image courtesy bookrags 
image courtesy ushistory.org
Two things are on my mind right now: the folks at HHS, FDA, EPA and USDA, and those particularly who publish the guidelines for eating in the US might want to take a stroll over to the Library of Congress and take out a couple of books written by one of their predecessors.
I’m sort of curious again about that wonderful American thinker, Thomas Paine. Just a month ago, I referenced him in another post – http://www.kitchen-inspirational.com/2015/02/03/times-try-mens-souls-icicle-days-dinners-butternut-squash-fennel-gratin/.
I continue to be intrigued with his overall wisdom profile, today it’s in the form of his books – Common Sense and The Age of Reason. Being that he was obviously pre-occupied with these sorts of ideas back in and around 1775-1794, I am wondering if we, the collective, have since then, veered off course into a world of utterly fog-worn uber-complexity (ah, ya think?) And, there’s that word complexity again. I, for one, like that he concerned himself with these topics and spent a good deal of time pondering and writing about them. And, I wonder what the picture looks like from then on…….
Gosh, it is exhausting to continue to read the debates and conflicting information about “dietary recommendations”. I think they are causing me to have a bad case of brain-drain. I just read the letters to the editor in yesterday’s NYT where the debate continues to rage on the government’s “updated” dietary advice. My take? I don’t think I want the government, who is notoriously behind the curve in just about everything, advising me on what to eat. They do a terrible job in perpetuating the wholesale wreckage that is use of pesticides, hormones and a myriad of other poisons into the food chain. They continue to subsidize food industry (giant) components that market and deliver bad food into the food supply while all but side-stepping the efforts of the small, organic and sustainably-minded artisan. They continue to allow confusing and misleading food packing information. They continue to promote a “one size fits all” philosophy on dietary guidelines and I for one would like to see them stop this.
Being that I said I don’t really want the government telling me what to eat – I’d really prefer that they instead redirect all of those resources toward cleaning up the food supply on all levels and put out really useful packaging information and then let people decide what is best for themselves. I would also like the medical community to heighten their role in recommending what is good for people in various groups to eat.
Common Sense and Reason around the concept of “The Human Condition”, a phrase, my brother-in-law Dave, is known to evoke in a number of contexts, to me, doesn’t involve lumping all of us into one big group. My thoughts run along this line – perhaps there should be more or less distinct dietary guidelines for babies, adolescents, middle age, the lower hormone years, and the “elderly”. Even the term “elderly” lumps way too many people into a supposedly homogenous group. I began getting info from AARP about 8 years ago – I promptly threw it into the garbage pail.
Beyond this sort-of age appropriate dietary advise, I believe from my own non-scientist perspective (one that wouldn’t carry any weight anywhere except perhaps on the common sense agenda page) that most individuals have foods that they can eat and others they should avoid. I use as an example here the fact that we should learn how to more astutely use the how we “feel” after we eat-test to help us in this regard.
If we listen closely enough, our own bodies will tell us what is ok for us and what isn’t. If we feel tired, sluggish or our digestive systems or nasal cavities become irritated or if we get headaches or gain unwanted weight when we eat certain foods or certain parts of our bodies swell or bloat, or certain foods result in extreme cravings or episodes of low blood sugar, well then chances are those are probably foods we shouldn’t eat (or drink). If we feel satiated and light and energized after eating others and our blood sugar is stable for a longer while, well-then we should probably navigate mostly to those foods. Just as certain people are “allergic” to certain foods, I think certain people’s individual systems function well or better on certain foods vs others. This just happens to make sense to me (hey, I’m no nutrition expert). I think we can learn a lot from this little self-testing exercise.
In a better world, we would be able to consult with a competent medical/nutritional professional easily, economically and often – someone who would would guide us wisely based on our age, heredity, medical history, hormone profile, lifestyle and weight issues, and not subscribe to a one-size fits all approach. (a doctor told me last year to “just eat less food” -ugh). And, finally, being that the human condition would include on the spectrum that we ill-advisedly sometimes or often knowingly ingest stuff that is not good for us, we need to take responsibility for self-education and, if we want to live longer, healthier lives, make some decisions. This is what the government and the medical community need to help us do. Just sayin……….
here is a perfect food image for the FDA, HHS and USDA – image courtesy Slow Food USA and Frants Diderik Boe circa 1842 – guess he figured things out early – and to think, over 170 years later, we’re still struggling……..
This all, of course, is just my own personal opinion. But, it just kinda makes sense to me. And so, why does the government feel compelled to lump all 318 million + of us into one group? I for one would like to see some educational protocols for pre-natal care and how to feed your kids – like no fruit loops, potato chips, cheese doodles, m&ms and coke for example, would be a good start! (Why do people wonder why kids self-soothe with junk food? They learned it from their parents who stuck it in their mouths every time they started crying on an airplane or in a restaurant). Well, ’nuff said on this subject.
on the morning desk this morning
Moving on, for a few decades now, we have all been around the phrase, Equal-Opportunity Employer. This comes to mind as, back in the day, I for one was part of the “experiment” of affirmative action” in my previous corporate career. I was front and center and somewhat unconcerned as big corporations endeavored to navigate the tricky and rocky road to Dublin in search of non-discrimantory employment practices (ha). Well, thank goodness that’s over, for me anyway. It is curious to see that this discussion continues as we ponder the representation of women in prominent roles in just about every profession there is – right now it’s the top levels of Hedge Funds, Silicon Valley and Congress ……. I will be anxious to watch this continue to evolve throughout the rest of my lifetime. Anyway,,,,,,
When it comes to Equal Opportunity for me personally these days, I am subscribing to the Equal Opportunity Explorer concept. Due to my own experience and self-education, I have, for many years fought with myself over my passionate embrace of the world of pastry and baking. I have gone back and forth a million times about how I should give up on my obsession with fat, dairy and sugar laden treats which are principally composed with white wheat flour. Yes, it is true that for now, I am not eating them any more, but I continue to explore, ogle, salivate over, and yes bake the creations seen and imagined near and far in the world of baking. I don’t have to eat it, but I do want to love it and not feel guilty about it. And so, I feel as though I can settle on equal opportunity when it comes to continuing to learn about and making all sorts of food. Otherwise, I’d be cutting off the equivalent of my own right arm – and that just doesn’t feel right to me.
Ok, so well, that all said, I will go on now being an equal opportunity explorer, someone who looks at, studies, experiments with and may or may not eat a million different recipes. There’s plenty left on my “to learn” plate – quite enough to last me another 30-40 years or so.
In my usual mode of giving a nod to the ugly and for today, unsolvable, I’m going on a virtual dream-trip today – over to Sicily, where they are deep into Springtime and the Almond Blossom season. This is where one such cradle of civilization lives life happily. How lovely:
today, I’m re-reading
Wishing you a happy and guilt-free, but common-sense day! Ciao! <3