unhealthy. Look at what is researched on Google, Yahoo, Alta Vista, etc. everyday. People are looking for diets and medical information. We are a high stressed society living on a high stressed land. We know our diet is not healthy. Obesity and diabetes is on the increase. Cancer is also associated with our diets. Even with all the information available we continue to consume fast food and processed foods at increasing rates.

Americans live stressed lives. Many homes have two working parents or just one parent who plays the part of both homemaker and wage earner. People are working two to three jobs just to keep up with the rent, pay for school, and live the American dream. Families have separated and are no longer extended families that can depend on each other. They don’t talk. We are known as dysfunctional. Talk about stress. Even our ground is stressed. We are advised that our land has been over-farmed. Soil depletion has caused our vegetables to come up lacking in nutrients. Even if we slow down enough to cook a meal at home it consists mostly of frozen meat, canned vegetables, and nutrient depleted “fresh” vegetables.

What is the solution? Believe it or not, entrepreneurs. Local greenhouses can supply the need for fresh herbs and vegetables. Herbs and vegetables have been hailed as natural healers for thousands of years. Today what do we do when we’re sick? Stop at the doctor, get a piece of paper, and go see the pharmacist. Put chemicals in and wonder why we don’t get well. “But, I buy fresh vegetables at the grocery store.” Many of those vegetables were picked green and then sprayed to keep them from rotting. They were taken to the store and allowed to “ripen” in the back room. Taste a fresh garden-ripe tomato. Then compare that to the store bought “fresh” tomato. There is no comparison. The nutrients aren’t there because the fruit was picked green. The fruit has to mature to gain its nutritional value. Without maturation many vitamins are lost.

We are looking for greenhouses to entrepreneurs, train them to turn a profit, and get healthy food into the mouths of Americans. We can do this through individuals, groups, and schools. Look at our schools. They are not getting the funding they need to keep up with the demands of society on our students’ education. Schools can feed themselves with a greenhouse and have food to sell to supply student activities and needs. Much can be said also about the effect of lack of nutrition on the minds of our students. Fatigue, overweight, headaches, and lack of concentration are evidences of nutritional lack. Diet can be linked to ADHD, depression, and anxiety. Getting nutrition to our children needs to become a vital importance.