Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.
~ Socrates
Food is both fuel and medicine. It not only provides us with the calories to be burned so as to give us the energy which we need but the vitamins found in nutritional foods have a protective effect against certain diseases, among them cancer, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and osteoporosis.
And, most notably, it is becoming clearer that various compounds found in natural foods can slow down the aging process. In fact, studies indicate that changing the typical American dietary habits can extend the average life expectancy by at least ten years.
However, it is interesting to note that as human beings whose bodies function in a symbiotic relationship with our environment where the available foods on this planet support our unique physiology, we have diverged from this natural sustenance, altering our food with preservatives, additives, and toxins such as are common in
convenience foods,
fast food, and the ever-popular junk
food.
The end result is collective obesity and poor
overall health.
Even as we eat to live, we are slowly
killing ourselves
by starving ourselves of much-
needed nutrients.
The quality of food determines its nutritional value but today's crops are often exposed to pesticides, reducing their quality. Among the worst crops for pesticides are celery, radishes, pears, and apricots.
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In the past sixty years alone, because of agricultural practices that strip the soil of nutrients, the presence of vitamins in fruits and vegetables has decreased dramatically to the point where commercially-grown potatoes now have absolutely no vitamin A and nearly 60% less iron.
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According to an article entitled "The Unsung Sardine, "ounce for ounce, sardines provide more calcium and phosphorus than milk, more protein than steak, more potassium than bananas, and more iron than cooked spinach."