The Tribune

BY IVOINE INGRAHAM

I support putting things in their proper perspective. Our diet is poor, we glorify consuming large amounts of alcohol, smoke cigarettes, cigars and watch our children slaughtered with heavy concentrations of sugar, and fast food made from God knows what, is a recipe for the destruction of a country.

Bahamians brag about their diet. We have become obsessed with the idea that a Bahamian diet is the gospel. We criticise and look down on other countries and cultures, comparing our dishes to those of others. 

Some of us, without travel experience, ignorantly ask for Bahamian dishes as if they are supposed to know what we eat.

However, the reality is that our diet is a cause for concern, laden with animal fat and high cholesterol, which has led to a widespread issue of obesity, triggering a high incidence of diabetes and high blood pressure. We often overlook these health risks, even finding humour in weight gain and sometimes resorting to bullying those who are thin.

We’ve normalised oversized body parts as a sign of good health, but the truth is far from it. Manufactured large posteriors are commonplace and put pressure on those who may not have proportionately built bodies. Because of low self-esteem, the most significant and hilarious new phenomenon is that we spend thousands of dollars adding more fat to essential parts, hoping to capture people’s attention.

Our children are growing up in a culture that celebrates being overweight as cute, a fictitious narrative that ignores the dangerous practices that could lead to serious complications and even death. We often see children being force-fed large portions of food or given sugary snacks as a reward, without considering the long-term health implications, which is a dangerous practice we need to address.

Impressionable children are the most vulnerable victims of our unhealthy dietary habits. We instil fear in them if they don’t consume a heaping plate of food loaded with rice, which eventually turns into sugar during digestion. 

This accumulation of sugar causes our insulin to spike. Some of us know the repercussions, but because it is Bahamian, peas and rice must be consumed. We’ve been dropping down, especially recently, like flies from diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes, yet we will not abandon the diet.

We even use our forefathers who lived long lives to justify eating the same food. But what is not said is that they ate vegetables from the ground, fresh fish from the water to the pot and little to no refrigeration. They walked to and from the field. Since we discarded the healthy way of life, anxious to live modern, we discontinued the habits of our forefathers, saddled with chronic diseases, and are dying earlier.

Sadly, we are witnessing every day, too many of our seniors having to lose a limb because of diabetes, which does not send the strong message that being more cognizant will buy us some time.

Our bad habits continued because we stopped cooking. We are too busy keeping up with the Joneses, spending less time at home with our families, so we rely heavily on fast food. But let’s not be fooled by the term “fast food”. It’s not just fast, it’s also deadly, loaded with plenty of salt and washed down with a drink high in sugar. 

This combination wreaks havoc on our cells and tissues and will destroy our digestive system, challenging our elimination process. In other words, it’s not just a quick meal; it’s a fast track to death.

Children who consume a high volume of sugar are like ping-pong balls, bouncing against the wall and unable to calm down and concentrate. But innocent children are force-fed sugar at an alarming rate at home and school: Lord have mercy on the teachers who have to contend with 30 wired children. We can see why teachers could and should demand higher salaries; Lord knows they deserve it.

But parents who would rather sacrifice their children to save money to party, have their nails done, and change their weaves give them a few dollars to buy lunch rather than make their lunch at home, which is a good time to say that the barbecue sauce on the wings served at schools is loaded with sugar, too.

To stress my point, there have been cries from the public and some sensible parents and teachers complaining about vendors who camp outside the school gate peddling all things detrimental to children’s health. 

Candy and artificial snacks cannot be digested without hurting the children, not immediately, but over time. The justification that people have to make a livelihood does not bear fruit, because we should not slaughter our children on the altar of greed.

The damage done to our children is inexcusable. We cannot claim to love our children. The repercusión from the consumption of candies and sweet drinks could lead to wear and tear on the organs and eventually death.

Lazy and ignorant parents take shortcuts to satisfy their children; they bribe them with addictive and deadly sweets. But make no mistake, the aftereffects are more costly than a healthier approach.

We all silently see our children weakened, moving around with false energy from high sugar intake. Then they crash, become lethargic, and stop listening to the teacher, making learning impossible. We change our priority from the value of our children to how we look and what we wear. But the family weakens, and the country suffers. We succumb to tradition, culture, and cultural norms void of common sense and a healthy country.

We cannot see that everyone is unhealthy, which puts an enormous burden on an overburdened health system. 

Still, when we encourage good habits, the entire community will experience a better fate if its inventory is detrimental to children’s health.

To help all of us be healthy because the food retailer sells candy too, the government should discourage it by making it easier and more reasonable for fruits and vegetables and making it very hard for candy and sugar-related items that will serve as a deterrent.

Finally, to make a significant impact, the government should consider increasing the tax on cigarettes, cigars, and alcohol considerably, which would discourage their consumption and generate much-needed revenue for public health initiatives.

Face reality: We can collect much revenue when we tax the unnecessary and harmful things that cause harm to the body, which would discourage some from deteriorating.