Living on the Standard American Diet, better known by its acronym SAD, does not only affect your chances of getting cancer or a fatal disease, but it also affects crime rates and overall human behavior. ADHD, anxiety and depression, hyperactivity, and mood swings are linked to sugar, artificial coloring, preservatives, and dairy.

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The school-to-prison pipeline was born from the zero-tolerance policies adopted by schools. Schools criminalize kids for minor "school rule" infractions. These issues should be taken care of by the school, but instead, babies become criminals because of "push-out" policies.

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The link between crime rates and food deserts will amaze you. A food desert is an urban area where it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food. According to Jay Pasricha, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Neurogastroenterology, the enteric nervous system is two thin layers of more than 100 million nerve cells lining your belly. They call it the second brain. That puts a whole new meaning to going with your gut. 

 

Children, especially Black and Brown children, intake the SAD diet, which consists of red meat, processed foods, high salt, food coloring, and sugar. There is minimal to no fruits, veggies, fish, or any other real foods in food deserts/urban areas. 

 

One of our biggest dilemmas in America, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines for Americans, is most typical American diets exceed the recommended intake levels/limits of calories from solid fats, added sugars, refined grains, sodium, and saturated fat. Just about 90% of Americans eat more sodium than is recommended. Forkoverknives.com states that American meals contain 63% refined or processed foods, 25% animal-based animal fat products, and 12% plant-based products, but of the 12%, 6% is potatoes. Americans consume about 6% of things like beans, fruit, and nuts.

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The solution to this fatal problem is food reform. Crime rates, death, and behavioral influences will change positively. We must start with fitness and weight Loss. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recorded that only 1 in 3 adults receive the recommended amount of physical activity each week. Children (8 to 18 year-olds) now spend more than 7.5 hours a day in front of a screen (e.g., TV, video games, computer) 

 

We need lifestyle healing. We have to get up and get active. Not only is it good for our physical health, but our mental health as well. As Americans, we have to take a look at food, mental illness, and that 2nd brain, the gut.

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Switching to eating a more plant-based or low-carb diet can dramatically calm, improve, and or eliminate most behavioral conditions. To use the profound words of 2Pac, "Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live, and let's change the way we treat each other." At Kids Fitness: Say Yes To Life, we have implemented food as well as physical exercise reform.