Is ignorance really bliss?
I am not a health/fitness freak, I wouldn't call myself that just yet. I am a very curious foodie and I like to make sure I am eating the right stuff. I like to 'stress' myself so I tend to google about almost everything I eat, watch too many health shows, read too much information about health etc. I studied Pharmacy and I am currently working as a trainee so that doesn't even help. By the time, I am done stressing, I am thinking there is nothing left to eat.
Some say we should eat like the cavemen or our ancestors thousands of years ago,being a Christian, I suddenly think of Adam. In the beginning, God wanted him to eat every seed yielding plant and seed yielding fruit. There is no list of what was in the garden so many assume there was raw vegans. There was no eating of meat till after flood.
Some say eat a plant based diet, some say just avoid processed foods and those swimming in chemicals, some say just go raw or run away from carbs. Lol! There is some sort of carb in everything we eat. Anyways, I think they all have a point. But even after choosing a safe ground, you might still have to face problems like this:
Is it free range or organic? Not a lot to say here. It just sucks when you cannot afford it. Makes me miss Nigeria sometimes, at least you know the cows eat grass not corn. Let's hope that hasn't changed.
There is oxalic acid in kale and spinach so rethink your green smoothies and salads. Oxalic acid interferes with absorption of some nutrients and can cause kidney stones. Funny enough, this acid can be found in other foods like; potatoes, beans, quinoa, okra, parsley, bell peppers, plums, tangerine, cocoa etc, well in different amounts of course.
Phytic acid found in grains, nuts, seeds and beans. Yes! these are supposed to be good for you but they contain phytic acid which inhibits enzymes from digesting our food. Some people suggest soaking or sprouting these to inactivate or whatever the phytic acid, some say cooking is enough. This scared me so much, I now soak my oats overnight before eating them. I seriously don't know why I do this to myself. But it does tastes amazing. Moving on!
Red meat, bacon and ham can cause cancer and now another substance, carnitine has been found in red meat that can harden your arteries increasing cardiovascular risk. Still new research though. This substance is also found in poultry, wheat, fish etc.
Food sensitivity, everybody seems to be allergic to almost every food group especially grains, legumes, wheat, nuts, gluten, some vegetables, even fruit. Makes you wonder what you could be allergic to or if nature is just slowly killing us. Well, we don't know if these poisons have been there from the beginning or it is just the fault of man and his ways. So should we curse agriculture or stack the blame on food companies/modern technology/western education? Or all of the above? Sometimes, I just think since Adam fell, everything has been slowly detorirating. Maybe, we should blame Adam.
Reading Kitchen Stewardship's take on the topic cracked me up, the comments were even better.
Anyways, I know I have to die someday, so it is not like I am trying to live forever. I'll just continue to do my best and hope that the benefits outweigh the risks. God help me.
