The Compromised Plate: A call for real food over drugs

As a person who has struggled for decades with my weight, I have been researching the latest wonder drug for weight loss: Ozempic (semaglutide).

I have seen doctors support it and say it is the way of the future. I have seen endorsements explaining that excess weight is not “your fault.” Of course, that resonates with me, because I certainly don’t want it to be my fault. But somehow I don’t believe that, and I know that the healthier I eat and the more I walk and exercise, the better I feel.

But wouldn’t it be better to just believe it’s my genetics and have an injection once a week? From what I hear, you are supposed to take it for life once you start. I’m certainly not doing that. I’ve been able to stop most of my medications like metformin for Type 2 diabetes, which I cured with a better diet years ago. I’m working to get healthy enough to stop other medications too.

What really upset me as I did my research was the fact that Ozempic is being approved for children, because a huge number of children are considered obese. The possible side effects, according to their website, are tumors and cancer. Possibly kidney problems.

Also, there has been increased suicidal ideation reported with people who are taking it. A doctor explained that it’s not surprising since Ozempic affects your gut, which is where serotonin is made. Experts are still unsure what all the side effects are.

It’s no surprise that children are becoming obese and have chronic diseases because they are spending less time running and playing outside. They also eat more processed foods. As much as 30% are on ADHD medications which may cause weight gain. The pharmaceutical industry considers children their most profitable customer if they can get them on a medication early and for the rest of their lives.

But why not teach them and their parents to eat well and exercise and remove the need of medication?

It was explained to me like this, “If you have a sick fish because it’s in a dirty fishbowl, wouldn’t you clean the fishbowl and remove the root problem making it ill, rather than just keep giving the fish medicine?” Makes sense to me.

It’s no secret that we're getting sicker, fatter, more depressed, and more infertile as a nation. More than 25% of young adults have pre-diabetes; 20% of teens have fatty liver disease; 50% of teens now are overweight or obese, and adults who are considered overweight are close to 80%.

Our children suffer from chronic diseases more than at any time in history.

Why is that? We live in an era where our food systems are increasingly infiltrated by chemicals and our health care seems more reactive than preventative. Children, from a tender age, are becoming the unwitting subjects of a vast experiment involving hormone-disrupting chemicals present in their water, their food, and the very environment they inhabit. (Could this be an issue for gender confusion?)

This relentless exposure is not a matter of happenstance but a structural consequence of industries that profit immensely from the ensuing chronic illnesses – a stark revelation that begs the question of moral and ethical clarity in our approach to health and well-being, especially for our children.

The pharmaceutical industry accounts for almost 50% of national media advertising. I wonder why there isn’t more reporting on this industry?

The FDA is more than 50% directly funded by the pharmaceutical industry, and then the healthcare industry and the food industry are not far behind. The food industry is the one that reports 2000 calories from processed food is the same as 2000 calories of meat, fruit and vegetables.

“So you literally have the core institutions that set our culture setting the guidelines. Their bills are paid by pharma and as a consultant for these industries,” says Calley Means, a Stanford and Harvard alumnus and former consultant for the pharmaceutical and food industries.

The healthcare industry, one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors in the United States, thrives not on the promise of prevention but on the guarantee of treatment. This industry's growth is fueled by a disturbing paradigm: the younger generation, increasingly burdened with metabolic diseases, mental health issues, and a plethora of conditions linked to lifestyle and environmental toxins, represents a lucrative future market.

The alarming rise in prescriptions for drugs like Ozempic for children, approved under the guise of treating obesity, symbolizes a gross misdirection in solving the health crisis. The analogy above, of drugging the fish rather than cleaning the tank, correctly describes this misguided strategy, pointing to a systemic failure to address the root causes of our health problems.

And this isn’t just a health issue; it's a societal and cultural one, with implications stretching into national security. Reports highlighting the increased evacuations from combat zones due to obesity-related problems over injuries sustained in battle underscore the gravity of the health crisis facing our armed forces.

The fact that healthcare costs, particularly those associated with managing metabolic conditions, now eclipse the budget of the Department of Defense is a startling indicator of the pervasive impact of poor health across all sectors of society.

Yet, amidst this grim narrative, there is hope, which is real food.

However, the path to this paradigm shift is obstructed by formidable adversaries. Investigative reports have laid bare the tactics employed by the food industry to manipulate scientific evidence and sway public opinion in favor of their processed products. The financial entanglements between the food and pharmaceutical industries reveal a concerted effort to prioritize profit over public health.

The solution is not found in the prescription pad but in the garden, the kitchen, and the community. It requires a collective reevaluation of our food systems, a rigorous scrutiny of the influence wielded by corporate interests, and a steadfast commitment to educating the public on the intrinsic value of real food. This journey back to the basics of nutrition is not just a path to individual health but a road to societal resilience.

As we stand at this crossroads, the choice becomes clear: continue down the path of reactive healthcare and compromised diets, or embrace the healing power of real food. The latter is not just a choice but a necessity – a call to action for all stakeholders, from policymakers to parents, to prioritize health over profit, prevention over treatment, and real food over drugs. In doing so, we not only safeguard our health but secure a future where the next generation can thrive, unburdened by the ailments that plague our society today.