Yes, but could I make this myself...

This is a video clip from the movie Fat Head (which I haven't seen)

The way we live, work and eat now has never before been experienced. Technology, chemistry, cars, Big Macs, cell phones, x-ray, chemical "medicine"...I feel like a walking science experiment. I am living in a science experiment I did not sign up for. For years I have been aware that evolution takes thousands of years, and I know I have not suddenly evolved to be at- one with concentrated radiation, chemical preservatives, cigarette smoke with hundreds of chemicals, antibiotics, artificial lighting, etc..For years I have looked around wondering, "Is this OK?"

I have been doing a lot of thinking over the past few years about stuff. Basically, if that weren't here for me to use, how would I do this thing I am doing? Could I do this thing I am doing? These thoughts quickly turn to food. For example: Fake soy meat. If chemistry and heavy machinery were not available, I would not have this thing in my hand to eat. The chemistry and machinery have not been around for much time at all, so therefore my body is probably not recognizing this as food (it isn't food, actually). So my next question is, what would I eat if said things weren't around?

I am exploring these concepts now. One concept I am currently exploring the world of "paleo" or "primarian" diets (read: way to eat). Very interesting stuff. In a nutshell:

In plain language, base your diet on garden vegetables, especially greens, lean meats, nuts and seeds, little starch, and no sugar. That's about as simple as we can get. Many have observed that keeping your grocery cart to the perimeter of the grocery store while avoiding the aisles is a great way to protect your health. Food is perishable. The stuff with long shelf life is all suspect. If you follow these simple guidelines you will benefit from nearly all that can be achieved through nutrition. (courtesy of Crossfit.com)

Our bodies are amazing. Adaptable, rational, huge frontal lobes, thumbs, voice boxes, self conscious reality...couple that with surgical advancements and emergency medicine, and we are really an incredible species! But I ask this, just because we can, does that mean we should? Just because we can eat junk and drink alcohol and smoke and then roll ourselves into the hospital and let our surgeons and pharmacists patch us up and medicate us (at the expense and sanity of our loved ones), does that mean we should?

There are so many opinions out there regarding which diet is king. The diet that is king is the one that works for you on all levels; not just weight loss or gain but also hair and skin health and muscle tone maintenance. Soon, I will start incorporating the unique thing about food that The Zone, Paleo, McDougalling, Blood Type diet, etc. do not mention. This thing is the energetic quality within food. Food is not just something that should be broken down under a microscope and found to be only carbs, fats, proteins, Vit C, or the newest rage, Vit K2MK4.

The medicine I have spent years studying talks about nourishing aspects of food that cannot be seen in a lab. Rather, these aspects are regarded as a higher power available in food to promote longevity. Food as medicine. Some examples are using asparagus the help eliminate water accumulation in the body through the kidneys. Modern science tells us that this is due to the diuretic nutrient "asparagine". However, Chinese medicine practitioners knew the effects of asparagus many years before the technology was around to "prove" it. Celery is used in my medicine to treat something called "wind-damp" which roughly translates clinically as arthritis. We now know that celery is high in natural silicon which helps renew joints, bones, arteries, and connective tissue. My father swears by celery seed capsules for his arthritis!

I intend to write more about the food energetics found in the recipes I post.

Bonus: excellent article on soy written by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, Ph.D.