A holistic view of food
I just finished a (lengthy) article called Unhappy Meals by Michael Pollan. If you have–no, can make–the time to read this article, I highly recommend it.
The basic premise is that the modern approach to food (looking at isolated nutrients rather than whole foods, diets, and lifestyles) is considerably less healthful than earlier alternatives. An interesting excerpt:
This brings us to another unexamined assumption: that the whole point of eating is to maintain and promote bodily health. Hippocrates’s famous injunction to ”let food be thy medicine” is ritually invoked to support this notion. I’ll leave the premise alone for now, except to point out that it is not shared by all cultures and that the experience of these other cultures suggests that, paradoxically, viewing food as being about things other than bodily health — like pleasure, say, or socializing — makes people no less healthy; indeed, there’s some reason to believe that it may make them more healthy. This is what we usually have in mind when we speak of the ”French paradox” — the fact that a population that eats all sorts of unhealthful nutrients is in many ways healthier than we Americans are. So there is at least a question as to whether nutritionism is actually any good for you.
You really should read the whole article, but here are the author’s basic recommendations: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Isn’t eating food a controversial subject? What would we be without foods for fuel, growth, and sustaining on our journey here on earth?
Ah, which service station shall we pull into to get this or that ingredient for today?
If we pay more attention to the foods we are eating we’d find more people “eating to live instead of living to eat”.
The trouble is, most of the foods we are eating make us want to eat more. This is what our bodies are using to recreate our cells.
And because they are so processed our bodies are taking even longer to decompose.
Great post and thanks for bring my attention to the article!
Yes, and in my opinion we need to eat lots more raw veggies and raw fruits, perfect time ot the year to do both, with food stands and farmers markets lots of places.
Most of these farmers know that organic is the most healthy for all.
I started a raw foods plan last May and feel so much better and now have the blood tests to prove this kind of diet truly lowers cholesterol and balances all cholesterol and also balances the triglycerides as well.
Thank God for planting them first.
Today, there’s too much junk in our foods and I wouldn’t be suprise if the pesticides and growth hormones contribute to why people are getting sick!
But that is the problem with our society, no time to do anything, so we eat fast food. No time to go to the store for fresh fruits and veggies.
Hi,
Yes, we can ignore our bodies and yes, we will suffer the consequences of it. Maybe, not at this very moment, but toxins do build up and parasite do invade where things linger to long in our bodies.
Yes there is a way for us to stay healthy. Just like cleaning the house or changing oil in your vehicle, we have to do the same for our beautifully created body to maintain it.
Great info on my blog
I agree that the article is very helpful. I just started a blog on anxiety, and a big problem with life-anxiety is bad choices throughout day to day life - and over eating is definately one of them. I didn’t realise how much stress this causes! Thanks for posting.
Irenefk is right. I wouldn’t say it doesn’t matter what you eat, but as long as you exercise regularly and practice basic healthy choices in your lifestyle you should feel pretty good most of the time.
Keep aiming for those 5-a-day that’s my advice!
Thanks for more food for thought! Just read on CNN about a woman who battled with her weight all her life, until she finally came across raw food eating. She has now lost half her body weight and is ecstatic! Not to mention healthy. Back to nature is the way to go. And juicing for health also helps to make sure that the 5-9 portions of fresh goodies come easy.