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Unhealthy eating & foods inculcated through culture in VI- Cromwell Smith
Mr Smith made the remarks on his ‘Umoja’ show on ZBVI 780 AM on November 15, 2022, alongside Dr Sharlon Lewis. The topic was diabetic awareness and the need to prevent chronic diseases.
Calling for more national persuasion to eat healthy, along with building more awareness around the subject, Mr Smith said persons in the VI often don’t even know what to eat.
Increased risk of chronic diseases
According to studies, diets high in ultra-processed foods, such as sugary cereal and some frozen dinners and luncheon meats, have been linked to increased risk of obesity and chronic disease.
According to Mr Smith, “A lot of us don’t know the foods to eat and even when we hear about the foods to eat, we don’t know about how to prepare the foods, times of the day to eat, water intake,” he related.
“I know we like pleasure, but I think the concept of pleasure has been inculcated in our minds through culture… what we think is pleasurable has been thought to us,” he added.
Dr Lewis said persons who would often speak about their love for candies and sweets should think about taking about it as a recognised drug.
Reject unhealthy foods from other cultures- Dr Lewis
“We have to acknowledge that these things actually have a detrimental effect We have to acknowledge that some of the foods, especially the heavily sweetened processed stuff that we have grown up on in recent time, we have to acknowledge how its negatively affecting our health,” she said.
Mr Smith recalled raising children on healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, and water and discovering their disgust when trying a potato chip which was their first taste of processed food.
“And I'm telling that story to say that if we were raised eating what we should be eating, then we wouldn't desire those salty foods and those sweet foods,” he added.
Dr Lewis urged Virgin Islanders to retrain their tastebuds if they find they cannot give up certain foods by rejecting processed foods from other cultures, along with eating healthy and teaching children about the need to eat healthily.
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23 Responses to “Unhealthy eating & foods inculcated through culture in VI- Cromwell Smith”
Many food items that we regularly imported, sold daily in the various Super Markets, and other food stores contained chemicals that cause health problems, including some medical drugs.
If anyone is the idiot it certainly is you. Shut the $#*% up already you worthless piece of dog diarrhea.
As I see it, we all are accountable to each others, in or to bring a steep reduction of this life threatening, and deadly. This surely is one of our serious problems, that are in need of our urgent response, beginning now.
For the above reason, and more, honest accountibility of how our political leaders managing our finances is vital.
In addition health education, and good eating practices should not be ignored by anyone of us.
Genuine unity for the good health of all our people is the duty of all our people, and visitors, too.
Wharfage increased 100% last year. We pay Duty on freight so things are crazy expensive.
Government need to look at themselves to help the population eat healthy.
I think we focus a lot on foodstuffs, but we need to look at other aspects of living that has contributed to poor health:
Chemicals in bodily care products, chemically laden hygienic products for men and women- orally, topically, and insertionally-, as having major causes;
Lack of properly drinking water, properly showering water, and water for other uses, improper ingestion of junks-orally and visually-, chemically laden hair styles- and a host of other maladies, contribute to many of our health issues.
We drive everywhere and walk and run very little. We tend to eat and drink at all hours of the day, and we get very little rest; all, contributing to poor health.
I would hope that as a people, we would strive to be as healthful AND LOOK, as healthful as possible!