Tag Archive

Supersized, oversized, overstimulated, overcaffeinated and overdosed.

This is our modern misfortune.

No longer does the majority of our population need to concern themselves with how to have enough, but today the challenge is in not taking too much.  The necessity to store enough food through the winter, or to endure a flood, draught or infestation of our food supply has become something limited to the relatively few people who still subsist on a small patch of earth.  While these things still happen, our global, industrialized agriculture and food system provides us with a seemingly endless supply of food, or food-like items.

Blessing and curse.

Our bodies are still wired for a time when anything sweet or fatty meant the treasure of additional calories to keep us going strong all winter long.  Our taste buds would ensure we would desire the most calorie rich items in order to get the biggest bang for our digestive buck.  Today, the supermarkets are just as loaded with sugary, fat-filled items in February as they are in June.  Seasonal changes in food supply had an intrinsically beneficial effect for the local inhabitants.  In the northern climate of Portland, Oregon, the abundance of leafy green vegetables in early spring correlate beautifully to the liver’s high activity level for the year.  The immense abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables in mid-summer correlates to the peak of our digestive activity while the explosion of rich squashes and tubers in the late summer and fall made for easily stored and digestible foods for the winter months.  Additionally, traditional means of food preservation ensured adequate nourishment of healthy microbes in the digestive system which kept the overall immune system strong through the winter.

Today, we must choose beyond our taste buds in order to have a healthy diet.  However, enjoyment need not be compromised!  When considering the overall effect of a meal, a choice of fresh, local, whole food items that result in feeling energized and strong versus preserved, packaged, processed foods resulting in a bloated, heavy feeling, the choice is easy.

Choose locally grown, organic foods for a healthy diet!

For more information, check out these books:

Healing with Whole Foods, by Paul Pitchford and Staying Healthy with the Seasons, by EM Haas.