Eat like your ancestors did

Because we are all “programmed” with certain beliefs, we tend to do things over and over without much thought. Much of what we hear, and go on to believe, is out of date, misleading or downright false. A few examples are: always follow the doctor’s orders; this pill will cure me; eat or apply this daily for good health; just one more _____ won’t hurt me; lengthy, heart pounding, aerobic exercise is the best; and worst of all, the “stuff” on grocery shelves is food. But so what, isn’t this just the way it is?

The overall health of Americans is poor, and getting worse fast. Our “health” industry is counting on it. Consider the escalating rates of ADHD, autism, cancer, cholesterol imbalance, chronic tiredness, colds, dementia, depression, diabetes, drug use, flu, food allergies, hypertension, impatience, insomnia, mood swings, obesity, rage, violence. The list goes on and on.

I recently had the misfortune to “eat” at a diner at an Illinois museum. The choices started with a hamburger and ended with ice cream, chips, diet sodas, and huge pieces of pizza were in between. There were two healthy options on the menu ... water and chopped onions. I reluctantly ate two, mystery meat hot dogs. I must admit, they did taste good. But worst of all, was the obvious unhealthy condition of most of the people there. A bunch of unkempt, malnourished, sickly people.

If we care about our quality of life, we should ask why this is, and stop doing what we are doing. We should search out the latest, non-biased, research. We should consider alternatives to our beliefs. Just maybe, we should eat and exercise like farmers did a century ago.

Without health, what?

Guy Turnbull

Algonquin