When I was little, my mom always used to tell me “you are what you eat”. Once I learned that it’s a saying many other mothers also used to tell their kids, I sort of stopped believing in it, as most people do. Look at it this way: our homes are made of concrete and lumber, but they don’t resemble sandy dunes or trees, do they? In other words, the truth is hard to see. It’s no philosophy, but we apparently have to be reminded of simple things from time to time, when we lose ourselves in our fast-paced lifestyles.
Food is the source from which we extract nutrients – the building blocks of our bodies. The composition of our blood, bone marrow, cell membranes and hormones is determined by the nutritional content of the food we consume. So, as we are made or unmade by it, how important is what we eat? When you stop and look at the matter from this angle, consuming junk food sounds neither harmless nor cute.
The Real Life Cases of…
In 1993, William Foege, MD, and J. Michael McGinnis, MD, published their study “Actual Causes of Death in the United States” in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Before that, the leading causes of death in the US included stroke, cancer, and heart disease. However, the results of their study showed that roughly a million deaths were actually premature. It means that, by modifying lifestyles and behaviors, they could’ve been postponed. In 1990, about 700,000 premature deaths were ascribed to lack of exercise, poor eating and smoking. This issue was revisited in 2004 by a group of scientists at the CDC. They reached the same conclusion.
Nature versus nurture, genes versus environment – is that the question? With a good lifestyle, we can influence our genes or nurture nature. For example, a 2008 study has proven that with stress management, regular physical activity, and a plant-based diet, men with prostate cancer can reduce the activity of genes that promote prostate cancer growth.
How Healthy is the Food We Eat?
We have now reminded ourselves of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and a clean diet. But is the food we eat really healthy and organic? We see the labels, but who makes those labels and what are their intentions?
An investigative journalist, Joanna Blythman, found herself undercover at the “Food Ingredients” annual trade show in late November 2013. She was disconcerted by the broad portfolio of the companies who exhibited there. The natural environment of large companies that work as suppliers of food, but also cleaners, detergents, cosmetics, and adhesive, is not the kitchen, but the laboratory. They see food processing as another revenue stream, not experiencing the cognitive dissonance in providing components for both your household chemicals and your meals.
Powdered coagulated eggs and water-injected poultry. There are processed ingredients presented as more desirable and safer at first, yet ousted as the opposite. Margarine or hydrogenated vegetable oils were promoted as healthier that butter’s saturated fats. The ingredients that large food manufacturers combine are not found in natural food – salt, processed fat and sugar – in their nutrient depleted and highly refined forms. When it comes to safe limits for consumption, they are often determined by the ones who make the additives, thus being scarcely reassuring.
Certainly makes you think – even if you do read your labels, can you still be sure what you are eating?
The Myths
Certain foods, consumed in their natural or processed form, have a “bad boy” reputation among other foods. First of all, we must make a distinction between clean and organic food. They are not necessarily the same, because food can be nutritious without being organic, and vice versa. Think of conventionally grown broccoli or organic gummy bears. The same is the case with supplement myths that should’ve been debunked long ago.
Which are these seemingly bad foods? You’ve been told not to eat peanut butter because it’s super fattening, but it’s just high in fat, as well as B protein, folate, and protein. You just don’t want to go overboard with it, because it has a high caloric value. The ways in which we perceive coffee has also greatly changed, but apparently not enough. No more than two cups a day, however, can help with liver cancer, diabetes and reduce the risk of dementia. Beef, eggs, potatoes, fruits, dark chocolate, and the list goes on, have been labeled as bad, but are actually very nutritious and can be beneficial in a well-balanced diet. Yes, overeating on anything is bad, so the keyword is – balance.
Knowing how to get to the truth behind food labels is important. Something may be packed with sodium or sugar, while labeled as “low in fat”. This is not always an easy job, because a nutrition claim doesn’t always provide you with a full picture. The formula for reducing the risk of any major chronic disease always includes eating well. Work on creating a clean diet for yourself and improve your overall health and the health of your genes.