Food Facsimile – How much of what we eat is real?
Are we just faxing food to our bodies?
Are we just faxing food to our bodies?Some alarming statistics surfaced last year from a joint study by the University of Minnesota and a research group in China and Singapore; individuals who eat fast food twice a week are 30% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Double those fast food runs to four times weekly, and you are 80% more likely to die of cardiovascular disease.
What makes fast food so dangerous? The main factor is that fast food is highly processed and largely devoid of essential nutrients your body needs to thrive and survive. Just about everything we consume has macronutrients – carbohydrates, protein and fats. Macronutrients provide the calories that are converted into energy and fuel our vital organs. They can be likened to building blocks.
Micro Vs. Macro
Micronutrients are the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals that further nourish our bodies and protect us from toxins and disease. They can be compared to the mortar that holds the building blocks together; without this reinforcement, no structure would remain secure over time.
Processed foods (which include fast food as well as the prepared meals you find in grocery freezers and shelves) are engineered to make them irresistible to the consumer. Not only are they quick, filling, convenient and easy, they also appeal to the taste buds. An eye-opening segment on 60 Minutes about Givaudan, the multi-national fragrance and flavoring giant, revealed that any nuance of flavoring can be chemically imitated.
This means that food manufacturers can use the poorest quality meat and produce, but artificially boost the taste appeal to fool your taste buds. In this investigative report, they showed how chicken dinners are hose-sprayed with “buttery, crispy chicken” flavors, and then flash-frozen. Laboratory-produced food simply is not designed with the goal of supplying your body with vital nutrients.
When most of the food you eat on any given day is from a chain restaurant, a box, a can or a freezer, you are, in essence, eating more facsimile than real food. That’s like faxing food to your body, which over time may have serious health consequences.
Make at least 50% of what you are feeding your family whole, living, ethical, sustainable organic, real and slow-prepared foods, and revel in the health and well-being that comes from flooding your body with life-enhancing micronutrients.
Photo from Hungry for Change movieSOURCES:
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