Eat up, be well
14.01.10
Blame it on Hippocrates.
He's the one who said, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food," founding the food-as-medicine school of thought.
Were the great-great-grandchildren of this father of modern medicine (460-377 B.C) admonished to eat an apple a day? Did they feed a cold, or starve a fever?
Those questions may remain unanswered, but we do know that these days marketing experts pitch food to us as either remedy or preventive. Oatmeal, green tea, dark chocolate, blueberries, pomegranates - instead of being savored for their flavors, they're swallowed for their presumed beneficial qualities.
Can't we just eat anymore?
We're told to eat fish, but only if the variety is not endangered or carrying a dose of mercury.
Some of us consciously stuff ourselves with fiber while others are on self-imposed eating plans (don't call them diets!) "free" of one ingredient or another (salt, wheat, fat).
And even as we strive to consume more fresh fruits and vegetables (less red meat and fewer processed foods), we wonder about the safety and sustainability of the food chain that brings those fruits and veggies to local markets.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer