Making the Best Choices

Earlier today we saw a news story about more diverse food offerings, including some very healthy choices, being promoted as possible movie theater snacks. Moreover, it seems like every day we read an item about this or that giant fast food chain offering selections that might actually be considered compatible with a healthy lifestyle. At the same time, it's hard not to be discouraged when so many of these healthier offerings turn out to be short-lived promotions, not long-term changes.

Yet, if you look at the relatively recent history of food and drink marketing in America, changes do occur. When Starbucks first began opening locations nationwide in the 1990s, many visitors found their coffee unduly strong, simply because it was so different from the typical U.S. coffee of the time. Now, of course, most coffee lovers are used to Starbucks stronger tasting coffee. (Whatever harm they are doing, vis a vis the obesity epidemic, with some of their very sugar and fat laden desert drink offerings is a separate matter.)

Of course, it's up to all of us to actually take advantage of whatever healthy choices we see, whether we're at McDonald's, the local convenience store, a movie theater, or even just shopping at the supermarket. At Dr. Feiz & Associates, we know two things: 1. Our overall health is an accumulation of the big and small choices we make every day and 2. If we buy healthy things, companies will be encouraged to keep offering them.

By itself, none of this is going to cure obesity, but the more healthy stuff we eat, and the more unhealthy choices we avoid, the better off we'll all be.