If it's sold to eat, then it's food. Right?
So many things we are accustomed to eating are not even food.
So what is food? The definition for food, as given by two different dictionaries (Merriam-Webster and Oxford Languages/Google) is:
—material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy
—any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink or that plants absorb in order to maintain life and grow
Notice that both definitions describe food as having nutrients that sustain/maintain life. Now think about how many things we eat that do not provide our bodies with anything we need at all. Now, I am not proposing that we never enjoy those things - candy and other sweets, fast food, convenience grocery items and drinks full of sugars (real or artificial) and artificial flavoring. But that has become the regular diet of most Americans, rather than occasional treats.
Coupled with poor exercise habits, this helps explain why heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US (and worldwide). Also of note is that Diabetes Mellitus is also in the top 10 leading causes of death in the US, increasing more than 70% in the last decade. Both diseases are largely preventable.
So what qualifies as food?
Real food is grown in nature or comes from something that grows in nature. It's that simple. Why do I say "in nature"? Because much of what we eat is "grown" in a lab!
Look at the ingredients list of the some foods you eat regularly. You'll find many ingredients that you don't even know what it is or you can't pronounce it, or both. In a grocery store, most real food doesn't even have an ingredients list! A good rule of thumb is to see if the ingredients could be used as a shopping list in the store….if you can't buy most of the ingredients in the store, make that food something you either avoid or enjoy only occasionally.
Try this:
Can you guess the food by the ingredients list in the photos? It should be easy. If it isn't, then pass, or make sure you only eat it occasionally, and you'll go very long way towards improving your health. Restaurant meals don't have ingredient lists you say? Exactly. Restaurant meals should be occasional treats, not a regular habit.
If your inner nerd enjoyed that, then look up some of the ingredients you can't identify and learn, so you can make an informed decision about whether to eat it.
So what is food? The definition for food, as given by two different dictionaries (Merriam-Webster and Oxford Languages/Google) is:
—material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy
—any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink or that plants absorb in order to maintain life and grow
Notice that both definitions describe food as having nutrients that sustain/maintain life. Now think about how many things we eat that do not provide our bodies with anything we need at all. Now, I am not proposing that we never enjoy those things - candy and other sweets, fast food, convenience grocery items and drinks full of sugars (real or artificial) and artificial flavoring. But that has become the regular diet of most Americans, rather than occasional treats.
Coupled with poor exercise habits, this helps explain why heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US (and worldwide). Also of note is that Diabetes Mellitus is also in the top 10 leading causes of death in the US, increasing more than 70% in the last decade. Both diseases are largely preventable.
So what qualifies as food?
Real food is grown in nature or comes from something that grows in nature. It's that simple. Why do I say "in nature"? Because much of what we eat is "grown" in a lab!
Look at the ingredients list of the some foods you eat regularly. You'll find many ingredients that you don't even know what it is or you can't pronounce it, or both. In a grocery store, most real food doesn't even have an ingredients list! A good rule of thumb is to see if the ingredients could be used as a shopping list in the store….if you can't buy most of the ingredients in the store, make that food something you either avoid or enjoy only occasionally.
Try this:
Can you guess the food by the ingredients list in the photos? It should be easy. If it isn't, then pass, or make sure you only eat it occasionally, and you'll go very long way towards improving your health. Restaurant meals don't have ingredient lists you say? Exactly. Restaurant meals should be occasional treats, not a regular habit.
If your inner nerd enjoyed that, then look up some of the ingredients you can't identify and learn, so you can make an informed decision about whether to eat it.
Resources:
WHO leading causes of death (latest info)
Heart Disease is largely preventable - Cleveland Clinic
Heart Disease is largely preventable - Mayo Clinic
Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 is largely preventable - CDC
Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 is largely preventable - NIH
NutriNeedz
Kentucky, USA
Kentucky, USA