Every Wednesday afternoon and Sunday morning I teach Hebrew School. Each day we have a snack break; each family is assigned a day to bring a snack, of their choice. The snack this afternoon was Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies. After I made sure all the students got a snack, I ate one. When I finished eating it, I had the empty wrapper in my hands. I began reading the ingredients and nutrition information. I was shocked and disgusted to read what was in the oatmeal cream pie; some of which are: niacin, riboflavin, sorbitan monosterate, sulfite treated, thiamine mononitrate etc.... Especially after our class discussion today I was disappointed in myself that I didn't read the ingredients ahead of time. I definitely didn't recognize more than five of the ingredients, meaning I should never have eaten it. From here on out, I will make sure to read labels before I put food into my body.This made me realize how often this situation happens in society. When we are hungry, or offered food, we usually just eat it; neglecting to take the time to find out what really is in our foods.
I find it hilarious that Little Debbies are manufactured by a company owned and operated by Seventh-day Adventists - the church that I was born into and of which I am still actively involved. This is funny because a major part of Adventist lifestyle and belief revolves around health. It is not unusual for SDAs to be vegetarian, for instance, or even vegan - and they do not smoke, drink alcohol. Many do not use caffeine - some will not even eat chocolate because of the small amount of caffeine it contains. (Note: I'm from Seattle and have consumed large amounts of caffeine since I was about 15). When I was growing up, we never ate things like Hostess DingDongs or Twinkies because they contained lard. So Little Debbies don't contain lard - but they certainly aren't health food! Because of my background, I've had plenty of opportunity to consider the difference between prohibited certain foods and actually being healthy. Crisco, for instance, is vegan . . .
ReplyDeleteI totally relate to this post, I've done that so many times, especially if everyone else is eating it! It's so sad that kids are being raised to think this kind of 'food' is normal!
ReplyDelete