Holy crap, it's the Food in my Food movie!

"If you have a limited amount of money, you're going to spend it on the cheapest calories you can get. And that's processed foods."  "

"If another country was doing this to us, we'd be at war."

A Place at the Table is out on DVD/Blu-Ray and available on Netflix and Amazon Instant.

Treating our Bodies as Sacred

Thought this was worth sharing, especially for this:

" ...[H]ealth is not just about weight.  It is about treating our bodies as sacred.  It’s about what we put into our bodies and making sure that they are in the best condition possible for the long haul.  It’s about putting things into our bodies that were created by nature or the gods, not by putting synthetic replicas into our bodies as a substitute. It’s something that not only Pagans struggle with, but health is a consideration for all humans.  When we are at the height of our possible health (which is different for all of us because of genetics, injury, etc.), we improve the quality of our life.  We reduce disease.  We prolong life.  We feel better for longer."

This is a discussion that a lot of people shy away from.  In our eagerness to be kind and accepting of each other — which is, indeed, important — we forget that ignoring preventable suffering and physical harm is not kind.  It's touchy, yes.  It's hard to find a proper balance.  I think, most importantly, it relies on people being willing to be kind to themselves, rather than putting others in the awkward position of figuring out whether or not to speak up.  Treating your own body carelessly is not treating it as sacred.  Your mind and spirit are important parts of you, and deserve your attention, kindness, and development.  But your body is no less a part of you, and it deserves no less.

Take care of yourselves.  All of yourself.

Processed vs. Whole Foods: Well, I feel validated...

I had a new awareness: it made no sense, in evolutionary terms, to eat things that weren't actually food and expect our bodies to still react in a normal fashion.

I wrote that, so discovering the following video wasn't exactly surprising, really, but it was horrifying.

Stefani Bardin is a TEDxManhattan 2011 Fellow, who conducted small clinical trials using pill cameras to demonstrate how our digestive system reacts differently to processed versus unprocessed foods.  Pay particular attention to her narration, where she explains that some of the ingredients in the processed foods are petrochemicals – that's right, stuff derived from crude oil.

No wonder we can't digest it properly.  See for yourself:

What price do we pay for convenience? Not only do we develop attitudes that cooking is a chore (when it actually can be a part of the social and enjoyment experience of food), but what exactly happens when we absorb petrochemicals instead of nutrients?