If you just read those two words and you understood my meaning immediately, then you know what I'm about to speak of. Maybe you're in the same boat? It seems like the more I learn about foods; i.e. how they're grown and processed and how they're broken down (or not broken down) in our bodies when ingested, the more my fears are cultivated about eating the wrong ones.
I mean to say that the things I've learned about food in the last couple of years are exacerbating my already existing anxieties. I've learned that most of the world's seeds are GMO'd, (genetically modified), soil is depleted from over planting and mass production, plants are sprayed with pesticides that can potentially cause numerous diseases and hormonal disruptions later in the life, then the processing is changing the very nature and structure of the foods as well as adding even more questionable chemicals with all the possibilities of cross reactions.
We're all just in a giant, food industry experiment. We're all lab rats. Run for your lives!
Sometimes I think about the people I know who have spoken of their various physical ailments, from recurring indigestion to bloating, burping, constipation and migraines, and many never knowing the cause, and others who have suffered for their entire lives with no definitive answers. I also think of people who have died from curious diseases and I wonder, could their problem have stemmed from gluten intolerance? I've learned that gluten alone can cause over 200 symptoms in people with Celiac or gluten sensitivities and many of these symptoms and diseases can eventually be deadly in people that don't realize they even have the problem. I don't even know exactly what my own problems are from. It's really hard to know because the testing is very specific to a localized area of the body. For example, I've had the thought many times that there is a hole (if you can pardon such a pun) in the intestinal biopsy test. because they take a tissue sample from only one or two areas. That leaves a lot of room for error. Too many people are going around undiagnosed. The medical industry has learned much in a short time about gluten intolerance problems and education of doctors is paramount for the future of people suffering from gluten related illnesses. They don't have all the answers and they know the variety of variables they are up against in this mystery.
But back to the food question. What to eat that is easily digested and best absorbed for maximum nutrition? How am I to know? How is anyone to know what is best for their own very individual body and brain? We can do our own studies where we begin with fasting and drinking only water, introducing one food back into our system at a time for short periods, or elimination diets where we simply remove one food type at a time, (like all dairy for example). But we are not all scientists and doctors and there is so much to know about what goes on in the body. It's astounding!
Not everything is immediate either. People think that what they ate yesterday, magically disappears from their body when they haven't eliminated that much, and then they blame their lunch for the problems they have before dinner. Hello?! Elimination takes time, and it all doesn't just come out in two forms you know. Skin is another huge organ people forget about. Toxins are eliminated in many ways. What do you think that itchy skin is all about? What do you think break out is all about? (It's not always just blocked pores).
Personally I think we all need to pay a lot of attention to how our bodies are reacting to foods, think about what we're feeding our brains, and pay attention to the small signals. We need to behave intelligently and be grown up about what we put into our bodies.
Still, I'm pretty scared. When I have a 'good day' I ponder what could it be? The avocado? The dark chocolate? The vitamin? That I had lots of water? The green tea or (other 'antioxidant' flavour of the month) I introduced? Or maybe it was that I got a good amount of undisturbed sleep for a day.
Too many variables! I guess the lesson is always the same. Do the best we can, while maintaining some mindfulness about it.
Wishing you a happy Friday the 13th of January 2012.
-Cheers!
☟ Points plz :)
Friday
#16 Survival!
Well, I survived the holidays and all it's torturous treats passing under my nose. I did succumb to a siren of Sourdough Spelt, singing virtues of not being wheat. Let's just say I fell under it's spell(t) haha. It was so good while the denial lasted. But there was much food to be had that was gluten free and I stayed between the lines for the most part. It really was a great holiday, one of the best in memory. Local extended family and friends, meals and socializing all added up to boost me up into January. I'm still feeling pretty good from it all.
I've made quite a few good meals and managed to avoid being 'contaminated' for the most part, which isn't to say things have been all rosy posy, there always seems to be something lurking somewhere in the shadows to wreak havoc on my well being. It's all part of life, right? if it's not one thing, it's another.
It's a challenge, but we have no choice other than to do our best an hope for good health and for good times to follow.
Cheers. Here's to 2012! Let's see what adventures will reveal themselves.
I've made quite a few good meals and managed to avoid being 'contaminated' for the most part, which isn't to say things have been all rosy posy, there always seems to be something lurking somewhere in the shadows to wreak havoc on my well being. It's all part of life, right? if it's not one thing, it's another.
It's a challenge, but we have no choice other than to do our best an hope for good health and for good times to follow.
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