Give yourself some more Grace (Grace II)

Grace II

The other day I heard HHS Secretary Kennedy say that 1 in 8 Americans are now on a GLP-1. It was during a talk show discussion about food safety in the U.S.

The other thing he said was that, given the GRAS standards adopted almost half a century ago — which allow food manufacturers to decide for themselves if a product is safe, without government approval — we’ve created an environment where the average American has no real way of knowing if something is safe to eat.

Meanwhile, we’re all pulled in by marketing from giant food companies and left to navigate that terrain alone. They keep inventing new ways to convince us something is good for wellness — and often the words they use don’t actually mean anything.

They’re marketing stunts.

So what has happened to our health? ………

Well, as Morgan Wallen might say — “I Had Some Help.”

(It’s a really good country song, by the way.)

Let’s explore the help we’ve gotten.

In roughly the last half century, our country has seen the rise of several things in our food supply — ultra-processed foods, seed oils for cooking, the birth of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in literally everything, the ascent of countless artificial sweeteners, and who knows how many GRAS-admitted dyes and additives that we don’t even recognize.

In roughly that same half century, we’ve also witnessed a dramatic shift in multiple health conditions:

• Adult Obesity: 15% (1970s) to 42% by the mid-2000s — nearly a three-fold increase.

• Childhood Obesity: 5% (1970s) to nearly 20% by the mid-2000s — a four-fold rise.

• Diabetes: Less than 1% in the late 1950s to nearly 12% of the U.S. population in the 2000s — a many-fold increase.

• Autoimmune Disease: Biomarkers of autoimmune activity (such as antinuclear antibodies) rose from ~11% in the late 1980s to ~16% by the early 2010s.

• Cardiovascular Disease: Nearly half of U.S. adults now have some form of cardiovascular disease or significant risk factor.

• Cancer: The rise in certain cancers — particularly in younger Americans — is getting attention and suggests that lifestyle, diet, and environmental exposure may be shifting patterns of disease in ways we have not seen before.

(Read: “You Have a Beautiful Aorta” — a short story about women’s health — next month.)

Something’s fishy………

In the last 50 years, we did not suddenly become lazy.

No… and we all didn’t decide it was a good idea to start having dinner at Golden Corral every night……….No. We didn’t.

Morgan Wallen is right — we had some help.

Help from a government that took its eye off the ball and allowed food giants to prosper at our expense.

So, if you are a statistic — battling a little of this, a little of that, trying to recover — give yourself some grace.

Be forgiving of yourself……… you had a little help. But now we know.

Now you know.

You know the modern food landscape is dangerous. Navigating the grocery store today takes vigilance.

You should also know the cavalry isn’t coming. You are your own cavalry.

“But what about Secretary Kennedy’s changes, Kevin? He’s doing such good work!”

Yes…But……He will not change the food industry overnight.

He may make real progress getting the ship to start turning. He will bring awareness to the bureaucracy and to the people.

He’ll help start change. But just like my lesson on artificial sweeteners and their time on the commercial stage (Blog: Fake Sugar and the Boiling Frog) … it will take decades to turn this ship.

But here’s the good news:   You’re not a ship.

You’re a small boat……… and you can turn quickly.

You can change direction almost immediately — because you have free will… to decide to change course.

Not to save the world.

Not to save your community.

Not to save your spouse… or even your children.

But to save yourself.

Because it’s never too late to start over.

So where do you start?

Keep it simple. We humans love to over-engineer everything.

Let me prime the pump with three simple moves that can get you going. As you gain momentum and confidence, you’ll start making your own rules — rules for one.

> Ditch liquid sugar — sodas, sports drinks, juices, sauces, fancy coffees, all of it.

(Win: This one move alone could cut your sugar exposure in half.)

> Eat more things that don’t need a label and fewer things that do.

(Win: You will likely cut in half the fake sugars, starches, and fillers wrecking your metabolism.)

> Keep fast food at arm’s length.

(Another double-down on carbs, sugars, fakes… and seed oils.)

We are not victims. We’ve always been responsible for our own trajectory regardless of dangerous terrain.

…but we did have some help.

Now — give yourself some grace.  Then stand and fight.

Make choices — imperfect ones even ………And don’t look back.

Keep going forward. Always forward.