This is all part of a growing trend, a trend to go back to the natural, and the organic. Many consumers now actively seek products that are not filled with unknown and, to them, suspect chemicals. They don’t want cosmetics that have gone through much animal testing on the way to marketability. They want products that are environmentally safe and people friendly.

     This thinking, however, is not limited to toothpaste and face creams. Our food supplies are also now coming under increased scrutiny by those who want to address these legitimate concerns. The typical North American now enjoys unprecedented choice, convenience and abundance when it comes to choosing food supplies for fridge, freezer or kitchen cupboard. Yet, is there a hidden price being paid? The answer to that depends upon what you feel about food additives, and to just what you consider to be an additive. Even fresh food can sometimes be suspect. Is it possible that those tomatoes might have a trace of pesticide residue left upon them? What really is in that waxy substance that is used to make those apples so shiny and attractive?

     Often preservatives are necessary. They can extend shelf life, add flavor, and hinder bacterial growth. They are what have made possible much of the abundance and variety that we enjoy today. But is there anything that we can do to cut back on at least some of these chemicals that we almost unknowingly consume each and every day? Well, that is one area in which home food storage can play a role.

     Consider a package of beef jerky. It is relatively inexpensive, easily available, and tasty. Check out the package cover. It likely says right on it, “High in Protein – Low in Fat.” That certainly sounds like a nice, healthful snack, but what’s all of that in the list of ingredients? There’s beef, water, sugar, soy sauce, salt, spices, maltodextrin, monosodium glutamate, hydrolyzed corn protein, sodium erthorbate, sodium nitrite and mesquite smoke. If you don’t like it, don’t eat it. There’s no other choice. This is on a “take it or leave it basis.” You could, of course, look for another brand, but, again, you cannot remove what has already been added, and there is sure to have been something added. Continue Reading »

     Avoid processed foods such as takeaways and ready meals, and try to base your diet around foods that are as natural and unhandled as possible. Think back to sword wielding warriors in the older days or even as far as the cavemen, how fit and strong they had to be just to survive. Their bodies had to be pushed to the limit everyday, so were did they get their energy and nutrition from? Well it certainly wasn’t from ready meals and takeaways! Their bodies were fed with meats, vegetables and other natural food sources. We should think about these ancient hunters and warriors when we are looking at our diets. I’m not saying that we should all go out and start hunting down our own food! I just saying that when we are filling our trolleys at the local supermarket, we should be looking in the grocery section, and the butchers counter rather than the frozen aisles with the tv dinners.

     To help you along here are my personal top ten favourite foods. Whether I am trying to lose weight, building muscle or just sustain the same weight and stay healthy I try to incorporate these foods into my diet.

     1. Lean Beef Steak – An excellent source of protein, a vital ingredient in muscle development and repair. They are also rich in other nutrients such as iron and zinc.

     2. Nuts – Peanuts, walnuts, almonds and a few others. Although high in calories, nuts are low in the bad saturated fats, but high in the good fats (essential fatty acids), which can lower cholesterol. They are also a source of protein.

     3. Chicken – Chicken meat, especially the off the breast, is a great source of protein and are extremely low in fat when the skin is removed.

     4. Turkey – Another poultry, same as chicken really. Good source of protein and very low in fat. Continue Reading »

     It is a scientific fact that different food groups are digested differently, in different places in the system and using different chemicals, even different times. So in order to have a digestive system running efficiently, it is a good idea to check out what we are eating with what. Some of our foods, like starchy groups require an alkaline environment while certain others, like protein foods, require an acidic medium (Hydrochloric acid) to complete digestion. If both are taken in one meal, the stomach cannot digest all the food, and the result is a sodden, sorry chemical reaction that takes away all the digestion we need, the food eaten having done nothing but caused toxification of the system. Undigested food rots inside the stomach causing release of toxic gases, and over a long term, causes serious disorders, the roots of which we may then be unable to trace. Constipation, nervous disorders and a slowdown of the general metabolism is bound to occur.

     According to a recent study, an average American male carries about five pounds of undigested, putrefying red eat in his digestive system. Now imagine keeping 5 pounds of red meat in a dark damp corner of your kitchen, day in and day out, letting it rot. Got the picture? That’s his stomach.
     To combat these situations, the following guidelines must be kept in mind while planning a meal:

     1. NEVER eat starch and acids (sugars such as juice or fruits) in one meal. For instance, white bread and citrus juices cannot be digested together. Fats and sugars (fruits) should not be mixed in any one meal. Simply put, one should never eat cereals, bread, potatoes or other such foods with berries, oranges, grapefruit, pineapple, or other acid foods.So there goes the classic English breakfast, as well as the All American one. Continue Reading »

     I am sure our great grandfathers never thought about the amount of poly or unsaturated fats they were downing when they partook, in wholesome quantities, of the Christmas Turkey or a whole pound of cream with fresh strawberries. They also never questioned the ethics or immorality of slaughtering a calf for that veal that went so well with caramelized onions. Whatever development may have done to us, it is a fact today that we are far more discerning eaters, and like to make informed choices. But the result has been needless arguments that have split the human world horizontally –to eat or not to eat meat.

     We can study some of the broader arguments in favor of meat eating here, and then follow it up with arguments for not eating meat.

     The foremost argument that vegetarians put forth is the horrendousness of killing an animal by slitting its throat, skinning it and cutting it up in chunks of meat. While most people can buy and eat meat, not all can go through this process with a strong heart. Another argument is that the pasturage used by livestock could be put to better use by cultivating food grains for starving millions in the third world. Tempting though this simplistic argument sounds, it is not a very clear picture. First of all, there is no shortage of food grains per capita on the planet, the problem is unequal distribution of income or purchasing power to buy the grains, and that will not be set right by increasing production. Besides, almost two thirds of the earth’s surface is unsuitable for farming, and more people becoming vegetarian will cause more strain than well being. Mass farming will itself lead to problems like agrochemical use, soil erosion, cash cropping, prairie-scapes, besides conditions like those in ancient Sumeria, where excessive wheat farming has made the soil into salt flats that are barren even today, five thousand years later. Continue Reading »