Food Link and Rant

[helwen]

Excellent post by Sharon Astyk on food preservation methods. I found her discussion of lactofermentation especially interesting -- some foods preserved in this "...produce natural, narrow spectrum antibiotics specific against ecoli, listerian and clostridium botulinum. That is - they protect you against food poisoning."
Food Preservation



How is it that people (at least most of the ones I know or see on tv), have come to believe that to eat a healthy diet is deprivation, and that the best 'treats' to reward ourselves with generally contain unhealthy amounts of sugar, alcohol, or various chemicals?

Why is it more of a treat to go to a restaurant/fast food place to eat crappy food full of high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, too much sodium, and who knows what else? If the idea is truly to give ourselves the treat of someone else doing the cooking, we should get rid of the crappy places and eat only at the restaurants that use good ingredients (mind you, most of the folks I know could maybe afford to do that a few times a year...).

And it isn't like it's that hard to get a bowl of berries (pick-your-own, in season), and make a little whipped cream to go over it -- Yum! And even for the lazier among us there is _real_ whipped cream available at the store, but you can control how much sugar goes into it if you make your own. You could even put - *gasp* - No sugar in it...

Given what I've picked up over the years, some beers are probably better for you (as in actually having some nutritional value) than most any soda. Of course, I don't happen to like beer... but you get the idea. There are more and less healthy 'treats' out there. And most importantly, we should get into making good meals with good ingredients -- those can be the most amazingly good treats of all.

All in moderation, of course. That's another thing -- why is more better? What's so great about getting the largest sandwich, the largest dessert, etc.? We've all (well, all Americans anyway) grown up with the stories of kids who ate all their halloween/party candy and gotten sick. We _know_ we're going to pay for having 6 sodas or 12 beers or whatever... or that having chips and a couple of sodas every day is _not_ going to help us with losing weight. But to go _without_ is _deprivation_. Huh.

Now, before anyone thinks I'm being 'holier-than-thou', I'll let you know that I have ice cream and fruit pops in the freezer (it was really, really hot for a few days last week, and supposedly we're in for more of the same this coming week). The ice cream is at least all natural, with sugar instead of corn syrup, and the fruit pops have real fruit in them (Edy's). But I'm definitely thinking more before having one, and trying to take their calories into account in my total for the day. Not always succeeding in staying on target either, but I am _thinking_ about it. And believe me, my knees really appreciate not having to carry around as much weight! There's my reward for my "deprivation" :)

***
Oh, and here's another thing that many people tend to treat as 'torture' -- exercise. After all, who has time for walking for 1/2 an hour a day? We're all to busy with work, cleaning the house, etc. Why, if I did that, I'd have to give up doing some of my other activities like, like.... watching tv! Or gaming, or some of my time catching up on email on all the lists I'm on, or.....

Exercise doesn't have to be torture and is a needful part of a healthy life (except for a few folks who really can't do much because of certain types of health issues). Most of us can walk or bike. I've been in awe of loosecanon and all the biking she's doing, and of gwynt_y_storm and all the walking and hiking she and her family and friends are doing. Not that they're doing it to be exemplars or to show off or anything, but I really do enjoy reading about them and their activities. I don't exercise at nearly their level, but it's nice to have company, to know that other folks are taking care of themselves. Because not only do I not feel like an idiot for exercising and trying to get more fit in a country that generally isn't trying, but because I know they're probably be around for a long time, and able to go out and have fun together in the future.

I mention walking and biking because those are probably a couple of the cheapest forms of exercise you can get. Gardening helps a little, but unless it's raking or digging, you don't burn that many calories, and other exercises are a good idea to balance overall use of the body. Dancing's good of course, running for those who can do it, general calisthenics like sit-ups and push-ups.

Walking can be done anywhere. Bring music, bring a friend. I usually go walking with fitzw of course. A few times I've walked with friends, but most of them don't live truly nearby so one or both have to use a car to meet up someplace. But I used to walk alone and use a walkman tape player. Walk to the store if it's only a mile away. Walk to the mail box up the block instead of sticking the envelope in your mailbox for pickup. See what changes your neighbors are making in their yards, or what the squirrels are up to at the park. See how the trees are doing in your neighborhood -- year-round. Do 'stair-stepping' on the bottom steps of any stairway at home - to music (more fun).

Dance to music in your own apt/home -- doesn't matter if you don't dance well if nobody can see you doing it :)

Paddle in the bathtub for 5-10 minutes. Or if you have access to a pool, go walking in the shallow end. Sure, laps will give you full-body exercise, but not everyone can do that, or is up to swimming a mile or whatever. But walking in a pool is still exercise, because of the movement and the resistance the water provides. The water also helps take some of the weight off your joints, and that's important for some folks. And when it's too hot and disgusting out, a pool is great for that too. I go over to sorcieredeneige's house on days when the air's too hot and thick to breathe, and hang out in the pool. Oh, and if you have asthma, just sitting/standing still in the pool up to your neck is good exercise -- for your lungs. You'll feel restricted at first, but then your body learns to deal with the pressure, and your breathing capacity will increase.

If you have to stay seated, you can do some leg lifts every day. Maybe lift some very light weights. The most important things to be mindful of for folks of limited physical capacity are 1) don't overdo it and 2) maintain circulation. Don't do so much at once that you pay for it the next few days. Do little bits throughout the day, so that you keep your circulation system in as good working order as is possible. Oh, and believe it or not, qi gong is good for that too (there are seated versions of this, and chi lel qi gong can even be done while lying down).

***
The Christian bible says that the body is the temple of the soul. Druids (at least in the AODA) are supposed to go walking or do some sort of exercise. Maybe some of the other texts say something similar (I haven't read them all).

So, shouldn't we treat our temples with a little more respect? Give them some vegetables, fruit, healthier cuts of meat (if we're meat-eaters)? Whole grains once in a while? Legumes? I mean, I'm not much of a cook compared to a lot of folks I know, but even I can make chili and it's pretty darn tasty. Better than anything I've had in a restaurant, too.

And if you're not a religious person, what about if you're into sports? What if you're an academic? What if you're poor and can't afford to go to the doctor for everything? Same answer for all of these -- a healthy body will get you further.

*** END RANT ***

And now, I'm getting off the computer and going to go DO something!

Comments

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Yes, there is a lot to do, isn't there?

The backpack kit thing sounds interesting. Hm. I guess the first thing would be a list of what's needed in the kit, then coming up with what can be used for those items.