|
The blog on brown sugar received some really interesting responses. Thought I would go into more detail about the advantages of unprocessed foods. Don't get the impression that I am one of those hippy-dippy, anything oriental is better, types. However, there really is something to the role of nutrition and health. For much of my adult life, I was a farmsteader (federally licensed goat cheese creamery) and grew much of our food, both vegegitative and protein.
My first exposure to better quality food was in Sweden. The Swedish supermarkets had incredible varieties of whole grain breads and cheeses, and very little white bread or processed cheese. That is when I got hooked on brown bread and real cheese. Shortly, after returning back to the states, I attended a lecture at Emory University in Atlanta by a biologist-anthropologist with the nearby CDC. She had proof that the digestive systems of people of different blood types and ethnic backgrounds were different. Her theory was that many of our "modern" problems with digestive and circulatory diseases were the result of improper diets.
What caught my attention by her "way out" theory was that the members of my mother's Creek heritage family, who stayed on the farm and grew their own food, generally lived passed a 100. Many of those, who went to the city and had "modern" lifestyles, that included lots of processed foods and trips to restaurants died in their 50s or 60s from cancers of the digestive system, or just suffered a general breakdown of their digestive organs. The few, who went to the city, but continued to eat mostly unprocessed foods, also enjoyed long, vigorous lifestyles.
Several years ago, a Choctaw friend got her PhD from Cornell in nutrition. She lost 68 pounds during the course of doing her research by eliminating white bread & fast food, plus walking two miles a day. She immediately began spreading the word about the many, many chemicals that both fast food and conventional restaurants put into what we eat.
Her criticisms were based on scientific fact, not political hysteria. She actually analized the meals of many restaurants and found strange chemicals that were not listed as ingredients - many of which were not approved by the FDA. All of the hamburgers had preservatives that were added because their company's lawyers wanted to avoid law suits for food poisoning.
Most of the hamburgers contained processed soy and wheat gluten-based fillers. Muskogean people are intolerant of both ingredients. Now here is the big shock . . . she found that all of the national fast food hamburger chains were adding chemicals that would make you hungry or even fat. The reasoning behind this was that fat people eat more and order bigger servings. Even many expensive sit-down restaurants were adding non-food fillers and chemicals to their dishes - probably for the same reason. She isolated some alien (and dangerous) chemicals added to the original foods, which never could really be explained. Perhaps they were the result of unforseen chemical reactions during the cooking process.
For a few years I acknowledge my friend's sincerity, but thought her intepretations were a little extremist. Then in late 2007, clients stopped paying me on time, and the general level of income dropped catastrophically. I soon couldn't afford even to go by myself to the local Burger King, much less have a date. Before long, some months, much of my food was wild food, either caught, gigged or harvested.
Guess what? Despite all the stress resulting from no money and no social-romantic life, I began "younging.". I exercise daily anyway, but my tummy went back to youthful appearance. I lost 18 pounds of water that was being retained by unwanted chemicals. Can't even remember when I had the flu or a bad cold - never sick. So there really was something to my friend was saying.
For the past year and a half, I have gone back to a traditional Creek diet like my grandparents had. It is heavy on corn, beans, baked sweet potatoes, poultry, rabbit, fish, and turtle - plus an abundance of leafy, green vegitables such as collards, cabbage, brocolli (not native), onions and turnip greens - no tossed salads! Despite all the active and passive stress, I am quite healthy and growing stronger by the day.
I am proud to say that, inspired by the experiences my sister had after changing her diet, my neice will graduate from Texas A&M this Spring with a degree in nutrition science. She plans to go after post-graduate degrees, so that she can spread the word to others about what we should and should not be eating.
Copy & paste to friend: (Click inside box; Ctrl + C to copy; Ctrl + V to paste)
|
|
read more blogs!
Blogs by Etowah:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Unwanted chemicals in our diets |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
KnittinKitten
|
Jan 24 @ 11:19AM
|
|
I appreciate, so much, the knowledge you have, Richard, and the fact that you so generously share it with all of us. I am aware of the chemicals and foreign substances in much of our "restaurant" food, and, therefore, going out to eat has lost some of it's fun! Fast food is not on my list.....except for occasional Wendy's salads and Chic-filet. I'm afraid to find out if they are not good either. 
I am in the middle of testing, since I decided to investigate the holistic side of medicine and nutrition and am convinced that many of our "medical" problems, necessitating RX medicine, CAN be eliminated, by learning about and practicing healthy eating. I will keep you advised of my progress.....It's actually EXCITING. 
Fondly,
KK 
|
|
misschief
|
Jan 24 @ 2:10PM
|
|
You eat turtles? 
Can you send me a link to a google image of what you call a 'turnip green' please?
Why do you not eat native brocolli?
|
|
mystery2u888
|
Jan 24 @ 2:14PM
|
|
Very interesting..........thank you for sharing 
|
|
imlost2
|
Jan 24 @ 6:14PM
|
|
|
Hey, send me the recipe for turtle too, I am going to post it on the frig for the next time I have to remind my daughter to feed hers or clean the tank . Great blog It's quite informative, I think I'll take some ideas from it. Thanks. Lost
|
|
|