The Eternal Feast: Part 3
John Catanzaro
Questions for Reflection
Where is my first entry point in the grocery store? Do I frequent the prepared food section, the chips section, the beverage section, or packaged food sections? On average how often do I cook for myself? Do I eat on the run or do I take time to enjoy my meal? Do I shove large chunks of food (not chewing your food) in my face not giving time to enjoy the food eaten? Do I at least sit down for a meal or are you standing while eating always in a rush?
Discovery: When it is not refrigerated, iced, watered and cared for as a perishable food it is dead food. Humans cannot live on potato chips, Stouffer’s lasagna, pizza, beer and microwave cuisine and stay healthy.
Microwaving (nuking your food) kills natural enzymes and nutrients in foods and if this is your mainstream diet you are heading for trouble. I am not saying that you have to toss your microwave. However, if you are using it all of the time you are in a serious rut and may have to toss it.
Oh, I often hear “I eat peanut butter and protein nutrition bars, they are healthy aren't they?” Not if you are engorging yourself with peanut butter and protein bars alone it’s not. If you are obsessive over any food to the exclusion of other foods you are cutting yourself short of nutrition and will suffer depletion of vital nutrients to keep your cells and systems healthy. If you deplete your body of these vital nutrients, oh by the way
pure water included, (at least 2 liters per day check out the link) you will become a shriveled prune and your chicken gizzards (those things that hang from your neck) will begin to form real early. I would advise nurturing foods and plenty of water to keep you from this petrified state.
Drinking 1 cup of coffee can set you to lose ½ cup of water. With every serving of alcohol you can deplete your body of 4 cups of water and can cause liver and nutrition impairment. Tobacco use causes unfavorable skin, hair, nails changes, lung disease and other health associated health risks.
Chewy but Creamy
If you do not chew your food appropriately you will experience an increased burden on digestion because the large chunks of food cannot be broken down in the stomach. If you are not chewing you are truly not enjoying your food. One of my professors of nutrition in medical school mentioned a hilarious way to slow down a fast eater. He said tie the forks together with the slowest eater in the house. The fast eater cannot take a bite of food until the slow eater takes a bite. A good old tug on the fork does it every time. Of course, the best teacher is when the digestion can no longer handle the poorly chewed food resulting in indigestion, reflux, cramping and other undesirable symptoms. Good chewing liquefies the food and produces a creamy consistency when swallowing as opposed to chunky hard to swallow blob.
Organic Foods or Not?
—Should I stick with organic foods? Absolutely! I believe that pesticide residues, herbicides, depleted soils, poor irrigated and nutrient deprived farming are contributing factors for so many existing cancers and chronic health breakdown. Keep feeding on live foods and your cell life increases exponentially. Here are helpful links on organic foods, Journal of Food Science study of organic foods and a Consumer Report on organic foods and better choices in selecting organic foods. I recommend you consider prioritizing your food types and that you stay with more alkalinizing foods. Simply, eat more of green leafy veggies and root foods (radish, carrot, turnips, etc), fresh fruits in variety and color, wild fish and organic low fat meats in this order. A good resource to consult is the Alkaline Way approach to eating. This is a good basic reference to get you started in understanding acid / alkaline forming foods.
Food to Chew On
—Enter in at the fruit, vegetable and live food section for this is the narrow way that leads to health and longevity. Wide is the aisle of potato chips, quick and greasy foods which leads to increased risk of free radical damage, heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes and cancer. Your choice!
Jesus gives us clear direction: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4 ESV)
Next…..Wrong Tree Wrong Food! Why do we need “bread” from heaven?
The Eternal Feast Part 1
The Eternal Feast Part 2
The Eternal Feast Part 3
The Eternal Feast Part 4
