Quote:
Originally Posted by tanya
I love everything you wrote, but is it not a good idea to get in the habit of eating a diet with a lower salt intake while younger and healthy so you don't end up having a problem when you get older or ending up with a medical condition that requires it? Same thing with fatty diets and such? It often takes a long time to take on new habits and figure out things like is it best to eat fruit loops, raison bran or oatmeal and which sorts of things are you happy eating.
Eating a healthy diet (low in saturated fats, processed foods, no trans-fats or HFCS, and high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains) would probably eliminate 75% or more of the health problems that Americans have...everything from obesity to cancer to diabetes. It would cut down on a lot of un-needed salt in our diet, but more importantly, it would also eliminate all the other junk companies put in food that is either: 1) not found in nature; 2) not meant to be eaten....things like preservatives and dyes. So, you are absolutely right!
I think Michael Pollan's book,
Omnivore's Dilemma, should be required reading for everyone. My major in college was nutritional science/exercise physiology, but this book was more influential on my perceptions about food production and what/how I eat than anything else I've ever read. And his follow-up book
In Defense of Food, was also excellent. Under the title it says: "Eat food. Not much. Mostly plants" . If people follow that simple rule and nothing else, they'd do just fine :nod:.
I guess people have to want to make the effort to eat healthy and there's no way to force them to do it. Outside influences, like Pollan's books, and societal trends, also help. The time may (and probably will) come when radical changes in eating are forced upon us; namely, when we run out of oil. Since oil and its byproducts are necessary for numerous aspects of industrial agriculture, including fertilizer production, harvesting and transportation of food to various locations, that will all come to a halt when oil is gone. At that point, people will have to rely on local-based agriculture and/or DIY food production. Healthy eating will be forced upon them and while it might suck that MickyD's is No Mas, in the end it will be a good thing on many levels.
Already, you are seeing trends towards changes in the way we eat: NYC has banned the use of trans-fats in restaurants [not that I agree with the govt. forcing changes like this on the private sector, because I don't]. And the standard labeling that food must now have to show % of fats and trans-fats. It is up to the consumer to be savvy and read ingredient labels to determine what other junk might be in the food. I stopped buying commercial bread, most commercial spaghetti sauces and the old brand of flavored yogurt I was eating because all contain HFCS.
Salt, OTOH, is found in nature. It is a necessary part of our diet and and used to be prized more than gold, I think, in early civilizations. Unfortunately, these days, it's merely slapped in processed foods to make up for the natural flavors that were stripped away once the food was processed. It is a necessary component of bread (except for things like Tuscan white bread) as it contributes to browning of the crust and slows down yeast fermentation. Bread without salt tastes pretty crappy IMO and goes stale really quickly. Salt usually makes up about 2% by weight of most breads.
Salt really does enhance the flavor of foods and when used judiciously, you shouldn't really even taste it. I consider it part of the symphony that plays to your palate, and just as an orchestra won't sound right if the violin is missing, many foods (like soup and bread) just won't taste very good without it. Adding extra salt to make up for a lack of seasoning won't work, either.
Sorry...that probably did NOTHING to answer your question, Tanya :lol8:. It was just me rambling on about stuff I have an interest in, some knowledge of, and opinions about :mrgreen:. And, I probably totally killed this thread while I was at it...d'oh!
-SJ
