Food is the most meaningless substance in the world.
It only powers our bodies and gives us the strength to heal, work, and prosper.
Jokes aside, they say the key to good health is a proper diet. As such, diet cultures have sprung up all around us, which mostly copy some other fad that started and died out years ago. It’s a get rich quick scheme, limiting its followers to certain food groups, calories, and more and shaming them for “failing.” Then you have the diets that do work for some people. Of course, with the rise of diet cultures have also come the rise of people claiming you should eat whatever you want as long as you eat in moderation. And still yet, you have many other opinions fighting for their chance to be heard.
Now, I’m not here to debate if diets are good or bad or tell you what to eat. To be honest, I’m still figuring it out myself and am in no place to direct people on their nutrition. No, I’m here to question the status quo, as I do and as you so politely listen (thanks for reading this far- you’re a gem).
Whether you support diet cultures or not, there are foods that everyone talks about avoiding here in America (I can only talk from my country’s standpoint of course). People say to avoid too much bread, dairy, sugar, rice, salt, fat, corn, and so much more. And many people have allergies or intolerances to those foods where they bloat or gas up a room or whatever symptoms they experience. They’re super common! And because of this, the foods have been given a bad rap.
Listen, I agree that people who react badly to such foods should stay away from them. It sucks to be experiencing those things and their body is clearly signifying that the foods they are consuming are not right for them. And, as I mentioned before, this is a SHARED experience and affects so much of America’s population!
But…I can’t help but question why. If you’ve read my other blogs so far, you knew that was coming.
Why are foods that were regarded as such staples of our ancestor’s diets considered so harmful now? And why are we having such terrible physical reactions to it? Surely our ancestors were not in constant pain if they were consuming foods like corn and rice all day. Surely, there is some other reason…
If we think about it, the Native Americans grew lots of corn. Not only to eat, but to help other crops grow as well. They planted their seeds in such an array that each crop would look out for the other or benefit from its buddies in some way, shape, or form (now we see each crop planted in straight lines, lacking that symbiotic relationship). Asian cultures as well grew and consumed a lot of rice. And other cultures prioritized bread. And fats were eaten on the daily! All are foods that can be regarded as fillers. As foods that are seen as dangerous.
Why?
How have those foods fallen from so far from grace?
I have a theory. In recent years, scientists have reflected that vegetables and fruits no longer carry the nutrients they once held. To gain all the nutrients that one would receive from an older strain of one tomato, they must now eat many more tomatoes. If grandparents are asked, they may remember how food tasted different when they were younger. It appears that our foods have changed drastically. They are mutated forms of what they once were.
It’s no secret that our air, water, land, and soil are polluted and purposefully poisoned. It’s no secret that we’ve abandoned ancient ways of growing and respecting crops, cleaning them and nurturing them, forming sacred bonds with them. It’s no secret that we’ve moved to a model based entirely on pharma with no education on the healing herbs of the earth, given to us as a gift that we may use to help cure our maladies.
The wheat we grow is moldy. The corn we grow is nutrientless. The rice we eat is unwashed, full of starch. The sugar we consume is no longer the natural sugars of fruit, but a manufactured addictive full of dyes and chemicals. The dairy we milk from abused, stressed cows is full of hormones and chemicals from the food they are fed.
It’s no wonder why our foods no longer sustain us as they once did. Or, at least, that’s my thought.
I wonder, did all these gluten allergies exist way back when? To the times where there were no kept records? Did lactose intolerances run rampant? Were people instantly bloated from salt or fat, which was once considered to have multiple healing properties?
All this brings me back to my first point. I think these foods were villainized because they’re no longer what they used to be. I think they hurt us because they’ve been altered by those who seek to make a quick profit.
What would it be like to return to the ancient, healthy seeds that would grow nutritious food? There are still old strains that exist (I believe they are called Goliath seeds). One day, I will experiment with this and maybe then I can have an answer. Until then, I can only ponder.
What do you think of food and allergies? Where did they come from? Why do they exist? And what do you think of diets or other food restrictions?
I have no answers, only musings.
Until next time,
Gupta