Recently, I sat in my airplane seat before takeoff and watched a parade of the obese squeeze down the aisle. Many seemed barely able to shuffle through the narrow space; how they would maneuver their bodies into the 18”-wide seats that awaited them was another mystery.

Never was it more evident to me how unhealthy our society has become than witnessing that performance.  I estimated that at least half the passengers on the airplane appeared sufficiently overweight to be clinically obese. How did this happen?

“Something to drink, sir?” asked the polite flight attendant as she passed my row. She placed the famous Southwest snack mix package next to my water. I studied the ingredients: Canola oil, soybean oil, corn syrup along with sugar. There were at least 40 separate ingredients listed, some of which I couldn’t pronounce, a few I didn’t even recognize.

I have eaten these bits of pretzels, crackers, and nuts, before; no doubt, they are sufficiently tasty and salty to make you want a second package. It even says right on the front of the package: “Snack and Smile.” Maybe it should tell the truth: Snack and Die Early?

Many years ago, I woke up to the realization that the food industry and the government agencies that oversee them do not seem to have our best interests at heart. All you need to do to verify this point is look around you to see what the overconsumption of processed, highly refined foods has done.

It has led to a pandemic of chronic illness, autoimmune problems, heart disease, diabetes and more. Mix this ingestion of inflammatory chemicals with putting 70+ doses of different vaccines into every school age child’s arm, encouraging mothers to formula feed (when they can find and buy the product), and surrounding ourselves with new powerful electromagnetic fields and you begin to see the danger.

Big pharma has contributed to this new world of chemical engineering by providing and advertising a drug for every ailment. And many of the largest pharmaceutical companies are also in the food business as well.

Could the same companies that offer cures for various diseases be contributing to the explosion of the diseases we now face? Are they profiting from both sides? That would be like owning the local liquor store and the alcohol rehab center next door. For example, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies -- Abbott Laboratories -- also owns the bestselling baby formula, Similac, and is the fourth largest manufacturer of infant formula.

By any chance, have you reviewed the list of ingredients for Similac for Sensitive Babies? The list might shake you.

CORN SYRUP, MILK PROTEIN ISOLATE, HIGH OLEIC SAFFLOWER OIL, SUGAR, SOY OIL, COCONUT OIL; LESS THAN 2% OF: C. COHNII OIL*, M. ALPINA OIL†, SHORT-CHAIN FRUCTOOLIGOSACCHARIDES, BETA-CAROTENE, LUTEIN, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, SODIUM CITRATE, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, POTASSIUM CITRATE, SOY LECITHIN, MAGNESIUM PHOSPHATE, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, ASCORBIC ACID, INOSITOL, ASCORBYL PALMITATE, FERROUS SULFATE, TAURINE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, CHOLINE BITARTRATE, ZINC SULFATE, L-CARNITINE, MIXED TOCOPHEROLS, NIACINAMIDE, d-ALPHA-TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, MAGNESIUM CHLORIDE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, COPPER SULFATE, THIAMINE HYDROCHLORIDE, RIBOFLAVIN, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, FOLIC ACID, POTASSIUM IODIDE, MANGANESE SULFATE, PHYLLOQUINONE, BIOTIN, SODIUM SELENATE, VITAMIN D3, VITAMIN B12, POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE, AND NUCLEOTIDES (ADENOSINE 5'-MONOPHOSPHATE, CYTIDINE 5'-MONOPHOSPHATE, DISODIUM GUANOSINE 5'-MONOPHOSPHATE, DISODIUM URIDINE 5'-MONOPHOSPHATE).

What are these inflammatory substances doing to the insides of our babies? What are their long-term consequences?

Back to my Southwest flight. This time I passed on the Snack and Smile mix and instead ate what I had brought on board with me: raw organic nuts, grass-fed beef jerky, and slices of organic apple.

With a little effort each of us can improve our nutrition and take greater control of our health. Start by reading labels. If there are words you don’t understand, it’s probably best to pass on that food item. Next, avoid all products containing processed seed and vegetable oils. They are very inflammatory, designed to make food last a long time on the shelf, and used to enhance a product’s taste so you will want more.

Here are a few examples of oils to avoid: Corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, and grape seed oil. Instead, use coconut oil, avocado oil, or olive oil. You can also add raw butter churned from organically raised grass-fed cows to the list of healthy fats. Yes, that’s right, butter. While we are on the topic, if you can tolerate the lactose sugar in milk, consider switching to a raw organic grass-fed milk. That’s what I put into my morning coffee these days.

Back to healthy tips. Next get rid of all kinds of other sugar! Not just the sugar found in cookies, candy, and cakes, but all those sugars found in such products as Southwest’s Snack and Smile mix. You will only know what you are eating when you read the list of ingredients.

Finally, for now, buy organic produce whenever possible and eat more of those veggies and fruit. With a little effort we can all improve our health.

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