Imposing Wellness~Protecting Us From Ourselves at the Sports Park

New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has successfully imposed wellness on the 8 million residents of NYC and the millions of annual visitors.  During his administration three health initiatives have already passed:

1.  Smoking is banned in all eateries.

2.  Trans fats are outlawed in restaurants

3.  Restaurant chains must post calorie counts on menus and menu boards

As of June 1, Bloomberg has submitted a 4th proposal;  the ban of sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 oz.  The justification for such a measure?  New York City's high rate of obesity.  

City Commissioner, Dr. Rose Gowen, Age 52

The closest thing Brownsville has to Mayor Bloomberg is City Commissioner Rose Gowen.  To describe her as Brownsville's self-proclaimed health and fitness guru would be unfair because she has made no such proclamation.  Nevertheless, the commissioner has taken a strong public role on behalf of fitness and fighting obesity with the "Biggest Loser" program.

Recently, Commissioner Gowen has added responsibilities which may enable her to extend the wellness message further in the Brownsville community.  After the orchestrated firing of Delina Barrera, Gowen has assumed the chairwomanship of the Brownsville Community Incentive Corportion or BCIC.  Mean Mister Brownsville has learned that Ms. Gowen is concerned about the menu served at the Brownsville Sports Park, now somewhat under her control as the new chairwoman.  Unhealthy foods such as nachos, chili dogs and sugary soft drinks may no longer be served, replaced by healthy alternatives.

Not since former mayor Pat Ahumada was hit in the chest by a flying plastic bag while riding his motorcycle has Brownsville faced the imposition of rules for its own good.  The plastic bag ban was poorly thought out and remains poorly implemented, actually reducing the quality of life for Brownsville residents, not raising it.  H.E.B. shoppers, for the most part, simply have their groceries loaded loose into the shopping cart.  I recently saw a family pushing a fully loaded cart with meats, vegetables, canned goods, ramen noodles, etc.  Three large dozen and a half egg cartons were on the bottom of the cart as it negotiated the slight incline down to the parking lot.  The eggs slipped out, crushing about half of them.  So much for improving our quality of life.

WalMart has never even acknowledged Brownsville's plastic bag ban.  The outfit forces Brownsville customers to bag their own groceries on top of the old spinning plastic bag rack with a surface area on top of about one square foot.  Again, quality of life lowered for Brownsville residents by a poorly implemented program.

So now, we may face some dietary restrictions at the sports park if rumors are true.  It might be helpful now to identify some of the problematic food items known to create health issues.  Certainly anything suspected of contributing to obesity, cancer, hypertension, gout, diabetes or even halitosis should be curtailed.

Foods contributing to hypertension(high blood pressure)
Salty foods:  canned soups, chips, pretzels, condiments(soy sauce, ketchup, salad dressing), salted nuts, alcohol(beer, wine, liquor), trans fats.


Foods high in fat
chocolate, cheezes, butter, cream, ice cream, fried foods, chips, fries, pastry, sausages, pies, pizza

Foods causing gout(arthritis)
red meat, game meats, shrimp, sweetbreads, peas, spinach, lentils, beans, asparagus, alcohol, gravy


These are just a few of the foods that may or not be considered acceptable in the Brownsville Sports Park.