By Tracey Stover
Welcome back as I continue to weave the tale about our precious human bodies. What we ingest and how we ingest it makes all the difference.
In our exploration of extraordinary bodies, we must assess what we ingest. Do we really know what we are eating? Here is why: America’s farming soils are depleted of 85% of their nutrients. Between the practice of tilling soil, which degrades it – most farms do till, and large mono-crop farming necessitates an ever-greater need for pesticides – and the creation of genetically modified foods to create pest resilience, the results are food with degraded nutritional value. The jury is still out as to whether these foods are healthy to eat. I recently read that we have to eat eight oranges to receive the nutritional value our grandparents received from one. According to Scientific America, “Sadly, each successive generation of fast-growing, pest-resistant carrots is less good than the one before.”
Food from large, mono-crop farms fill the shelves of grocery stores; organically grown food is a much better choice, though over time, even organic farming requires increased organic pesticides. Are there any other options? Yes! There is regenerative farming that employs very little tilling, the use of livestock for trampling the earth, and no pesticides, as it uses the natural resistance of other plants and animals to deter pests. These are about 5% of United States farms.
Americans were hit hard by COVID-19, in part, I believe, from generations of eating nutrient-deficient food. Our health has been compromised and our immune systems weakened.
Every time we choose food for the sake of convenience, or willful ignorance, we support industries that make choices based on profits versus the health of the soil and consumers. On Vashon, we are fortunate to have many local farmers; we can eat local, and we can find out how the food was grown. I just helped a friend clean a field she had laid with organic compost, only to later find it covered with micro-plastics. We have a systemic problem. For one, those little plastic stickers on our food do not compost.
What are we ingesting? Know your food, consider putting hands in the soil, be it in pots on a balcony, the strip on the sidewalk, or in your garden. Each of us can contribute, wherever we find ourselves, to help generate nutrient-rich soil and food. Growing food is one of the greatest acts of generosity to ourselves and others. We are only as healthy as the food we eat.
Imagine a beautiful, organic apple in hand – how do you eat it? How many times do you chew each bite? Seriously, do you chew five times before you swallow, or ten? In the East, they chew a minimum of 25 times per bite. Chewing breaks down the food and stimulates the salivary glands to release essential enzymes to begin the digestive process in the mouth. When the chewed pulp reaches the stomach, the enzymes signal the digestive acids to complete digestion. In our fast-paced lives, most of us eat standing, on the run, or simply vacuum it down in 5 minutes.
Merely sitting down engages the parasympathetic system, the “rest and digest” mode. I can sympathize with the vacuum-eaters, but sitting and chewing avoids major digestive issues. Not chewing, or drinking smoothies, is akin to eating food whole, making it act like a time-bomb in the stomach, creating intense gas as the undigested food rots and passes into the intestines.
A little trick is to add granola or nuts – anything that makes you chew soft foods, like yogurt, smoothies, or soup. Chewing means taking more time to eat, and giving the body time to register it is full. Eat less, and the gut works less.
The simple act of chewing is to use the body as it was intended. Life is not meant to be rocket science, so let’s rebuild the soil, and reclaim our health.
On that note, join me for a free 30-minute class on “Three Things To know About The Breath,” April 26th, 1:00 pm. RSVP to Tracey at 206-769-0040.
