Column #160

Food is always a hot topic of conversation. People love to tell you about their latest find and how yummy good it was. In that regard discussions involving food are always fun until the moment nutrition and health are mentioned. Then the topic becomes more toxic than religion and politics.

It’s amazing that most people rate the quality of their food by how much pleasure there is in eating it. They consume food and drink with their only thought being that it must be emotionally satisfying. The concept of matching their body’s chemical needs with the chemistry of the foods they ingest is something they don’t consider in the slightest.

John Myers told me about a little trick he uses if a conversation turns to food. You see, John is fully aware of food chemistry and our bodies’ basic chemical needs. So you know he just won’t jump up and down with joy over the latest deep fat fried thing or sugary desert that everyone is rejoicing over. That’s why when the conversation turns to food, in order to help people understand where his thoughts are, he pulls out a note he always carries. He has found that it often changes the conversation in very dramatic ways. Here’s his note:

 

FOOD AND GOOD HEALTH
by John Myers

     Where food is concerned there is one obvious and, inescapable truth that led me to choose the path I have taken. That truth is this;
     Every living creature on this planet subsists/lives on a very restricted diet of specific items. In some cases it is only one item that the creature lives on. In other cases there are a couple or, a few items involved. The most advanced case I can think of is a bear which eats four or five different items in preparation for the winter slumber.
     There is, however, one creature which ignores this rule of nature. That is Human Beings. When humans were hunter/gatherers, they were naturally restricted by life and the needs of survival to certain foods depending on availability. This was Nature’s plan. Then along came farming.
     Farming caused people to group together forming communities. With communities came rules, new foods, and disease.
     Humans have long ago forgotten where they came from. They have forgotten that they, like all the other species on this planet, were designed by nature to consume only a very limited variety of foods. People today have forgotten that the only purpose of food is to nourish the body. People today believe that the purpose of eating is to have fun and fill their ever expanding bellies. People today believe that anything some human creates is going to be good for them. People today are willing to eat almost anything that even hints at the possibility of deliciousness. And people today are sick and dying in ever increasing numbers from a constantly expanding variety of diseases that never existed before. People today are wondering, “Why are we sick? Why are we dying?”
     Today; people die because they have forgotten how to live. It is at its core, the purest example of “Survival of the fittest” I have ever witnessed.

When I got to the end of the note, my first thought was: “Darwin Award!” Sometime in the mid 1980s the Darwin Award was created as a tongue-in-cheek honor. It’s intended to recognize individuals who contribute to human evolution by selecting themselves out of the gene pool via death or sterilization by their own actions. Can it also be rewarded to entire societies?

By ignoring nutritional science and eating for pleasure, millions of Americans are destroying their health and bankrupting the country because of their sky-high healthcare costs for treating their illnesses. What’s needed is a sensible conversation. One that can inspire change. Can it happen?

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

Don’t miss these links for additional reading:

What Exactly is an “Obligate Carnivore?” from Feline Nutrition Foundation

The Inuit Paradox by Patricia Gadsby

Historical Perspectives on the Impact of n-3 and n-6 Nutrients on Health by Bill Lands PhD.

Cereal Grains: Humanity’s Double-Edged Sword by Loren Cordain PhD.

The Evolution of Stomach Acidity and Its Relevance to the Human Microbiome by DeAnna E. Beasley, et al.

Prolonged Meat Diets with a Study of Kidney Function and Ketosis by Walter S. Mcclellan and Eugene F. du Bois

Essential Fatty Acids in Health and Chronic Disease by Dr. Artemis P Simopoulos

Darwin Awards from Wikipedia