Enduring the modern food fight
Posted on Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Finding healthy food these days is difficult.
When I walk into a traditional grocery store, I automatically discount threequarters of what’s sold as non-food. I write off most everything that’s processed as dead substances, knowing that most of it’s laden with chemicals, food dyes, artificial flavorings, high-fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated fat, sodium and so-called spices (which is often code for MSG ).
I even despair at the produce and fruits. Aside from the troubling pesticide and genetic modification issues, I know that anything that’s not locally produced has seen long transport times and has often been picked green and artificially ripened, all of which reduces the nutrient value.
Rarely do grocery-bought fruits and vegetables taste fresh from their source. Having grown up on a fruit orchard and lived in Hawaii, I am particularly aware of this when it comes to store-bought fruit, which often tastes bland and mealy to me.
In the meat, fish and chicken area, I know I’m encountering adulteration from hormones, antibiotics, salt solutions, ocean and farm pollution, and food colorings.
I’d be more than happy with salmon that’s less pink, but, no, they’ve got to contaminate it with red food coloring and farm it in polluted waters. Plus, unless you live on the coasts, fish is rarely fresh enough. And I’m not a fan of bottom-feeders, such as catfish.
In the deli section, I know the meat is laden with nitrates and nitrites.
And so I gravitate to organic, whole food stores, but even there one is not always guaranteed healthy food. Health food stores contain an abundance of soybased products. Soy is highly estrogenic and increasingly controversial.
And not everything is organic. The prices in health food stores are high, and often the produce is not locally produced. But at least they try.
Add to this that so much of the ingredients in our food comes from countries with questionable standards, such as China, Chile and Mexico. Often we have no idea what substances come from these countries as their sources are not identified. And that’s purposeful, especially when it comes to food from China.
And I know that we cannot trust the U. S. Food and Drug Administration to protect us on this because it is woefully understaffed and more business- than consumer-oriented.
Similarly, I know I can’t trust the food pyramid, which supposedly tells us how much of each food group is healthful to eat. This device, created by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, is highly political. Producers lobby to make sure their products are not seen as harmful, so it is more marketing than truth.
I know that labels of “ all natural ” mean almost nothing, as do so many health claims. And I know that businesses are lobbying to dilute standards for what can be considered organic so they can boast the label.
It is a sad thing to be so conflicted about food, which is so basic to survival, health, conviviality, family unity and entertainment. Yet it is a minefield for those seeking truly healthy options.
Some default to fast food as their main staple. Too often it is no longer fast. And I have a hard time considering it food. Plus, it’s increasingly expensive.
Of course, the makers of it try to hide from us what’s in it and how many calories it contains. And there are concerns that fast food contains addicting substances.
Recently, I saw a documentary on obesity featuring people who were mostly addicted to fast food. One man ate more than 36, 000 calories a day. He was nearly 1, 000 pounds and near death. He had huge, unsightly tumors on his legs. Ambulance services and firefighters had to break down part of his house and use a forklift to remove him. He is part of the new face of America.
Former assistant surgeon general Dr. Douglas Kamerow recently reported that the most significant factor for longevity is education. But the more I know, the more I despair of what to eat.
Once you’re educated about food, there seems to be no way to just give up and stop caring. You can’t erase the knowledge that comes with every bite.
Why ? Because most of the things that kill us or make us sick are related to what we eat, says Michael Pollan, author of the new book, “ In Defense of Food. ” He notes that a lot of what we are eating is imitation food.
Is it any wonder that people are developing so many food allergies ?
Pollan offers a solution: Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. I would add that you should grow as much of your own food as possible, eat local produce (and encourage farmers to go organic ), eat more whole foods than processed foods, stay away from fast food, avoid soft drinks (especially the diet kind ) and supplement as needed. You can never achieve purity and complete nutrition, but at least you can try.
Barbara Warner is a former congressional press secretary and White House appointee at the U. S. Commerce Department. She lives in Siloam Springs.
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