While the government ups the price of cigarettes and introduces new packaging showing graphic images of smokers’ bodies in order to decrease the number of smokers in Ireland, not much is done to tackle a substance which caused over half a million deaths in Great Britain and Ireland last year – salt.
Salt is found in almost all foods. Once used to preserve bodies in Egypt, now some bodies are not decomposing because of the amount of salt they have consumed. How lovely. It’s a cheap additive with which companies lace their food as it prolongs the shelf-life of a product and keeps people eating more and more. Foods which are packed with salt include soups, pizzas and bread – and this is before any table salt is added.
“But salt is good for you”, you wish to argue. Yes, salt is good for you, but not that highly-toxic rubbish that is almost unavoidable because it’s in everything. Your body needs salt but not table salt. The salt made for humans is the type found in celery and vegetables. Processed salt batters the nervous system and causes the kidneys to work their socks off which in turn causes more blood to be pumped faster and quicker around the body, leading to heart problems and high blood pressure. Former English football manager Glen Hoddle even went so far as to ban his players from eating Heinz beans due to their high salt content.
Dairy products are another misunderstood food group which many believe is vital in order to keep our bones healthy. Although this may come as a surprise to some people, consumption of dairy products is not exclusive to a healthy diet. The American dairy industry has paid the US government huge money to ensure they are in the “3-4 servings per day” on the food pyramid. People are subject to advertisements promoting milk as “your only source of calcium” and who could ever forget the convincing message of “and that’s the natural law”? Even a cow doesn’t drink its own milk, so why do we? As disgusting as it may sound, we would be better off drinking our own mothers’ milk than that of a cow. This is because a cow’s milk is made for its calf that has four stomachs: one which weighs an average of 200 pounds at birth and 2000 pounds just two years later.
Humans, on the other hand, have only one stomach and also don’t have the necessary enzymes to break down substances found in this, rather ironically, completely un-natural product. It is also worth noting that we are the only mammals who keep drinking milk after weaning age and what makes it even worse is that it is the milk of a completely different species. If you are thinking that cats and dogs drink milk, bear in mind it is we, humans, who control what they eat. If you are looking for an alternative source try goats milk, as this is at least made for a mono-gastric animal (an animal with one stomach), coconut milk or soya milk.
So the next time you see an advertisement for these so-called ‘healthy foods’ you may wish to think again.
James O’Rourke
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