The Farmville Herald

We Wasted Our Time

One thing about the people of this United States is that they are seldom hungry. But while they may not be hungry, it is often true that many of us are guilty of consuming an unhealthy diet. This is something of a paradox, in that our standard of living is the highest in the world, and our expenditure on food is the highest, per capita, at any time in the world.

Yet we are a victim of our own luxurious way of life. We are eating too many fats, too much rich food, and too many refined foods. The result is that we in the United States have the highest rate of heart attacks, the highest incidence of nervous breakdowns caused by the tension of every-day living, and have an abnormal high rate of other illnesses.

The cause might be said to be a combination of the fast pace of life in this country and the diet we consume. Though one may not be able to do much about the fast pace of life, change and control can do something about your diet.

For one thing, you can cut down on the number of fats. You can drink fat-free milk instead of creamy milk, and can limit your intake of whipped cream, you can eat some neo-margarine rather than all butter, and you can cut the fat off meat and limit your intake of pork, chocolate, etc.

On the starches and sweets side of life, you can try to reduce your consumption of refined sugar, eat more natural sweets, and limit your intake of breads and other starches. And if you do not eat many fresh vegetables, or fruit, eat an adequate supply of both.

The dietary experts say that this kind of diet will make you live longer. But if you do not wish to live longer, and sometimes it is a close question, then you should adopt the diet recommended because it will make you feel better. If you do not wish to live longer, and you do not wish to feel better, and you are not going to change your mind, you have been wasting your time reading this editorial.