How real is real?
Holidaying in Maui right now and at the supermarket I see cheese in a can and it says all over it, made with “real” cheese? Since when did real cheese come in a can??
The only cheese I know and buy is the real kind in the refrigerated dairy section of the supermarket.
It got me thinking, what else do we feed ourselves and our families that is supposed to be real?? Did you know that many veggie burgers are not made of veggies but of soy and processed ingredients?
Many years ago we ate food that was seasonal and fresh .Up until the 1930s most families did not have fridges but ice boxes where they kept their staples cold. Food was bought fresh and consumed within days. There were no preservatives in food to make it last for weeks. The first way of preserving even dates back hundreds of years when food was cured or salted . But today, due to the demand of convenience, chemicals have been added to preserve food. Not all are harmful but there are alot of preservatives used to:
- enhance the colour
- enhance the appeal of the food
- make the food last longer.
- Many chemicals are disguised and often we find them in names we cannot pronounce.
Many food additives and preservatives have been linked to:
- cancer,
- ADHD in kids,
- cancer in lab animals,
- headaches (from MSG)
- risk of weight gain
There is a trend now to eat fresh because as the saying goes” fresh is best”. I try to eat seasonal like I did when I grew up, I try to buy organic when I can ,not because there is any added nutritional benefit but I do not want to eat and give my family to eat fruits and veggies that have been sprayed with chemicals and have been artificially modified. Some strawberries look like golf balls they have become so big! Have you ever gone strawberry picking?? You will not find golf size berries.
I am no angel and I confess I don’t eat fresh and preservative free all the time. But now I am much more aware of what I am eating. At times when I do eat candies and sweet treats I know that my body will react as I itch all over!
Start to educate yourself on what you are eating. Just because it says “natural” or “real“does not make it good for you. If you cannot pronounce the ingredients, chances are you should not be eating it.
But I do draw the line at cheese in a can:)
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