Reclaiming our health
As Covid-19 continues to hold the world in a grip of fear and uncertainty, not to mention economic disaster for many, this is the perfect time to reclaim control of our body’s perfectly developed immune system rather than seeking interventions from elsewhere. The last half-century has seen our diet change from home-grown cooking to fast-food takeaways. The concomitant increase in diabetes, obesity, blood pressure issues and liver disorders, to name a few, cannot be ignored.
To know why our diet has changed so radically, look no further than interference by governments and big business, where unilateral decisions are made that affect the entire population without consultation or approval by consumers. Advertising plays a huge part in influencing consumer spending and can be viewed as a form of propaganda through continual exposure to messages exhorting us to want more, buy more, spend more. The world-wide increase in sugar consumption is well-documented as being a result of the promotion of health benefits backed by questionable research, in order to boost the sugar-beet industry in the USA decades ago. The increasing ill-health of the world population, particularly in Westernised society, has led to massive demand for pharmaceuticals to counteract disease, and there is no need to elaborate on how this has benefited the manufacturers rather than the consumers. It is only by learning to trust what our bodies are telling us and daring to step away from mainstream thinking that we can learn how to heal through better eating habits. The world-wide web has given us access to unlimited information, both scientific and alternative, and it is up to us what we choose to follow. Suffice to say that the results of your actions are the best evidence of whether you are on the right track.
It is never easy to adopt a new lifestyle, particularly regarding food, as entertainment has become synonymous with eating – we meet our friends for coffee, a reward for exercise is to go out to lunch afterwards (burned the calories!), a road trip is planned with farmstalls in mind. The sensory satisfaction derived from eating our food is what keeps us coming back for more. With an over-abundance of food available, we are not eating to refuel our bodies, but rather for the pleasure it gives us. Interestingly, the endorphin high we get from exercise is not as popular as that from eating – truly a population of couch potatoes!
One of the many side effects of sugar consumption is a lessening of your ability to truly taste subtle foods. You will find that, within a few weeks of totally giving up sugar, you can taste things you never thought had a flavour, such as lettuce and cucumber. Imagine how much more delectable other food is! Within a month, you should have lost your ‘sweet tooth’ and find that the natural sugars in fruits seem sweeter than before. You are setting off on a voyage of discovery that can lead to a new lease on life!
