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| Lean in Cuba 2004, March 4 - 3:29 p.m.
I'm still a little sick. I'm finally going to use the health centre at school for the first time. I have an appointment on Friday to have blood taken. It's been so long since I've had bloodwork done; too long. I get sick almost every month these days. Something is a little off. Maybe low iron or some other issue. Either way, I'm pretty sure I've been suffering unnecessarily. Especially with this new health concern I've recently discovered. I don't think I have mentioned what the problem is, and it's fairly unplesant and nasty so I won't go into detail. It just involves blood in alarming places during normal routines. That's all I will say. Anyhow, I have my pictures from Cuba up. The initial pictures are of Brent and myself and the next bunch are the cuban countryside and the last are Cuban buildings. Some are homes, others are schools or stores and the like. They live so differently. I did not see one fat Cuban. I saw an in-depth report on fast food the other day and it said in some parts of Africa, the ratio of fat children outnumber the ratio of malnourished children. McDonalds is cheaper than vegetables and healthy meats and grains. Isn't that horrible? In Cuba there is no McDonalds, no Burger King or any other American fast food chain. And God love them for it. Some areas of life may suffer but certainly not their health. Even the people in the more run down shacks looked healthy and well. Communism works well for these people. Some are better off than others but every one is eating and obesity is not even a concern. They eat chicken, fish, rice and fruit. The girls who waitresed at the resort looked great. They had wonderful figures, not the starved skinny look that seems so popular over here, but real womanly but trim and fit bodies. I couldn't help but think that they must have thought we were fat pigs the way so many people loaded their plates and went back for more. Seriously, we are fatsos, as a people. Not just the Americans anymore, though something like 3/4 of them are obese. In Canada something like 1/2 of us are fat. That is completely unnacceptable! McDonalds must go. Burger King must go. These horrible fast food companies must stop being a part of our diets. It's utterly rediculous! There is a difference between being big boned and healthy and being big boned and eating far beyond capacity to the point of being obese. There is a difference between having a slow metabolism and eating and exercising accordingly and having a slow metabolism and letting it be the excuse for over indulgence in a fat rich diet. Here is the thing... Tens of thousands of years ago, our ancectors had to survive long winters and had to rely on fat to get them through it because there were no vegetables to be had. We have not evolved in 10,000 years. If you take a baby from 10,000 years ago and raise it today, you would have a child who was just like any other you would see anywhere. Thus, we are still wired to love fat as a source for survival. It tastes good because instinctively it tastes like survival. Fat feels good in our mouths and on our tongues. But the environment around us has changed in drastic ways. Fat no longer means survival. Fat can be found anywhere and we get plenty of it. Fruits and vegetables are now the ley to lengevity and quality of life. But how long until we evolve again for our bodies to reflect this? Who knows. But regardless... seeing Cuba was an eye opener. When you see so little obesity and come home to so much, you really get a good idea of just how bad the problem has become. Thank You - 2006, June 7
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