What is Food?

Has anyone watched the documentary Super Size Me? I remembered watching that movie twice on DVD. This film maker actually demonstrated the consequences of sustaining oneself on a diet of fast food. After just four weeks, his health tremendously deteriorated to the point that his physician warned him that his life in serious jeopardy if he continues the experiment. That movie ends up earning Writers Guild of America award for Best Documentary Screenplay in 2005. Awesome documentary!

What is food? Most people have been 'disconnected' with real food. As a general rule, "food" equals "live nutrients." Nutrients, in turn, feed your cells, optimize your health, and sustain life. If any of you simply explore  food outlets in major shopping malls, you will notice that fast food outlets such as McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, JCo Doughnuts, etc, has the most customers dining/queuing. Every shopping mall I go, I see people lining up  buying Auntie's Anne pretzels and any doughnuts stalls as well. That is why at least 80% of society have fungal or parasites infection. Most people doesn't know they have fungal, parasites or yeast infections. What these little micro creatures love? Sugar! 

I used to love fast food years back before I even have any real knowledge about nutrition and health. McDonald's was one of my favorite fast food outlet. Yes, you heard right. So, is McDonald's really food? When you consider the fact that a large number of the ingredients in a fast food meal exist nowhere in nature, the answer has to be NO. Man simply was NOT designed to thrive on man-made chemicals. Tell yourself, if any food doesn't exist thousands of years ago, don't eat it. Simply as that. 

I've recently visited my relative in a private medical hospital. I noticed there were so much more sick people crowding the hospital compared to couple years ago. Why? People have been eating crappy unhealthy diet and lack of proper exercise. 

Poor Diet   +  Lack of proper exercise  =  Sick & Diseases

Does anyone know that a burger (e.g McDonald's) can last and show no trace of decay for up to years? How can bread stays mold-free for years? Part of the embalmed-like feature of the meat patty can be explained by the fact it contains excessive amounts of sodium (salt), which is a natural preservative that has been used throughout history. But what about the bun? What kind of bread can lie out for years on end without developing so much as a trace of mold? Read the following ingredients of McDonald's bun. 

According to McDonald's website, their hamburger buns consist of the following:

"Enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, enzymes), water, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, yeast, soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated soybean oil, contains 2% or less of the following: salt, calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, wheat gluten, ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, dough conditioners (sodium stearoyl lactylate, datem, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, mono- and diglycerides, ethoxylated monoglycerides, monocalcium phosphate, enzymes, guar gum, calcium peroxide, soy flour), calcium propionate and sodium propionate (preservatives), soy lecithin."

Interestingly, analyzing this list of ingredients offers clues not only for how these buns remain unblemished for years on end, but also to some of the health ramifications you may experience when eating a McDonald's hamburger. For example, if you've ever felt it just "sitting" in your gut like a brick, isn't quite as digestible as you'd hoped. Perhaps, it is calcium sulfate which provides this 'unpleasant' effect. Of if you've had to run to the bathroom shortly after your meal, perhaps the ammonium sulfate and the ammonium chloride are to blame. Both of these chemicals cause gastrointestinal irritation with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Folks, wholesome food is "live" food, and the hallmark of live food is the fact that it will wilt and decompose. The fact that these burgers, buns, and fries do not decompose, even after a decade or two, is a clear sign that it's just not real food, and serves no beneficial purpose as part of your diet. Fast food hamburgers are not the only type of heavily processed food that is questionable in terms of whether or not it should be considered real food.

Chicken McNuggets, for example, recently made it into mainstream news because of the potentially hazardous additives they contain. Soda can contain any number of health harming substances, from high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to benzene and aspartame. French Fries are loaded with the worst types of fat on the planet, typically highly refined and genetically modified omega 6 oils, such as corn, canola, and soybean oils. Breakfast cereals are little more than disguised forms of high fructose corn syrup and many are loaded with genetically modified grains. 

It is clear that fast food leads to obesity and insulin resistance, as proven by the film maker of Super Size Me. Eating fast food just twice a week can make you gain 10 pounds and double your risk of developing insulin resistance. Junk food diets have also been linked to increased risk of allergies. 

The bottom line is that if you want to stay healthy, and keep your children healthy, you have to avoid fast food and other processed foods, and either you, another relative or friend, or someone you pay, has to spend some time in your kitchen, cooking from scratch. Cooking for your children may actually have extremely far reaching benefits, because it is now well known that dietary changes can prompt epigenetic DNA changes that can be passed on to future generations. 

How can you identify real food? This is the question I always get from all my friends, relatives and colleagues. Please read below if you still have doubt. Real food almost always has the following characteristics. 

• It's grown
• Variable quality
• Spoils fast
• Vibrant colors, rich textures
• Authentically flavorful
• Strong connection to land and culture 
• Requires preparation

Real whole food, should be grown without pesticides and chemical fertilizers. As I mentioned in my previous posts, organic food. It must not be genetically modified. It must not contains added growth hormones and antibiotics and other drugs. It must not contain any artificial ingredients, including chemical preservatives. Animals should be eating native diets and not mixed grains and animal byproducts, and have free-range to outdoors. We should not be eating chickens and beef with growth hormones and antibiotics and pesticides filled plants!  We can't get health by eating unhealthy animals and plants. Simple as that folks.