I saw this on my sister Rita’s blog today. And it made me cry.
My father has diabetes as a complication from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; my mother was diagnosed with diabetes in her late 60s but was able to reverse her diagnose through regular exercise and Weight Watchers; when I was 10 years old my grandfather’s leg was amputated after gangrene set in after third-degree burns from sleeping with a heating pad (he couldn’t feel the heat or the burning since his circulation was so poor by then). Type II Diabetes (also called “Adult Onset,” although it is increasingly diagnosed in children) is a pandemic in my family, and especially in my Mexican and Puerto Rican communities. When I was a little girl, I was told this disease is genetic and that I could expect to get it when I got older. Not a question of if, but of when. No information about what causes it. No information about how to live differently to interrupt its course. Just a fact. My destiny.
I have come to understand this disease as one of classism. It’s poor people who marketed to and sold cheap mineral- and vitamin-deficient foods. It’s poor people who do not have access to affordable, organic produce. It’s poor people who are marketed to and sold high-processed, high-sugar foods as a way to numb to our emotions and the injustice of classism. The effects of diabetes are slow and insidious. It’s the socially-acceptable way for us to self-destruct. And then we are targeted and blamed for being fat. And yet it is not only reversible--it is completely avoidable.
Despite no longer being poor, the effects of being raised poor and having parents who grew up in poverty under the full weight of classism, I still struggle to make choices that will support my health and longevity. To not choose food to numb, especially ones high in fat and sugar, I have to notice my emotions, perhaps anger or sadness. As the video highlights, without addressing the emotional components of what underpins food addictions, the struggle is fierce and I would dare argue virtually unwinnable. I will continue to share my insights and thoughts on wellness as a social justice issue--and as a personal act of transformation and human liberation. I hope you will join in the discussion…and find support to keep making choices that treat you as the precious being you are.
This documentary is powerful and hopeful…because it is clear that drugs aren’t the answer. I’m hoping to take our family to visit the Tree of Life during my next visit so we can experience it for ourselves.
My family has long history of health issues, including diabetes and asthma, which were caused by having to buy cheap foods that were high in sugar and living in poor housing because we were low-income. My immediate family’s economic status has changed and neither of us have asthma anymore but we still struggle with our old eating habits. Personally, I am very active and know how to eat healthy foods, yet I still struggle with emotional eating. It’s a battle I have not yet won, but I know I can look forward to working through with others because I know I’m not alone. I can only share and pray for my other family members and friends who do not have access to the resources and information that I do now.
Nanci, thanks for sharing.
-Stephanie
Stephanie, it is incredible to notice that even with new information and economic access those old patterns persist! I continue to look at my own emotional eating and mostly, like the video so beautifully shows, there are a bunch of feelings waiting to be released when I don’t stuff them. Good for you for deciding to prioritize your health and to go after these old feelings–and making new decisions about your relationship with food in the process!
Thanks for that. What an informative website.
I thought I’d share this “raw foods” piece that came to me via Susy Quan who can be reached at email hidden; JavaScript is required
The Amazing Power of Fruits and Vegetables to Prevent Cancer
. . . especially when they’re raw
Just three servings a month of raw broccoli or cabbage can reduce the risk of bladder cancer by as much as 40%.
These foods and others in the crucifer family, like arugula, bok choy, beet greens, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, chard, collard greens, kale, radishes, turnips and watercress, contain many cancer-fighting chemicals, some of which are inactivated by cooking. This is why raw foods are superior.
Colorful fruits and vegetables are found in study after study to contain phytochemicals that prevent and reverse cancer. If ever there were a magic solution to today’s cancer epidemic, it is these amazing phytochemicals found in everyday foods.
The problem is most people don’t eat nearly enough of them, and when they do, produce is often loaded with cancer-causing pesticides. Eating an 80% raw, organic diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables and lots of fresh vegetable juices is one of the best things you can do to prevent or reverse cancer.