Friday, June 25, 2010

So What Can We Eat Anymore?

We've all heard this before at one time or another from the frustrated food shopper; "So what can we eat anymore?", and it is true, with all of the studies and research being done our list of healthy diet no-no's is growing at an unprecedented rate.

There was a time when meat (especially that all too often picked on red meat) was ok to eat, but with heart disease being as common in our society as a three-leaf clover the tables have turned, and it became all about the "dangers" of red meat. First eggs were good for you, then due to the high cholesterol diets commonly found in our society, people stopped eating them or simply just ate the whites, which don't even get me started on the stupidity of that... We all know vegetables and fruit are key to a healthy diet, but now with that pesty word "pesticides" buzzing around, people simply avoid the produce aisle. So instead the masses stick with their old diet standby, that box bag or can of processed whatever, so full of artificial preservatives and chemicals, refined sugars and sodium that these foods alone can and should be banned from food stores.

The truth is though, this dietary funk our society is stuck in is our doing. If you never read The Omnivores Dilemma then I urge you to give it a read, or at least watch Food Inc. You will find that we (society) have done this to ourselves and continue to do so. We are so blinded to the reality of our food industry and what it's become (a conglomerate of wealthy corporations that make all the decisions) that we just continue to plug along as if the westernized diet of processed and fast foods are the norm.

So to answer the question of what we can eat, without spoiling the book (or the movie), is healthy. I realize at first glance this sounds extremely vague and not very thought out, but in fact it's really that easy of a concept. What if you could eat all the fruit and veggies without the fear of pesticides; red meat and eggs (the whole egg) without the fear of a heart attack in your near future; what if you could just simply eat (in moderation of course) and not fear the deadly consequences?

We can and it's called locally grown organic seasonal fruits and vegetables, organic grass-fed beef and free-grazed chickens and eggs, and organic natural *whole grains and *legumes. You may not be able to get this at your local fast food joint or down the freezer aisle of your local grocery store, but fear not your countries local organic farmers are just waiting to serve you!

*Based on what I have recently learned (over the past 6mo or so) regarding grain consumption within modern day factory or industrial farming societies, and its adverse effects on human health ultimately leading to many of the illnesses and diseases affecting Americans in epic proportions, I have changed my stance on the importance of such monocrops (grains and legumes) within a healthy human diet. The human digestive system was not designed nor has it evolved to a point to effectively digest such foods like grains and legumes without the body suffering from its harmful side effects; inflammation and damage to the gut. Since evidence shows inefficient digestion and inflammation are the root cause for nearly all human diseases be it heart disease, diabetes, cancer, crohn's disease, autoimmune diseases, and chronic inflammatory disorders in all its forms, a healthy diet should promote a healthy gut (fermented foods) and be anti-inflammatory based (grass-fed meats and eggs, wild caught fish, fresh organic fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds) instead of high in foods promoting inflammation such as grains, legumes, and factory farmed meats, poultry, fish, and eggs.

No comments:

Post a Comment

AllergyFree Search Engine