Sodas and obesity have become a hot topic, but the topic is focused on raising taxes on sodas by about 12 cents in effort to reduce consumption and therefore reduce obesity rates. If we're going to get serious about obesity, why not get rid of sodas all together, instead of just finding new ways to raise money for the government? While we're at it, why not get rid of fast foods and other processed and chemical-ridden foods too? Obesity rates would plummet, and so too, would disease rates. You'd be surprised at how simple some solutions are.

The thought might scare the businesses involved in making these products, and their elimination, or complete product line restructuring, would certainly change the nature of our economy and even our society. But isn't it a little disturbing that so much of the economy is based on creating things that make people sick and contaminated with chemicals? And when did we become so afraid of change in a positive direction, anyway? All change, even positive change, requires us to move a little outside our comfort zone.

Seriously, something's wrong with a world where the majority of foods in a mainstream grocery store promote disease. Same goes for most restaurant choices. To eat healthily, by true definitions of consuming largely natural, unprocessed and non-chemically tainted foods, you have to go out of your way. So, why is it that tainted foods have become the norm and mainstream health care ignores this fact?

Truth be told: some of us aren't interested in paying the outrageous "health care" costs of others who don't put healthy foods in their bodies consistently and forgo the junk.

The cost of obesity in the U.S. is about $147 billion annually. But while some are paying these costs, others reap the dollars in, and that's part of the problem. For every astronomical health care bill we see, someone is making that money, and who doesn't like to make money? Such wealth, as we regularly see, buys power and influence. But unfortunately, it's not often for the greater good.

Our society creates sick people with "normal" behaviors and habits, then spends exponentially to "treat" them - and uses methods that don't even address the root causes or real problems. Even by eliminating processed, acidic, sugared and chemical-laden sodas and junk foods, we'd really only be beginning to take the steps of what could be done to eliminate most diseases globally.

If you don't like the system that's keeping people sick, one of the most powerful things you can do is keep yourself healthy and avoid spending your money there. It wouldn't actually be that difficult to shift the power structures around, but it would require the participation of a lot more people.