Ancient settlers around the world have been accustomed to planting and gathering food from the land. Nutrient-rich seeds, greens, fruits, vegetables and ground provisions were available to feed families in rural areas and urban centres.
However, we have seen a shift from the agrarian diet to a modern diet high in sugar, fat and processed foods leading to an increase in lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity.
The case study of the Pima Indians of Arizona's Sonora Desert demonstrates that they experienced good health while they ate fruit of various cacti, the seeds of chia plant and acorns, beans and corn, which they planted during the desert's brief rainy season.
However, their health deteriorated with an increase in diabetes and obesity when they abandoned their ancestral diets to a modern diet rich in sugars, fats and processed foods.
Genetic influence
The change in diet supported the genetic influence in adult-onset diabetes. It was established that the Pimas carried a so-called 'thrifty gene', which converted excess food into stored fat with a great deal of efficiency as they ate a low-fat, low-sugar diet which their bodies metabolised efficiently. However, with the adoption of a Western modern diet, the generic advantage failed, resulting in widespread obesity and adult-onset diabetes among the Pima people.
Traditional foods which are low-fat, high-complex carbohydrates offer tremendous health benefits. They include:
Improved metabolism
Excellent physical shape
Improved immune system
Improved energy levels
Protection against chronic diseases
Complex carbohydrates
Healthy food choices should include complex carbohydrates, which include vegetables, legumes, pasta, cereals and wholegrain breads. These foods provide fibre, which acts as the broom in the intestine to clean out undigested food that could eventually decompose and produce toxins harmful to the body. Complex carbohydrates were part of the plant-based diet of our grandparents who lived long with little ailments.
Sweet poison
Modern diet is laden with processed foods, many of which have 'empty calories'. The chief culprit is sugar, which has a plant origin. In 1957, Dr William Martin classified sugar as a poison. His working definition of 'poison' was: 'medically, any substance applied to the body, ingested or developed within the body, which causes or may cause disease and physically, any substance which inhibits the activity of a catalyst which is a minor substance, chemical or enzyme that activates a reaction'.
Why would Martin classify sugar as poison? His reason is that refined sugar is depleted of its life forces - proteins, vitamins and minerals - leaving pure, refined carbohydrates which the body finds difficult to utilise in the absence of depleted nutrients. The irony of it is that nature provides plants with enough proteins, vitamins and minerals to metabolise the carbohydrate in that particular plant. When there is incomplete carbohydrate metabolism, toxins such as pyruvic acid are formed and accumulate in the brain and nervous system and also affect the respiratory system.
Naked calories
Refined sugar is dangerous when ingested by humans because it provides only 'empty' or 'naked' calories. It lacks the natural minerals which are present in sugar beet or cane. In addition, sugar is worse than nothing because it drains and leaches the body of precious vitamins and minerals through the effects of digestion, detoxification and elimination on the entire system.
Sugar is a major factor in tooth decay and leads to overweight. According to www.ghealth.com, Sir Frederick Banting, the co-discoverer of insulin, noticed in 1929 in Panama that among cane plantation owners who ate large amounts of refined sugar, diabetes was common. Among native cane-cutters, who only got to chew the raw cane, he saw no diabetes.
Whole foods
Whole foods include vegetables, fruits, and whole, unprocessed grains, nuts and legumes. As compared to eating processed foods from a box or a can, these healthy choices contain a range of beneficial nutrients and phytochemicals. Whole foods are also remarkable because they do not have added sugar, salt, fat or chemicals.
There is less pressure on the environment when whole foods are selected, as this eliminates plastic and paper packaging, additives and chemical preservatives.
Heather Little-White, PhD, is a nutrition and lifestyle consultant in the Corporate Area. Send comments to editor@gleanerjm.com or fax 922-6223.
Tofu Peanut Stir-Fry
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 cups stir-fried vegetables (string
beans, carrots, pak choi, snow peas, etc)
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup cornstarch
Salt and pepper to taste
1 (14oz) package firm tofu, drained
and cubed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup peanut sauce
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat and cook the vegetables until tender. Mix in the ginger and season with salt and pepper. Remove vegetables from skillet and set aside.
2. Place the eggs in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Dip tofu cubes first in the egg, then the cornstarch mixture to coat.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the skillet, or wok over medium heat, and cook the coated tofu for 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Stir in the peanut sauce and peanuts. Continue to cook and stir until sauce has thickened and tofu is well-coated. Serve with the vegetables.
(All Recipes.com)
Reasons to eat well
1. Improved Nutrition
Eating foods from wholesome sources close to nature should endure that you stay on top of your game with good nutrition. Lavish amounts of fruits and vegetables, especially if eaten raw, should provide the recommended amounts of vitamins A and C, selenium, potassium, and other vitamins and minerals. Organic foods grown in nutrient-rich soil are themselves nutrient-rich, providing more of what your body needs.
2. Source of phytochemicals
In plant foods, there are biologically active plant-food compounds called phytochemicals, most of which are powerful antioxidants such as lycopene, found mainly in tomatoes; lutein, found in orange vegetables like carrots and pumpkin; and anthocyanins, found in cherries.
3. Omega-3s
A wholesome diet with plenty of fish, fruits and vegetables, peas, beans, nuts and seeds makes it easier to get good supplies of the 'good' fats (omega-3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fat), eliminating trans fats and saturated fat.
4. Rich in Fibre
Processing destroys the fibre in junk food and fast food. On the contrary, most whole plant foods are fibre-rich. Fibre not only keeps the digestive tract moving (and naturally cleans your intestinal tract), but it also helps you feel full faster and lowers blood cholesterol, making it beneficial for a healthy weight.
5. Fewer toxins
Diets that are mainly plant-based eliminate added fat, sugar, refined flour, sodium and other ingredients which place a burden on your body. You are also reducing your exposure to a multitude of toxins that are present in conventionally grown and processed foods.
Research has shown that eating 'whole' foods - meaning unprocessed natural foods - is the best way to stay free of disease, maintain a healthy weight, retain energy and retain youthfulness.