Mindful Eating

Yesterday I had an engaging conversation on Facebook about a product that contained mostly chemicals. My husband had brought the container home because a coworker drinks it and he wanted me to check out the label.  The third ingredient in this powder is propylene glycol.  I looked that up online and found that  which is used as an antifreeze and to absorb water, which I posted online asking the question "Why would anyone in their right mind want to ingest this?"  My Facebook friends and I went back and forth about what people should be eating.

As you know for the last year or so I have been advocating, and trying, to maintain a whole foods diet.  Occasionally I do "fall off the wagon" and eat something that is off the track for that, but generally I am pretty good about processed stuff.  When you think about it, most of what we eat is processed, i.e. cooking, or prepared, even meat is processed to a point as we don't just sink our teeth into the side of a cow or something.  But I am pretty good about staying away from foods that have chemicals in them because I try to read the labels for the foods I buy.

Some of these chemicals that are in the foods on the shelves at the grocery store are really scary when you read about them. Sure they don't generally put a whole lot of the stuff in, but even a small amount can change your internal balance.  The human body is an incredible system with a delicate balance that should be maintained by giving it the fuel it needs.  While I sometimes I would love to just take a pill that supplies all my nutritional needs, purely as a matter of saving time used in food preparation, the body needs to have its fuel delivered the way it was designed.  And while I am not where near the image of ideal health I think I am moving toward that direction rather than away.  The standard American diet is killing us IMHO and it is time to get back to basics.  This means voting with our pocketbook and not buying crap to eat.