No Trans Fats…Maybe There’s A Silver Lining!

The world, and particularly the U.S. is full of contradictions and extremes. Television, movies, and the media in general are plastered with images of waif-like females. These women are so thin that their legs and arms are the same size and you can often count their ribs. What’s more, these images are so prevalent…so ubiquitous…that women without any body fat look completely normal to us. View an example of a Brazilian fashion model who died recently of anorexia below:

http://tinyurl.com/yrtmoj

This 21-year-old girl was obviously dying when this picture was taken. Yet, the slew of hairdressers and makeup artists that prepared her for the shot apparently felt that she looked good enough to sell products and ultimately make them money.

Paradoxically, despite the increase in eating disorders amongst children and adults, the majority of people in the U.S. are overweight or obese. Obesity is becoming a plague of epic proportions, more detrimental than even smoking. I’ve written in the past that the recent New York bans on trans-fats are examples of too much government intervention. However, obviously something needs to be done to prevent some of these food-related issues. I don’t have any easy answers, but in future blogs I’ll explore some ways that we can mitigate the damage caused by both overeating and under-eating.

Sincerely,
Stacey Albert
Nutritional Writer