We Are What We Eat

Paying attention to what we eat is one of the most important and simple things we can do to improve our health. The people in most advanced civilizations have been exposed to highly processed foods for several generations.

During this processing of our food, many of the nutritional benefits of the food are processed out. Natural healthy food is alive. The living tissue begins to spoil as soon as it dies. During processing, manufacturers take many of these nutrients out of the food to slow down this spoilage, so the food will last longer on store shelves. The problem is, those nutrients are essential components of a healthy diet.

Eating organic whole food as much as possible is a very basic component of living healthy. I’m not fanatical about this. I am just gradually eating more organic, whole food and less processed food.

Fruit, nuts, vegetables and whole grain are the most natural ingredients of a healthy diet for human beings. Eating lean meat is ok, but it takes way more resources to produce meat and then our bodies use more energy to digest it. I’ve always figured that human beings are omnivorous. Have been since we diverged from our nearest relatives in the animal kingdom, 8 million years ago or so. Then, some one pointed out that human teeth are not carnivore type teeth, and I had to admit that he has a good point.

There is also the well known fact that meat production is a very inefficient way to produce food. And I’ve witnessed with my own eyes some of the inhumane treatment of livestock in commercial agriculture. I am not opposed to eating meat. I am opposed to allowing people to imprison animals in cages and corrals where they can’t move and they live in their own sewer.

I’m not opposed to genetic modification of food, however, transforming our food into a pesticide, by inserting pesticides into the DNA of the food seems retarded. Creating drought resistant breeds of crops by genetic modification seems reasonable. We need a World Health Organization or some other agency that will regulate such issues in a way that benefits all the world’s people, not just the companies that are producing the food.

I encourage everyone to pay attention to what you eat. I do not recommend being fanatical about anything. I do recommend eating mostly fruit, nuts, vegetables and whole grain. The issue of organics is a bit more complicated. I agree that eating organic food is probably most healthy, however, the benefits of the green revolution are undeniable. The use of fertilizer and pesticides has enabled us to increase our food production and decrease famine worldwide. Again, I suggest we proceed with caution, take the middle way, organize our agriculture and food production in ways and means that are best for all human beings everywhere.

I am also in favor of organizing the agricultural foundation of our economy in favor of family farming. I admit that industrial scale agribusiness has some advantages, however, in my opinion the costs are far greater than the benefits. Our whole economy needs to be family oriented. Our civilization must be grounded on the earth from which we evolve, not the stores in which we shop.

I also often take food supplements, like vitamins and minerals. Since many of the nutrients are processed out of our food, I figure adding supplements is helpful. Even though the supplements are artificially manufactured, I figure that supplying my body with an abundance of resources is a good idea. Each person should be conscious and aware of the unique properties of their physical being, as well as their intellectual and spiritual beings. Live holistically.

I should also mention that I have no credentials, other than a life time of self directed investigation of the truth, that qualify me to comment about health or food production or about any subject. I’m just an earthling speaking freely about a very important facet of life on earth. I read. I’ve read hundreds of books about human nature, and history and science and religion. I’ve dropped out of school several times. I love learning, I just haven’t done very well in school.

This is one of the reasons I’ve decided to work on being a high performance entrepreneur, rather than a professional employee. Hopefully, some people will like my ideas and my personality and participate in my little cluster of Internet commerce and network marketing projects.

Happy New Year!

Photo by Mark Stebnicki from Pexels
Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel from Pexels