They Want your Money - - They Want your Soul

7/9/14 252lbs, 56 pounds lost since 8/30/11
No Ride Today

There is a media war on our souls being waged by those that are after our hard-earned cash. As a population, we fall for and believe media hype and advertising. If an important sounding person says it on TV, after all, isn't it true? Admit it.

We have a real tendency to believe what we are told by people that appear to be experts without actually doing the research ourselves. It's always been the case. If a new wonder drug or weight-loss supplement comes delivered in an Advertising Company's packaging on TV, we buy it, baby.

Madison Avenue and the Drug/Weight Loss/Health companies know they cannot make money off of us if we exercise, even though exercise is by far and away the most effective weight-loss and health-improvement engine there is. My next article here at the Bicycle Blog will feature the proven benefits of aerobic exercise. Suffice it to say that exercise does much more in all areas of life than the supplements and/or pills even claim.

With that in mind, watch the ads for supplements and prescriptions. You will notice that they emphasize that we are busy, busy people. They build the impression, oft believed by us, that we are far too busy for exercise. We have to go places, do things, be social, take care of kids, hold down 6 jobs, and take care of aging parents. Therefore when we cannot fit exercise into our busy lifestyle, we need to try the newest Supplement, take the newest prescription! It's easy and fits in to our busy lifestyle!

But what are our lifestyles like, really? Think about it. We, and our children, sit and stare at screens. We are watching TV, we are playing video games, and we are on Facebook. I know a lot of people,

and I do not know one who is not addicted to some kind of screen. Twitter. Grey's Anatomy. Dancing With the Stars. Candy Crush Saga. Studies show that the average American adult is in front of some kind of screen an average of 5 to 6 hours per day.

I'm not saying these things are evil in and of themselves, but my friends that I referred to all claim that they do not have time to exercise. They cannot take 30 minutes out of their precious Facebook time to walk or ride a bicycle or go for a jog.

And when they don't feel like they have time, a position completely supported (and even suggested) by the money-hungry advertising, drug and supplement industries, then they have no recourse but to begin to depend on the almighty pill for their salvation.

That's the way it is.

Do the pills and supplements work? I think on an individual basis, from time to time, probably. But even when they do work, they do not address all the issues that a regular exercise program addresses. A Blood Pressure medication does not strengthen a person's heart, or increase mitochondria for better sugar metabolism. A weight-loss drink does not thin blood, increase the volume of blood, and create new blood vessels. No drug or supplement affects the human body with the scope of improvements offered by a simple, aerobic exercise program. But they do earn a large profit from unsuspecting and gullible individuals.

Look at society as a whole. We have higher rates of obesity and diabetes than ever in history. We are dying of heart disease and strokes. Yet, we have more "miracle" drugs out on the market than ever before! Advertising on TV is largely peddling products that supposedly will make us look and feel better. But, taken as a whole, do we look or feel better? Nope. With all the drugs and supplements available, if they worked wouldn't the situation be getting better? It's not. We're letting money-hungry corporations steal our money and our health.

When Jesus said that the love of money is the root of all evil, He knew what he was talking about.