Today’s food diet consists
mostly of meat and starch. The fast food drive thru at your local
burger joint doesn’t offer a menu of fresh fruit and vegetables.
We’ve become a nation of massive carbohydrate consumers. But
that wasn’t the original plan.
During the days of hunting and gathering,
the daily diet consisted mostly of fruits, vegetables and other
plant life. Meat was a scarcity, and bread was virtually non-existent.
During this period in time, there was no problem with obesity. Of
course, hygiene was a problem. It seems now we’ve solved many
of our personal hygiene needs problems, and forgotten that in order
to survive and enjoy the fruits of our labor, we must pay attention
to our eating habits. Our health is the most important asset we
have.
Our physical makeup, metabolism,
and nutritional needs dictate a far different diet than we have
come to enjoy. Cakes, cookies, colas, and kool-aid are not on the
healthy diet plan. Vegetables, fruits, nuts, and plenty of water
are the key ingredients to a healthy person. Even the food pyramid
put together by the USDA doesn’t accurately reflect our daily
needs for optimal health.
Meat is necessary for protein consumption,
but it can be obtained from other plant sources. Peanuts and other
nuts contain high quantities of protein. Eggs and cheese also contain
protein. If meat is to be consumed, fish would be a better choice.
It is high in the omega acids and actually contributes to our health.
Red meat, pork, and chicken were
never intended to be our daily staples. They were luxuries, to be
consumed in small doses, only a few times a week. Today, we will
have meat before we have vegetables.
And, then you can take a look at
the vegetables we do consume. The starchier the vegetable, the more
ways we can invent to prepare it. Look at the potato, we’ve
found more uses for this food, than any other on the planet. It
also has the highest level of starch, and can send our blood sugar
levels soaring.
Even our medical profession is still
researching what our bodies should consume. Everyone thought they
had it figured out when the food pyramid was put together. But now
some fifty years later, we have a nation facing an obesity epidemic,
and although we are living longer, our hearts are not as healthy
as they should be given all the healthy foods we have to choose
from, and the exercise facilities available. Maybe we still have
long way to go in coming full circle with what our ancestors had
no choice in doing: a diet of mostly vegetables. The vegetarians
may be way ahead of the rest of society.
The other side of this coin has
to do with our calorie intake. Consuming fewer calories keeps us
leaner and healthier. All of our body processes function better,
when we cut our calorie intake to a level this is about 2/3 of the
daily recommended intake of 2000 calories. So how did we arrive
at 2000 calories per day? This figure was taken based on the average
consumption of a physically active, middle-aged male. Does anyone
female see a problem here?
What we really need to consume for
optimal health is a personal formula. Each and every person is different,
calorie and exercise needs are unique to every person. When our
medical profession, our health experts, and any other concerned
organization come to realize this fact, and formulate a way for
individualized programs to become commonplace then we, as individuals,
will be eating what we need to eat.
What Do We Really Need to Eat?:
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