Delphine Red Shirt. Photo by Rich Luhr / Flickr
Ake: Why is "Fast Food" waste sni?
By Delphine Red Shirt
Lakota Country Times Columnist
lakotacountrytimes.com Again, why is fast food not good for you? In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the running title is, "Fast Food Consumption, Phthalates and BPA" (April 2016), industrial chemicals by these names (phthalates & BPA) were found in high concentrations in fast foods. What are these chemicals and how do they get in Big Macs and Whoopers (among other fast foods)? Phthalates are plasticizers found in food packaging, in flooring, and in medical devices. BPA stands for "bisphenol A" and is used in food (canned foods) and beverage containers including bottled water. BPA's are found most in canned foods like canned soup, canned spaghetti, and canned fruit and vegetables. Food, especially "fast food" and canned food is contaminated during processing. Researchers have been monitoring their effects since 2003, through studies like this one, done in 2015, where 8,877 people participated. Their urine was measured as these plasticizers can leach into food and into the human body through eating. The most vulnerable are children and pregnant women (where the male fetus is affected). Among the health problems created by a diet high in these chemicals are: diabetes, high blood pressure, allergies, behavior problems in children (ADD or ADHD), lower IQ,, autism, and altered reproductive development (male fetus) and male fertility. It can create insulin resistance in adolescents and adults. So, what is the answer besides avoiding "fast food"? Eating food with little or no packaging (no canned food until BPA's new canning requirements come out). Buy glass packaging, vegetables, fruit.
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In the early 1900's most communities on Pine Ridge had vegetable gardens, root cellars, and ate homemade bread, soups, wojapi made of wild plums and choke cherries. Simple foods close to our culture like broth or soups (wohanpi); Returning to simple good food. Someone said, "culture" really means your mom (Ina) or grandma (Unci). What they cook or make from their kitchens. Let's return to what we've always known is best for us. Maybe even getting our communities to plant wild plums and chokecherry trees? Just because it's packaged or canned or bottled isn't always better. Think of what kept us healthy for thousands of years.
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