Let us begin with a small exercise… Walk up to your fridge and observe what are all the items – vegetables, fruits and others – stored in your refrigerator . Broccoli, Zucchini, Olives,Cheese ( not to mention the varieties… former French President Charles de Gaulle once said “ How can one run a country which has 246 varieties of cheese”) , Spinach, Baby-corn , strawberries, Kiwi fruit, Kefir, Yakult, Ketchup , Preserves, Mayonnaise… the list endless.
Now close your eyes.. and think how many of these vegetables or food items in the refrigerator have you eaten in your childhood…? Or how many of these would have been recognised as an ingredient by your parents or grand parents..? May be None. Forget your childhood.. how many of these items had have eaten in last 10 years…? One, two, three…??
The items stored in the fridge these days are a direct assault on traditional , knowledge based Indian foods , its rich culinary tradition and eating habits. Now – a -days food and eating habits are more becoming more a status symbol than a healthy eating option. Calorie has taken over wholesome nutritional value. Traditional Indian cooking has lost its race to processed food market and its glamorous marketing blitzkrieg. Today it’s easier to procure virgin olive oil than to procure cold pressed mustard oil. It is easier to get Quinoa that to get pearl millet. We are progressively moving away from our original ,traditional and time tested eating habits. Processed foods are rich in sugar, salt , fats and ingredients that are addictive and habit forming. We simply don’t know the art of reading labels. We go for impulsive buying or simply buckle to the pressure of kids.
Lifestyle diseases like Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity, Thyroid, PCODs and Cancer are increasing day by day as the the sales of packaged and processed foods. Does it have any direct correlation between these both ? Or the increasing life span of humans exposing to diseases ? Or do we eat more to please our palettes ignoring the long time heath issues? Why do some communities or regions live longer than others? Which diet ( new fads are invented day by day -paleo, Mediterranean, OMAD to name a few) is better for healthy living ? One book tries to find the answer…
Dr. Stephen Le, born to Vietnamese mother and Canadian father has written a book titled “ 100 Million Years of Food” What our ancestors ate and how it matters today. The book is published by Picador, New York. Dr. Le ,is currently a visiting professor in Department of Biology at the University of Ottawa. He has received a Ph.D in biological anthropology from the University of California, in 2010. Before writing the book Le travelled to countries like Vietnam, China, Kenya, India , Australia and United States to know about growing, cooking and eating food first hand.
The book was written in the memory of his deceased mother , a Vietnamese settled in Canada, who died of breast cancer, at the age of 66. But his maternal grandmother died two year earlier than his mother , aged 92. This prompted the author to focus why his grand mother , who ate only traditional Vietnamese food, even after migrating to Canada went on to live till her 90s and his mother , who tweaked the traditional diet , died of cancer. He went on to focus on researching ancestral diets and lifestyles and other diseases commonly associated with Western civilisation. He spent about two years researching about food habits and food related illnesses around the world, consulting with health experts and nutritionists . His point of emphasis in the book is a matter of concern. In his words, “ this brings us to a major stumbling block encountered by nutritionists and food writers: the tendency to ignore or misunderstand human evolution and to focus instead on simplistic models of human nutrition and physiology. Trying to understand human nutrition and health without understanding evolution is is like eavesdropping on a snippet of conversation. Without knowing the context. It makes little sensor can be very misleading”.
The book starts from the introductory chapter – ‘What should we eat and how should we live’ and has been dealt in nine chapters which discusses topics about insects as food, ( to quote M.Premalatha ET AL., – by the author -“The supreme irony is that all over the world monies worth billions of rupees are spent every year to save crops… by killing a food source ( insects) that may contain upto 75% high quality animal protein ) point to ponder. Next topic is about The games fruits play, which discuss the benefits and ill effects of eating fruits. Its interesting – and surprising – to know that Apple founder Steve Jobs ’s death due to pancreatic cancer was related to his experimentation with extreme fruit regimens called fruitarian diet. Third chapter is about meat – the temptation of meat – which discusses about the cultural taboos , benefits and ill effects of eating flesh, including human one. Further chapters discusses about Fish, Starches , Liquids ( Elixirs he writes – three major ones water ,milk and alcohol ) , Vitamins , Calorie and last but not the least – the Future food.
After 2 years of intense research, Dr. Le suggests 3 important steps to improve the health of humans in today’s modern society.
- Keep moving.
- Eat less meat and dairy when younger; Avoid sugar and deep fried foods. And
- Eat traditionally.
A very good read for those who are interested in and striving for a sustainable and healthy diet.
The author concludes the book by saying “ Our future well being depends on whether we can recognise the monumental shifts that our lives have taken in just a hundred years and take action to restore our health”
True That.
Good Food....Good Mood. 