Growing up as a kid I pretty much ate what ever I wanted to, when I wanted to. I ate my fruits and veggies like anyone else, but I also ate my share of junk food as well. As I got older and into high school and started to compete at higher levels I started to take notice to what I ate, especially as a wrestler, I needed to watch my weight. So I would count calories, watch my fat and carb intake, etc... basically starving myself. I did fine with this method and thought I was healthy, even though I got sick ALL of the time. Then I got to college and that level of competition was a whole new ball game. I really had to watch what I ate and drank, but it was just too much, school and sports, so I stopped playing sports and focused on school. Now I figured, hell, I don't have to watch what I eat as much because there is nothing at stake, so I would eat pizza, chicken wings, beer and chips, etc... I was your typical college kid.
Then the real world came, I graduated and got a job and noticed that I started to plump up, but also still kept getting sick all of the time (like gotta go to the hospital sick). So I started to read and research about the way we process our foods and how we grow them and started to research organic foods. I have to admit that my wife's mother got me interested in ORGANIC food. I kept asking myself, "what's so special about organic food? It looks the same but it sure is more expensive." Long story short, I eat 98% all organic now. Many people don't believe in "organic", but let's go back just 50-60 years and what we consider organic now was conventional back then. Farmers didn't use chemicals or pesticides. People grew their own food on their own land and that is what sustained them.
The saying" You are what you eat" is so true.
Let me explain. I eat organic because it tastes better and it IS healthier. Why is an organic peach healthier than a covnentional one? And why does it taste better? It tastes better because it doesn't have chemicals sprayed on it, altering the taste and most organic foods like fruits and veggies are grown for a longer period of time, the way mother nature intended. If I gave you an organic peach and a conventional peach and you took a bite out of each, you could definately taste the difference.
Further more, if I went into your garage and sprayed one of the peach with an insect control spray that you picked up at the store, and then asked you to eat it, would you? No, of course not!!!!!! You would look at me like I am crazy. Well guess what? That's the way our mass produced supermarket foods are grown, plus a ton of other growth accelerators. Did you know just only 50 years ago, our grandmothers could eat one peach a day and get their daily supply of vitamin A. Today, we would have to eat 50! Ridiculous isn't it? And it has to do with the way foods are grown, harvested and chemically engineered.
What about organic meats v.s. conventional protein? Well unless you want your sons or daughters at age 8 to look like Governor Arnold or Pam Anderson, you might want to pass on the hormone and antibiotic pumped animals. Ask yourself why cows can grow so quickly and bigger than ever? It's because of all the hormones and steroids we feed the animals. Well if the animals are fed that, and we eat the animals, you finish the sentence.
Did you ever eat at good ol' KFC and wonder why the bone of the chicken is black? They are kept in dark cages, constantly fed and given all sorts of growth hormones. Well, all of that is transfered to our bodies. Some gets released through our waste and makes it into our waterways. Just like the pharmaceutical drugs we take, they gotta go somewhere. Luckily there are some good people out there who think about these issues and conduct studies. Some scientists have been examining the fish in Lake Mead and have noticied that the male fish are laying eggs. How on earth is that possible? Well like I said, our waste makes it's way back into our water system and then it gets absorbed by nature. Well if that stuff is coming out of us and getting into fish (and that's just one area under examination), what do you think stays in our bodies? The human body can only handle so much. Remember how I said I always used to get sick? I don't anymore, not so much as seasonal allergies or the sniffles and I'm convinced it has to do with the quality of foods I eat.
So take it from me, don't believe everything you read, especially about how "safe" conventional food is because the FDA says it is. Do the research and come to your own conclusions like I did, and trust me, you'll thank yourself for it later on and so will your kids.
Buckingham
p.s. If you don't have kids yet, remember they are what you eat now. If you eat poorly, your kids won't have a choice and will naturally inherit complications, such as an unhealthy immune system.
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2 comments:
The first time I went to China, I wondered how so many people are thin, some ridiculously thin, yet they are always eating. If you’re in a mall, they’re eating; if you’re driving, there’s a food stand; if you’re pumping gas, you’ll see them eating; when you order food, it’s several dishes. Of course, I indulged into the delicious food while I was there. When I returned, I felt bigger. I was afraid to step on the scale. When I finally did, I was shocked to see that I actually weighed LESS than I did before going there. I kept pondering this, and my Nicaraguan friend made the most sense – the food is natural. (In America, it’s called “organic;” over there, it’s “normal.”) He said it's the same in his country and probably so many more countries. This made a whole heck of a lot of sense.
Of course, the next time I went, I was already on an extreme health kick, so when I indulged myself that time, yes, I did gain a lot weight back. Ha ha!
Thanks for that article.
Thank you for the fabulous food thoughts. I have seen 10 and 11 year olds who look older than their age and I often look at my own 11 year old who does look like an 11 year old. I must be doing something right! :) :)
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