Eat what your Grandma ate

http://michaelpollan.com/books/in-defense-of-food/

What did your Grandma eat? Eat that.

I am listening to this audio book right now. Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" It's kind of mind blowing at how greedy companies have destroyed food production as I have stated in my last post.

It seems as though a good direction to follow when it comes to your food choices is to think about what your Grandmother would have eaten when she was young. Think of her next to you when you go grocery shopping and if she doesn't know what you are choosing to buy then don't get it. Anything that has more than 5 ingredients in it has been processed. I picked up a loaf of bread from the grocery store in plain plastic packaging and actually read the ingredients.. there wasn't anything weird in there so I bought it. But the tasty wonderbread stuff has a list of about 20 ingredients. Bread only needs to have flour, water, yeast and salt or sugar plus any flavourings like cheese or for sweet bread. It doesn't need anything else.

Food is supposed to rot. Imagine what would happen if your body was a plastic bag that was tied up and you kept stuffing GARBAGE (food that doesn't break down) in it and it didn't have a hole or opening but stuff just kept getting stuffed in. What if the bag couldn't handle the weight of it or couldn't stretch to fit all the garbage. Yup..think of that visual and then think of what's happening in your body when you put the same junk in it that doesn't break down. I look at photos of myself and can see the years of crap I put in my body out of stress and convenience.

He also makes the connection in the book between the food you eat and the environment. The food that is produced now is stripped of the vitamins and minerals and omega 3's that it had in the past. You have to eat more to get the same amount of nutrients you got 50 years ago. So we keep eating which drains the food supply which makes the companies more money and then they make the food faster and cheaper and make more money while we strip the environment and get fatter in the process. Then the drug companies develop drugs to solve the problems the bad food has created and the hospitals seek more money to treat the diseases once they get past the point of where the drugs will solve the problems.

Here'a a thought.... what if we just go back to eating the way we used to ... buy whole Organic foods which is the equivalent of what a regular fruit and vegetable was in the past and we eat less meat and make everything from scratch at home. Spend more money on food, spend more time producing it and spend more time eating it with your friends and families. There might be a good chance that the greedy companies get the message and stop producing the processed foods and the drug companies only focus on drugs that are needed instead of the quick fix lifelong dependent drugs. Shift the focus to prevention and invest your money in food instead of drugs. As I told a friend recently. You can pay more for your food now or you can pay more to get back your health later.

I always liked to cook but because of my crazy life in the past 10 years I have cooked less and less and have gained more and more weight and truly feeling the effects now. I am trying to buy better quality food and have been cooking more than I have in a while. It's a slow process but I am trying to control my food again. I am sick of feeling sick and tired and don't want to leave my health into other people's greedy hands.

Take control...eat less food, eat better food, spend more time doing it. a bit of Micheal Pollan's good advice.

Get Real...Eat Real Food.