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Old Thu, Jul-25-02, 16:58
Lisa N's Avatar
Lisa N Lisa N is offline
Posts: 12,028
 
Plan: Bernstein Diabetes Soluti
Stats: 260/-/145 Female 5' 3"
BF:
Progress: 63%
Location: Michigan
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I have a hard time comparing carb and food addictions to nicotene addiction (aside from the fact that they are both powerful addictions). You don't have to smoke to live. You DO have to eat to live. For how many years now have the powers that be told us that fat was bad and carbs were good?

Okay....now let's see a show of hands from those that felt tired, achey, nauseated, light-headed and generally awful the first 3-5 days of low carbing and ready to throw in the towel because anything that makes you feel that bad can't possibly be good for you and you would have cheerfully run over a little old lady for a candy bar? Many, many people give up on low carbing before the third day because they can't make it past the carb withdrawals.

Addictions are powerful things. Nobody wakes up one morning and says "Today, I will become an addict." While I absolutely maintain that we are each and every one of us are responsible for our actions, addictions can be and are often stronger than reason or self-control. Addictions can be controlled, but once you are addicted to something, you are addicted to it for life. You are never an "ex-addict", you are a recovering addict.

Personally, I don't think they have much of a basis for a lawsuit, even if they were addicted to food. Can't cook? The freezer sections of the grocery store are loaded with frozen dinners of all kinds, both high and low fat (although very few, if any, low carb ones so far). Are they going to sue Swansons next? Noone makes you do anything unless they have a gun to your head or a knife to your throat and I haven't yet seen that used as a marketing tactic for fast food. We all make our own choices about what we put in our bodies and how often we do it, even if those choices are clouded by addiction. It does , however, make me a bit crazy to see all that high sugar garbage marketed to kids who don't know better with ads that are flashy and make the product look like it's the answer to all of life's problems and that they put all kinds of junk foods in the schools were parents can't supervise what their kids are eating. Get 'em hooked while they're young and uninformed, that seems to be the motto of the makers of such products.

If high carb/low fat is every truly shown to be the cause of heart disease, diabetes and obesity instead of high fat hold onto your seats. Lawsuits will be flying for sure and THEN I think there may be a basis for it. After all...wasn't that a recommended "healthy" way to eat from all the respected health organizations around?
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