The Purpose of Food

As you know, food comes in a wide variety of tastes, colours, shapes and sizes, It also has an enormous variation in quality. And I’m not just talking fresh versus stale, I’m also talking about the quality of the nutrition and therefore nourishment that food provides our bodies.
At one end of the food quality scale, food can be natural (not genetically engineered), grown without herbicides, pesticides and fertilizer, contain no artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavours and colours, no added sugar, no excitotoxins (like MSG, to make you crave more) and not be irradiated or washed in chlorine.
At the other end of the scale it can be genetically modified, artificially fertilised, doused in pesticides and herbicidal poisons, manufactured with artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavours and colours, contain added sugar, excitotoxins (like MSG) and be irradiated or washed in chlorine. In other words, a toxic cocktail that contributes to degenerative diseases and an early death.
No wonder Jack LaLanne said, “If man made it, don’t eat it!”
(Francois Henri Jack LaLanne was an American fitness, exercise, and nutrition expert and motivational speaker who is sometimes referred to as the “Godfather of Fitness” and the “First Fitness Superhero”. He died at age 96.)
So, why is it that our food supply can cover such a wide variety of extremes. Purely and simply because we don’t all purchase only that which is good for us. That’s why companies make the stuff at the bad end of the scale. Because people buy it. If nobody bought it, companies would not make it.
So why do people buy it? Primarily because we are not all on the same page with regards to the definition and purpose of food.
For a moment, let’s have a look at the purpose for food. Why do we eat it? Right from the moment we are born, our bodies crave nourishment, we get hungry and look for something to eat to quell the pain of hunger. Mum offers us a nipple and away we go. So we start out by being suckers on the subject of food and the food giants expect us to remain so!
All jokes aside, this killing the pangs of hunger is the first purpose for eating. Unfortunately, for many around the world, it remains the only purpose.
As we grow a bit older we are introduced to things that taste nice. We are rewarded with food when we are “good”.
So food now assumes a new role. As well as taking away the pain of hunger, food is now something to eat that tastes great, so it is a source of pleasure, it makes us feel good.
Gee, we haven’t even got to school yet and we are seriously off the rails with regards to the purpose of food.
So then we introduce peer pressure on the subject of food, advertising aimed at kids, we get busy and don’t have time so we look for fast, easy and convenient, preprepared and “fast” foods. We are now easy targets for what the definition of food has become, “Something tasty that takes no time to prepare that I can eat quickly to not feel hungry and will get me through to the next meal time.”
Wow! What a degraded scene.
What’s the ideal scene? What would be the optimal purpose for eating? OK, food is fuel for the body. If we wanted the best condition for our body, what WOULD we want our food to do?
How about this? As well as the minimum purpose for food being:
1. To satisfy our hunger cravings
2. To taste at least acceptable
We additionally want to provide sufficient nutrients so:
3. Our body had sufficient energy so we could do what we wanted to do
4. We had no mental fog leaving us fresh and alert till an hour before sleep
5. The body would rarely, if ever get sick
6. If the body got ill, it would recover quickly
7. The body could repair itself and reverse disease
8. The body maintained as close to optimal functionality despite aging
If that is the proper purpose for food then as a society we have strayed a long way off the rails and have a long way to go to get back on the rails. The good news is that you and I have the power to make a change in our own diets and to encourage others to do the same.
The first step is to decide to take responsibility for your future diet and health. One way you can do that is to make a list of what you will cut out of your diet and another list of what you will add in or buy more of. I find one of the easiest ways to do that is to create an eating plan, meals and snacks, for the coming week then buy for that eating plan. And only go shopping on a full stomach! That’s a big help!
If you are looking for some options for snacks or “pick me ups” or mini-meals that are healthier than oats and sugar bars, check out www.healthelicious.com.au. I practice what I preach!