Want a doughnut?

 

Cobb salad, a healthy dinner, right?
How many of the ingredients have chemicals in them?
Can you guess?

This morning, while skimming I don’t know what online, I came across an ad, with picture, for a fried bacon cheeseburger doughnut. Just reading about it made my arteries scream in pain. I know the Texas State Fair is known for bizarre foods—the farther out from normal, the better—but this wasn’t State Fair food. I assume it was someone’s honest attempt to attract fat fans.

Perhaps the State Fair sets a bad example for us: I didn’t do an actual survey, but most of the new foods, sanctioned for this year’s fair, are deep fried. Right away, I’m backing away. Really, I don’t need or want a deep-fried fruity pebble pickle. Deep-fried candy pecan bacon banana bread pudding might taste magnificent, but I’ll pass thank you. Same with deep-fried Vietnamese coffee (I have no idea how they do that) or deep-fried fireball shots.

Recently I read a couple of articles meant to frighten and intimidate. Titles like “Five Things Nutritionists Never Eat,” or “Seventy-two things you should never eat.” Obviously, because food is my shtick, I read each article. My personal conclusion was that I do pretty well: yes, I eat an occasional hot dog, but not a lot—and Kosher when I do, which I think makes a difference. I will also occasionally eat sausage and yes, I love bacon. But I don’t eat it often. Yes, I eat red meat but in moderation (okay, so we had giant cheeseburgers for dinner last night). Sometimes we use bottled dressing (a no-no because of the sugar) but usually it’s homemade, and I have a great new recipe I’m waiting to try. Same with ketchup—it’s a rare treat. There are a whole lot of things on these “never eat” lists that will never pass my lips.

Basically, such lists recommend no fried foods, no white sugar, nothing from the grocery store. Wait a minute! If you can’t eat food from the grocery, what do you eat? The thing is most groceries we buy are processed and full of chemicals meant to lengthen shelf life and enhance appearance. So instead of bottled dressing you should make your own; instead of Lunchables, make your child a lunch box of goodies, but for heaven’s sake, don’t put prepared deli meats in it or American cheese slices, such as Kraft or Velveeta. No diet soda, flavored water, energy drinks, bottled coffee, etc. Drink water. Even milk is suspect because it comes from cows who have been fed hormones and antibiotics.

The list goes on and on, and I won’t bore—or scare—you with it. But the truth is that we should all become compulsive label readers as we shop in the grocery store. Watch for chemicals, hormones, vitamins, etc. When a label says, “Low fat” or “reduced sugar,” be aware that to compensate for taking those things out of a product, manufacturers have added something else. Onr person I know referred to the additives as “a shitstorm of chemicals.” I never, for instance, buy low-fat cottage cheese or sour cream. (I shouldn’t eat those things anyway because humans are the only mammal who eats dairy after childhood, but I like them. And that reminds me, another favorite, mayonnaise is on the don’t eat list because of the fat content, but I’m not trying reduced fat.)

The point of all this is that as Americans (I can’t speak for other countries), we have modified our food supply to the point that much of it is unhealthy. Tonight, in another context, Jordan said so many people seem to be developing health problems—severe ones. I think it’s no coincidence that we are seeing more cases of severe disease—several forms of cancer, including gliobastoma, the deadly brain tumor, diabetes, or autoimmune disease. Science tells us that an average of 200 synthetic chemicals are present in the systems of newborn infants. So think what is in the system of an adult in America. We are being processed and preserved to death.

Not many of us have the time or inclination—or perhaps budget—to buy only organic, to cook everything at home from scratch. And yet that’s what it would take to even begin to reverse the pollution in our bodies. So each of us must choose a pathway—how much prepared and preserved food are you willing to eat? How much work are you willing to do to purify your diet, cook from scratch, and eat healthily? Not many of us can live on the land and be self-sustaining. So somewhere there’s a compromise for each of us. Where’s your line in the sand?