Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

I have a GREAT book to recommend to anyone who is interested in learning more about the stuff I have written regarding diet and nutrition. The book is called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and it's written by one of my favorite fiction authors, Barbara Kingsolver. This happens to be a non-fiction book in which she chronicles a year in the life of her family as they vow to eat only those foods which they can either grow themselves or buy locally. It is an incredibly interesting and thought-provoking book, and throughout, she weaves in a vast amount of information about the food industry, the not-always-consumer- friendly politics that have shaped the food which is available to us in our local grocery stores, and examples of why and how Americans have completely lost touch with what "healthy eating" even looks like.

Before reading it, I had a general understanding of organic versus conventional foods, but never really understood the importance of locally grown foods nor the difference between hybrid versus heritage fruits and vegetables and why this difference is crucial. I also never really comprehended how "off track" our eating habits had become as a generation and as a nation. Now I completely get it and am totally on board!! Anyway, the book is a bit dense to read, but well worth it for anyone who is committed to feeding themselves and their families in a way that supports health and longevity.

Interestingly, just yesterday I got my daily newsletter from Andrew Weil which touches on the same theme...read on...

Food is Getting Sweeter

If you’ve gotten the impression that more and more sugar is being added to common supermarket foods – you’re right. A report in the May 6, 2007 London Sunday Times, based on an examination of an industry handbook on food composition, found that food companies have doubled the amount of sugar they add to their more popular products since 1978.

For example, in 1978, Kellogg’s Special K cereal had 9.6 grams of sugar per 100 grams. This has now nearly doubled to 17 grams. Some canned soups have shown a similar increase.

Interestingly, even fruits and vegetables are now sweeter, probably due to market pressures forcing growers to breed hybrids with higher sugar content. Between 1978 and 2002, the sugar in a banana rose from 16.2 grams per 100 grams to 20.9 grams; pears and carrots got sweeter by a similar percentage.

Is it any wonder that obesity and diabetes are becoming worldwide epidemics? The only rational response to this situation is to bypass the industrial food complex as much as possible. Buy unprocessed foods from farmer’s markets and health food stores, and, if possible, select non-hybrid, heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables over modern hybrids, which are quickly becoming analogs of sugar beets. Best choice of all: grow as much of your own food as you can.