A friend of mine, M, is an amazing nutrition specialist and personal trainer. Consequently, my diet and exercise habits of the past years have, by mere proximity, come under his expert scrutiny. What I discovered was that my modest attempts at a healthy lifestyle—avoiding fast food, limiting carbs, and lots of weight training and cardio—was still subjected to "what they don't want me to know."
M showed me an article on High Fructose Corn Syrup, a highly concentrated simple carbohydrate in liquid form that enters the body so quickly that the pancreas strains to produce enough insulin to absorb it along with all the other sugar in the bloodstream (diabetes anyone); cells, unable to consume the abundance of energy, convert it fat; and the consequent decrease in blood sugar causes further food cravings. It's so much less expensive than naturally grown sugar, though, that most profit-motivated companies employ its use, relying on consumers to remain blissfully unaware of its adverse effects on the body. If most consumers believed it was bad for them, they would, of course, avoid it, the reason for which most conspiracy theorists believe the industry moves to keep enlightening research on the topic from becoming mainstream. "They don't want me to know about it."
Armed with my new found tidbit of health information, I set off to my neighborhood Giant Eagle, a grocery store chain with a monopoly on the market in Pittsburgh, in search of foods devoid of liquid diabetes only to discover that, although an entire isle is dedicated to it, not one loaf of bread seemed to be HFCS-free until... finally... one from Roman Meal lacked the ingredient. Imagine my joy.... and later disappointment when M just recently informed me that it contained another adverse ingredient, soybean oil, a magical substance that increases estrogen production; fine for women, but it makes men more docile, weak, and emotional... not to mention the acres of rain forest in Brazil being slashed and burned to grow soybeans in an effort to satisfy America's health craze for soy products.
The slow progression of my diet towards healthier food has inevitably led me to Whole Foods, a coop grocery store several blocks beyond the Giant Eagle, which specializes in organic, local, and higher quality foods at, albeit, significantly higher prices. But the produce tastes better, the eggs are full of Omega-3 and DHA, I found a yogurt with an unbelievably high amount of protein, and I'm losing fat.
I can't help but notice how business takes advantage of my ignorance. In the space where I'm not paying attention, anyone will do the cheapest, crappiest job possible to make a quick buck.
The situation also translates to my field. MySpace, Intel, Verizon, and Microsoft all make the shittiest products in their markets yet "lead" my industry. Facebook offers better social networking. IBM makes better processors. Cingular/AT&T has a better cell network. And don't get me started on Microsoft. Most people, though, flock to these companies' products because of prevailing standards, compatibility issues, or popularity.
Perhaps it's the same everywhere, but I have to wonder why the cheapest, most cost-effective means of production aren't ever good for me?
