DO SPORTS STARS ENDORSE OBESITY?

ARE SPORTS STARS MAJOR PLAYERS IN OUR NATION'S OBESITY EPIDEMIC?

Most of you will not welcome and appreciate the message in this post.

However, many of you are not happy with your health;  and when you examine yourself in a full length mirror, you are dismayed to view an expanding waistline and other body parts in spite of efforts to exercise and watch your diet.  

Your only consolation is that you are not alone.  Wherever you go in our country, you will see a growing majority of people also fighting a losing battle with excess fat and unaware of why it is happening!

As a nation, the latest research reveals that 21st Century Americans, of every age, are bigger, fatter and sicker than at any other time in the history of humankind.  

According the to the CDC, the Center for Disease Control, obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease and cancer are out of control epidemics in our society.  "Sixty Percent of our population is obese and overweight with Thirty Percent being medically obese."

The state of health in our nation is rapidly deteriorating; and although there are other significant factors such as sedentary lifestyles and lack of exercise, the MAJOR PROBLEM IS OUR FOOD SUPPLY, which is mostly MANUFACTURED FOODS AND BEVERAGES containing TOXIC ingredients destroying our health.

These toxins include preservatives, pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, steroids, artificial sweeteners, gluten and GMO crops, etc. 

But this post will focus on the worst and most damaging, which is the silent and sneaky invasion of large amounts of sugar into almost everything we eat and drink purchased at grocery stores and served at fast food places.
  

Maria Sharapova

Serena Williams

LeBron James

Derrick Rose

The above sports icons are only four of hundreds of athletes and celebrities who receive millions of dollars, yearly, to promote the sales of foods and beverages loaded with SUGAR that are destroying the health of millions of their fans, especially the children and adolescents who idolize them.

We would like to believe that these four athletes are not really aware that their endorsements of  highly sugared products are so destructive to the health of their fans, since it was only three years ago that sugar's profound dangers were publicly presented to the mainstream of America.

THE SUGAR ENLIGHTENMENT OF 2012

Like most Americans, we were aware that large amounts of sugar in out diets was not really good, but we had no idea it was so ubiquitous and destructive until three years ago:

In April of 2012, CBS' 60 MINUTES aired a special report on "SUGAR" hosted by CNN's Sanjay Gupta, MD.

Sanjay Gupta, MD.

This Special featured Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist

at the University of California, who had earlier shocked the world with his  U TUBE lecture entitled "Sugar: The Bitter Truth."

His videos have been viewed millions of times and subsequent research have only reinforced his alarming news that the large amounts of ADDED SUGAR IN OUR NATION'S MANUFACTURED FOODS AND BEVERAGES has been found to be an ADDICTIVE TOXIN THAT IS SIGNIFICANTLY CAUSING OUR COUNTRY'S EPIDEMIC INCREASES IN OBESITY, TYPE 2 DIABETES, HEART DISEASE AND CANCER.

The average person in our society unknowingly consumes in the neighborhood of 130 to 150  pounds of sugar per year, more than one third of a pound daily, which is largely stored as fat, according to Dr. Lustig.

Dr Lustig identified SUGAR as an ADDICTIVE SUBSTANCE in the same category as COCAINE.

During the Special, Dr. Gupta inserted himself self into an MRI Scanner and sipped drops of a cola through a straw resulting in an immediate response of the pleasure centers of the brain in the same way as a response to cocaine.

Dr. Gupta getting into the scanner

Dr. Gupta's brain lighting up on sugar

Also, like cocaine, the more sugar consumed, the more it is craved and the more it takes to make us happy.  A donut, chocolate chip cookie, a Snickers, a Coke or Pepsi are happy moments in a stressful or boring day, and we become addicted to sugar highs for pleasure and happiness in our daily lives.  

When asked why our physicians are not warning the public, Dr. Lustig replied that his conclusions reflected new research unknown by most physicians and health professionals!

Dr. Robert Lustig

Meanwhile, many sports celebrities collect millions yearly to encourage their millions of fans to consume sugar dominated foods and beverages that will destroy their health and future dreams.

Derrick Rose

 I recently became incensed and motivated to research and write this post after viewing a commercial starring Derrick Rose, star guard for the NBA's Chicago Bulls.  The video shows the streets of impoverished Engelwood, U.S.A, a Chicago community of Derrick's origin, as he offers hope and inspiration to rise above these harsh conditions.

The commercial shows Derrick packing a bottle of Powerade as he leaves home for a tour of Engelwood with the final scene being a close up of Derrick drinking from the large bottle of Powerade. 

      

The not so subtle, but powerfully subliminal, message is that Powerade is a key to rising to success from adverse social environments and encourages all, especially youth, to freely imbibe. 

The amount of sugar in this Powerade bottle is 13 teaspoons!

The harsh reality is that daily consumption of Powerade and other sugar laden beverages will keep most residents stuck in Engelwood, Illinois as they struggle with obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, cancer and premature death.

Our nation's tremendous thirst for flavored beverages range from colas to sweet teas to energy and vitamin drinks.  The list of choices is steadily increasing, but almost all contain large amounts of sugar in the range of 32 to 48 grams (8 to 12 teaspoons) of sugar

per serving.

Rethink your Drink!

This coke can looks innocent enough, but...

There is nearly 10 teaspoons in every serving in this large bottle of coke!

The packaging looks healthy, but...

But there is nearly 8 teaspoons of sugar in this "healthy" drink!

Healthy?? There are 8 teaspoons in every serving!

Mer's former favorite:  it has 8 teaspoons of sugar in each serving--2 teaspoons more than her daily recommended allowance!

Newsweek reports that, "while adults consume more than three times the daily recommended intake of six teaspoons, American children are nearly quadrupling that number.  An astounding 33 percent of all that added sugar comes from soft drinks." 

Samantha Olson, of medicaldaily, writes about the beverage companies spending over 3 billion dollars yearly "in an effort to tempt consumers to pick up a liter of brown bubbly sugar with their pizza, or a case of cans for their child's next birthday party.  Those little children have an 80 per cent increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes if they become regular soda drinkers.  Their future will become one full of kidney problems, reproductive issues, osteoporosis, asthma and bad teeth with dissolved tooth enamel."     

LeBron James loves his sodas!

LeBron James, king of the basketball court and king of colas has even named a cola after himself:

He obviously never received the "memo" that his endorsed beverages (Coca Cola/Sprite), donuts (Dunkin), and fast foods (McDonald's) directly lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer for his millions of fans.

LeBron James at McDonald's--pregame meal??

LeBron appears to be more focused on his proclaimed goal to become a billionaire, and his endorsements provide double the income received for playing professional basketball.  He has earned over 145 million for playing basketball and over an estimated 350 million in endorsements! 

LeBron is a good bet to join the billionaire club.  He has befriended multibillionaire (64 billion) William Buffet, and they have dined and played golf together.  Already, he has heeded Buffet's advice for making some wise investments.  

LeBron's greedy ambitions apparently overwhelm any concerns about promoting unhealthy food stuffs and beverages to his millions of youthful fans. 

In his recent KIA automobile commercial, he was viewed eating Fruity Pebbles for breakfast (added money from Post Foods). Really, LeBron, do you eat this for breakfast regularly???

Here is a box of Fruity Pebbles and its ingredients--note the sugar content!

12 teaspoons of sugar in this box of Fruity Pebbles!

Forbes contributor, Peter Ubel, wrote an article entitled, "Is LeBron James Fattening his Wallet by Fattening our Kids?"  

LeBron James if he consumed what he endorses!

Ubel writes about his 13 year old son, a huge LeBron fan.  "My 
son would probably never admit that he thinks Powerade is cool because LeBron drinks it.  He might not even recognize how his attitudes about that product have been influenced by LeBron's endorsements.  But you can bet that the advertising has worked its magic on him, and hundreds of thousands of other 13- year olds."

He concludes that, "LeBron James should be ashamed to make money endorsing such unhealthy products" and he recommends "encouraging famous athletes - who, like it or not, are role models for our children - to put their greed aside long enough to do what is right."

Actually, leading athletes should be warning their youthful fans to avoid the sugar packed foods and beverages that they are endorsing.

Serena and her oreos

Serena Williams, arguably the greatest woman tennis player ever, and tremendous inspiration for millions of children, adolescents and young women around the globe, receives large sums of money for promoting sugar filled foods and beverages.  

In an article entitled "Top Athletes Catch Flak for Endorsements Promoting Junk Foods to Kids", Gitte Laasby identifies Serena as the third leading sports celebrity for endorsing unhealthy food and  drink products. Only football star, Peyton Manning and basketball great, LeBron James beat her out.

Maria Sharapova with her sugar products

Tennis star, Maria Sharapova, was recently recognized by Forbes as the highest paid female athlete for the 11th consecutive year. 
The second highest paid female athlete, Serena Williams, would have challenged Maria for Number 1 IF she had won the U.S. Open and completed a calendar Grand Slam. 

Tennis star, Caroline Wozniacki was the third highest paid and in fourth place was race car driver, Danica Patrick.  

Over a 12 month period, Maria earned nearly 30 million dollars of which 23 million were endorsement monies from such companies as Nike, Avon, Evian, Porsche and Tag Heuer.

Unlike Derrick, LeBron and Serena,  Maria Sharapova does not appear to endorse unhealthy food and drink products, although she has certainly been offered considerable funds to do so.  Her only endorsed beverage is Evian waters. 

However, Maria Sharapova takes the cake for directly endorsing SUGAR when she introduced her Sugarpova Candy Lounge at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships:

Her candies include sours, licorice and tennis ball shaped gum with the promise to "serve yourself some fruit flavored gum balls and chew them up on court.  Winning sure is sweet."

  

Maria was very excited about her new business and had even considered changing her surname to Sugarpova to promote her "premium candy line".

However,  her timing was not so sweet since the health risks of sugar had just recently been publicized resulting in
significant resistance from scientists and nutritionists, who viewed Maria's promotion of sugar as being comparable to Martina Navratilova promoting cigarettes in 1982.

Despite the criticism, the Sugarpova Candy Lounge continues to thrive at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships...

...and prosperous beverage and food manufacturers such as Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Nabisco and MacDonalds continue to pay famous people billions of dollars to promote their products...

...and our nation continues down the road to be the fattest and sickest people ever!

  

PRIMAL POSTURE

Hang out with us to Grow Young!



Greetings!

We know it has been awhile since our last post, but we have been working hard on the blog behind the scenes, so to speak.  We have found out the hard way that these important posts take a lot of research, thought and editing. 

This "PRIMAL POSTURE" post is an expansion of our post about the "MIGHTY MYSTERY MUSCLE."   It would be helpful, but not necessary, for you to read that post first.

I believe these two posts are probably the most important ones that I will ever write, because they are the foundations of healthful longevity.

Before we start, here are some comments that we have received from our readers:


                       “Mighty Mystery Muscle” FEEDBACK

Hi Mer:  I read Ray’s blog awhile ago and thanks to him I’ve been using my TVA--what a difference!                         

Mina Olson

Good article.   Especially applicable for older people who are losing tone.   A summary is:   Keep the core strong.   The overhead weightlifting that I do works the core on every exercise.  The core (all abs including transverse) is used on everything.   Using a barbell and NOT a machine forces the core to always be active in balancing and support even when the weight is low.                                                                                                                    I am just picturing old people (older than me is the def) holding any weight overhead.  That would be very uncomfortable for most folks.  But it shouldn’t be.                                                                                                                           Steve Condon

Our response:
Hi Steve,  I’m 100 per cent in agreement with your comments.   Your view of most “old” people” being uncomfortable holding weight overhead is as accurate as your comment “it shouldn’t be.”   However, I would add, “and it doesn’t have to be.” 

The limitations of an aging body can be overcome.  At the tender age of 74,  I can comfortably lift weight over my head and find that I am capable of doing almost anything I set my mind to do.  It may feel difficult and uncomfortable at first,  but if I start small and practice to gain proficiency, most things are possible.

 

Weight on top of the head engages Primal Posture.

 

                     

PRIMAL POSTURE 

 



“Parents are always telling their children to sit or stand up straight.  There’s a reason for that.  Without pillar strength, without what I call perfect posture, you will significantly increase the potential for injury in a chain that starts with your lower back, descends all the way to your knees and ankles and rises up to your shoulders and elbows.”                

                      Mark Verstagen “Core Performance”

                                    
 

Although parents are renowned for telling their offspring to stand or sit up straight, most don’t have a clue about the specifics and the extreme importance of a lifetime use of the elements of Primal Posture.

Furthermore, our educational and health institutions have failed to instruct and encourage us to maintain our natural posture.  A posture evaluation should be a preventative part of every yearly physical exam. 

According to Esther Gokhale, (gokhalemethod.com), a renowned expert on posture and my major source of research for this post,  ninety per cent of U.S. adults experience back pain, which is the leading cause of disability in those under 45 years.   She believes that most of this could be avoided by maintaining or regaining our natural posture.

For those over 45, a misaligned body posture becomes a major handicap in maintaining balance and mobility as our bodies age.

If our nation was informed about and encouraged to practice the posture recommendations in our two blog posts,  billions of dollars of medical costs could be saved in addition to healthier, happier and longer lives.
 

WE ARE ALL BORN WITH NATURAL POSTURE, which allows us to transition from crawling on all fours to standing in a vertical position balanced on two feet and moving proficiently in all directions.

The best place to observe primal posture is at a playground.  Children of all ages,  beginning with those just learning to walk, stand tall and exhibit the KEY ELEMENTS of Primal Posture.

  

 

Hi!  Check out my primal posture!

Bela at the beach!

 

KEY ELEMENTS OF PRIMAL POSTURE

• SHOULDERS ARE  PULLED UP AND BACK AND RELAXED DOWN.

• THE CHEST IS PROJECTED FORWARD LIKE SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN…

• AS THE NAVEL IS PULLED BACK AND UP TOWARDS THE SPINE, WHICH ENGAGES THE TRANSVERSE ABDOMINIS AS DESCRIBED IN OUR EARLIER POST ABOUT THE “MIGHTY MYSTERY MUSCLE”.

• KNEES ARE SLIGHTLY BENT as THE GLUTES (BUTT CHEEKS) ARE TIGHTENED.

• HEAD AND EYES ARE STRAIGHT AHEAD WITH CHIN TUCKED IN.   Imagine a  puppeteer pulling straight up with a string attached to the center of of your head.   The chin is tucked in so that the nose is aligned with the sternum.

• A FULL FIGURE PROFILE SHOWS THE EAR, SHOULDER, HIP, KNEE AND ANKLE TO BE IN VERTICAL ALIGNMENT.  

                              

Mer exhibits good posture

                                                                                                                                As As children, we never thought about posture; it was instinctual and automatic and allowed us to physically perform at our best. 

However, at some point between childhood and adulthood, most of us  become less active and needy of our primal posture.

 A mostly sedentary lifestyle results in unconscious compromises in our primal posture; so that by our twenties, the majority of the  adult population has developed two bad habits: the SHOULDER SLUMP and the TUMMY SLOUCH, which usually develop somewhat simultaneously.

SHOULDER SLUMP                                                                                                                  

Especially common with people spending many hours hunched over a computer, the SHOULDER SLUMP leads to imbalances and pain in the neck, shoulders and upper back.   This slump tilts the head and upper body forward and violates the vertical alignment of the spine.

                                      

The shoulder slump

 

This forward lean can also partially squash the lungs and reduce the area used for the vital exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Males, in particular, can benefit by correcting a shoulder slump.  “Recent studies show that maintaining an elongated spine with your shoulders rolled back allows more testosterone to flow through your body, which  might just be the boost you need to not only appear, but also feel and be unfettered and focused.”  (gokhalemethod.com).

                                        

Sitting on a ball creates good posture



 

TUMMY SLOUCH

                                       
                                        

The TUMMY SLOUCH, however, is probably the most damaging by overstretching and weakening the muscles of the lower back and not using, thus losing, abdominal strength.

The  innermost TRANSVERSE ABDOMINIS, which supports and protects the spine from injury and disabling pain, becomes buried in belly fat and no longer effectively supports and protects the spine from injury and disability. 

These slumps and slouches cause the body’s structure to be out of alignment.  Like your automobile, lack of alignment of the frame causes excessive wear and damage to body parts,  particularly the shoulders, spine,  lower back, hips, knees and ankles.    

 

If your car is out of alignment and you continue to drive it that way,  it will increasingly break down resulting in diminishing dependability and an early residence in a junk yard. 

 

 

Similarly, if you continue functioning with your frame out of alignment,  you will likely be moving into assisted living or a nursing home much sooner than anticipated or desired.

 

 

Most back and joint pain and the resulting immobility can be prevented or remedied by maintaining or regaining the mechanics of primal posture. 

CORRECTING THE SLUMP AND THE SLOUCH

Restoring proper posture begins by PULLING THE SHOULDERS UP AND BACK AND RELAXED DOWN so that a side profile shows the tip of the shoulder to be in vertical alignment with the elbow and the tip of the hip.

Stretching and strengthening the shoulder muscles are important.    Doorway, wall, pillar or tree stretches are daily stretches for me and the earlier the better I move through my day.

Shoulder stretches

 

Recently I discovered an excellent shoulder stretch on a fitness show on the Golf Channel.   The instructor demonstrated the thumb rotation stretch as being beneficial to assuming the proper stance for hitting a golf ball.                                       

The Golfer stretch

 



With hands hanging down at your sides,  rotate your thumbs up and  back and relax your shoulders down behind you.   Now, with a straight back and Transverse Abdominis sucked in, bend at hips to address the ball.

 

Ray is ready to golf!



 



My favorite shoulder stretch is the hand-to- opposite-elbow-stretch.  Switch hands to equally stretch both shoulders. 

                                        

A shoulder stretch in Coolidge Corner, Brookline, MA

 

ELIMINATING THE TUMMY SLOUCH begins by pulling your shoulders up, back and relaxed down.  This should result in a feeling of lifting your chest and flattening your abdomen.  If you then react by consciously pulling your naval back towards your spine, you will be tightening that innermost transverse abdominis, which safely supports the spine and keeps you upright.  

Correcting the Shoulder Slump and Tummy Slouch will initiate restoration of innate postural alignment, which will dramatically improve your mobility, control and balance for the rest of your life.

Although the path to restoring your primal posture can be highly rewarding, the journey is challenging.  Your postural muscles have probably atrophied and will require stretching and strengthening.

In the beginning,  weak and tight muscles will resist and the only solution is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE and more PRACTICE.   After awhile,  assuming your natural posture will become a  habit that makes you feel more mobile and in control of your body and your life.

An excellent practice activity is balancing on one leg.  Assume the elements of Primal Posture and strive for a single leg balance of a minimum of 15 seconds.   If your single leg balance is shaky, be sure to  stand near some support.  Strive for equality in leg strength on both sides of your body.

Ray standing near support

 

CONCLUSIONS

Although we are born with innate posture that encourages maximum use and health of our physical abilities, most of us are not aware of the value and mechanics of a healthy posture, and a basically sedentary life results in a loss of primal posture for most of our society.

Furthermore, as our bodies age,  poor posture accelerates the loss of locomotion, balance and mobility resulting in a premature deterioration of self sufficiency and independence.   That’s the Bad News!

The Good News is that age is not a barrier to restoring natural posture.  It will require a conscious and concentrated effort to stretch  and strengthen the postural muscles by correcting shoulder and tummy slumps as described earlier.   

Fortunately, everyone possesses the muscle memory of primal posture dating back to childhood.   And the payoff for posture correction is an amazingly more active, youthful, better balanced and longer life.

Hopefully, these posts about posture and TVA will motivate you to become aware and initiate some valuable corrections if indicated.   A consultation with a fitness trainer or physical therapist could be helpful. 

I strongly recommend visiting gokhalemethod.com for the latest and best posture information. 

In retrospect, these past few months of researching and writing about “Primal Posture” and the“Mighty Mystery Muscle” has  resulted in fine tuning my own posture. Now, in my mid seventies, I feel that I am so much more balanced,  mobile and fit than I was in my mid sixties.  Hoo-ray!

Practicing the use of your postural muscles will automatically result in  increased posture strength and stability , but certain exercise routines can dramatically hasten and improve posture, particularly those focusing on  the critical CORE muscles, which will be the subject of my next post.... 


 

CELEBRATION OF NIECES

We thank our niece,  Madeleine Keller, with her amazing mind and generous spirit, for her recent tech assistance in improving our blog.

 

Maddy Keller, our tech teacher!



 

We congratulate another of our nieces, Kelsey Heeringa, for her recent publication in the Huffington Post.  (www.huffingtonpost.com/kelsey-heeringa/equality-is-connected). Kelsey has been living in Africa for several years and most recently in South Africa where she attended Nelson Mandella’s funeral in Soweto.  In her article, “Inequality Is Connected, Any Color Any Land," Kelsey sensitively examines the tragedies of  prejudice and discrimination, both globally and personally, while offering hope for future equality.

 





Kelsey with her son, Rowan



 

 

 And finally, we add a bit of humor...