Namaste everyone !
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Today, I’d like to talk about a topic concerning us all on a daily basis : food & labels. Why “and labels” ? Simply because the food that we eat often goes through a lot of transformation with chemicals and additives before we get to eat it, and not always for the better. It is about time we started looking at what and how we eat, in order to work for a better health, through a better nutrition.
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When we go to the supermarket and pick up food, we would be wrong to assume most of the food we eat is ‘pure‘ food, ‘pure‘ ingredients, it is hard to get such value these days. Many of our daily foods are accommodated to have a shelf life of about a few months, a year, a couple of years, all depending on the product and its conservation. A lot of other foods are accommodated to look better and tastier through the use of chemicals & additives, this is often needed for the food to be appealing, as the food is made in great batches, and the attention, love and care we give our personal food when we cook at home, is just not applicable on this level : food is cooked in machinery and can get burned, not all the ingredients used are perfect and tasty (quality), there are too many variations that need to be made up for… Big factories are not accustomed to wasting much of the food they “mis-prepare”, so either that food gets “recycled” and becomes white label stuff, or the batch gets “fixed” with the help of some extra ingredients. As you see, there are no little profits, the prices at which goods are sold need to be competitive for the factories, and it all has a price, we pay for it, in many ways.
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In the past, people used to cook food for themselves and make reserves, for the not so kind moments throughout the year, for winter, for the low seasons. They used to do so through fermentation processes (sauerkraut is an example of such food, so are cheeses, yogurts etc), sterilization, the making of jam & other marmalades… All those means were naturals and did not require the addition of any artificial additive. The way the big companies have it is that time is money. For many factories, they cannot afford to lose time in the manufacturing process, and so, chemicals, and even antibiotics (more common in animal products) are used to replace nature, speed up some processes, and to make sure no part of the production gets wasted through going rancid, not being properly sealed or prepared etc.
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The additives and the other chemicals are often filling ingredients too : the cost of raw produces such as fruits, veggies, real fresh eggs, quality flour and other top-quality goods are much higher than the price of sugar, salt, additives, corn syrups, and other “filler” substances. Hence the abusive use of those in modern recipes. What many of us do not understand is that modern companies, the food giants industry, are not as worried as we would hope, about the quality of what ends up in our plate, as long as their production costs are kept low and as long as the profit money rolls in, the rest is mere detail. Yeah sure, they insist they do “quality” controls, but it’s not what you think. The use of additives and other chemicals are also justified by a low quality of ingredients. For example, the rotten tomatoes in your ready-made pasta sauce needs to be made up for, and by using a combination of the right coloring and flavoring, it will look, smell, and even taste better than the real thing ! This is what I call “fooling” the body, because we are indeed fully fooling our senses with those chemical helpers. So you know why now Macca food won’t rot, even after years !
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All those “technologies” make us believe they have made living more affordable for everyone, and filled our world with even more nutrition, than ever before, being put at our disposal. I don’t think so. How has humanity survived before them then, for thousands of years ? What a reductive view on the past. Do they really believe we are doing much better now ? Perhaps we are, not for everything though, but for certain we do better in the sense that we now understand food & bacterial poisonings and can prevent them better. But for the rest, as I’ve written else where, everything has a cost. This is what those companies are just not going to tell you. The question is “do you really care about what you put inside your body” ? Beauty is not just something we see glowing from the outside of our bodies, but it starts right inside, and it does begin with what we eat. We are what we eat.
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The truth about food, is that our body is designed to recognize and digest some substances, the ones which are essential to the building blocks of life and of our bodies : acids, fats (yes fats !), fibers, vitamins, minerals etc, under their natural form, all the nutrients we find in what we should call “real” food. The body has its own “programs” to break down what we eat down into tiny pieces and use what is produced through digestion and fermentation (yes, there are friendly bacterias working for you in your intestines ) here and there. The substances which are not recognized or broken down into interesting building blocks tend to be stocked by the body, as it does not know what to do with those. There are more and more scientific theories and evidences, today, that those stored substances would be the ones responsible for obesity and many other conditions. What would happens is that “unknown” stuff gets stocked, like I explained before, but it won’t get stored randomly, it gets stored in fat cells. And naturally, the more crap you eat, the more crap your body accumulates… This is also why, often, obese people have many more health risks than other people : the accumulated poisons can harm the body in many ways.
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As you can see, choosing what you eat is not just a mere question of taste and detail. Reading labels might be an annoyance at first, but it is quite a convenience as it will help feed your body better : it will let you know what is to be found in the product you are buying. Avoid buying over-processed foods, chances are the nutritious values have been lost (nutritive substances are quite fragile and they don’t stand transformations too well) and you will end up eating “empty” calories (food with no nutritional value that will bring you nothing but calories). You can become a wiser consumer and by privileging simple, tasty foods, you will offer your body and nature a big flower, for which your health will reward you. Not only will you feel and look better, but you’ll save money because better eating will spare you many doctor costs (many people suffering from diabetes have stopped taking insulin after switching to a vegetarian/natural plant-based diet, after 3 mere weeks ! – consult a proper holistic doctor if you have a serious condition and plan on switching diet). Health and eating habits go together hand in hand. As Ani Phyo would say, it’s not because someone is giving you free food, that you should take it and that it’s good for you. Everything you eat has consequences of sorts on your body. The best way is probably to make your own food & treats, that way, you know how it was made, and what with. It might be time consuming, but cooking is fun, relaxing, and making, baking cool stuff is very rewarding on a personal level, on top of being a big money and plastic wrap saver. So, quite green as you can see
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In regard to food additives, conservatives & flavorings, I’d advise you, if you want to know more and care more for what you eat, to go for a little book, pocket sized so that you can cary it easily in a bag or purse, listing all the additives that enter the composition of food. You’ll be very surprised at how much stuff gets added, and to almost anything as well ! The aim is not to scare you, but rather to make you aware of how the industry makes big profit on almost anything, and especially on your health. A cool book I know (in French though) is this one, very complete and well written. Anyone knows of a great English version/equivalent ?
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Well, hope this article has inspired you to go towards an even greener, more natural way of living… Feel free to share feedback and ideas ! Looking forward to reading you
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Lots of love
Angie