Vending Machines

The Boy was the one who took his Grandma to the Doctor's office yesterday.  It was a long wait in the waiting room, and as all 16 year old boys will do, he got hungry.

Going in search of sustenance he found the small pharmacy attached to the office and went to check out the snack situation.   Since it was a pharmacy in a Doctor's office, The Boy was not holding out much hope for sweets, but he was surprised.  There was not one healthy option on the entire snack rack!

He mentioned it to me tonight because he had been thinking about it and it struck him as weird that there were not more healthy snack options available.  I have to agree, it is a bit odd that snack foods offered at a Doctor's office (or inside a Doctor's office) would not at least have a healthy option.

It was suggested that perhaps the reason that only junk was available was to ensure repeat business.  Now there is a thought!  If you make sure that your patients eat crappy food that makes them ill, then they will continue to need your services!

That is seriously wrong!  No wonder we are so screwed up as a nation where food it concerned.  The places where we go to get healthy are promoting ill health!

I am in the middle of reading a very interesting book right now that will undoubtedly be showing up in future entries.  Written by one of our countries leading nutritionists it discusses the role of protein  the various advantages and disadvantages of a plant based vs. animal based protein diet.

There are so many interesting things that are wrong with our perceptions of food in our country, it is no wonder that so many people are overweight and obese.  How can there be such amazement that the numbers of of adolescents with Type II Diabetes are skyrocketing  when our schools are serving lunches where french fries are considered a vegetable?

Things need to change, we need to change them.  I don't want my child or grandchildren to suffer like I have because of the way that our society at large (excuse the pun) has taught them to eat.

Think about it, you are sitting in a hospital waiting room while someone you love is having heart surgery; stomach growling, you go to the vending machine for a snack.  Your choices are:  potato chips, snickers, peanut butter cups, m&ms, honey buns, or other sugary snacks.  Who is going to be the next one on the operating table?