Chemistry Week 4
I don't have a huge variety of colors in my kitchen right now. I just moved and so don't have a huge amount of fresh food yet. I have some herbs and greens, all of which are green. I also have some rice and grits and whole barley, which are white, yellow, and tan, respectively. Then I have some dry spices that are green, brown, and red, and yellow. And some soy sauce that is black. I have some blueberries that are blue/blueish-purple. I had been getting these yummy blood oranges that were orange on the outside and a mix of orange to dark magenta on the inside. They were very yummy and beautiful.
I think its great to have a variety of foods that you eat, but I think worrying too much about the colors is not the point. Yes eating a variety of vibrantly colored foods can be wonderful, but i also think simple, tasty meals are great. I also think that its possible to have too much variety, and a person ends of confusing their body by never giving it enough of the same thing. What I learned about food from a teacher who had a lot of influence on my understanding about food and diet, is that (approximately) 50% of our diet should be a staple, like rice or potatoes. The staple should be bland. That gives us a kind of foundation for everything else we do to support our health to stand on. After the staple we have a small amount of meat, and some fruits and veggies. Variety within the second 50% is great, but also we should pay attention to what feels good to us when we eat it, what we are craving, and what our ancestors ate before we came along.
Also, when I see different diets that focus on percentages of fat, carbs, protein, etc. or worse yet, on the different "phytonutrients" in the frutis and vegetables we eat, I get a little annoyed. First I think that diet culture in general is very toxic, and unless a new (i.e. fad) diet comes with a strong critique of diet culture and fatphobia, then it should just go immediately into the trashcan. We already know how to nourish ourselves. We have been doing it for many thousands of years. We don't need new data or chemical analyses to know that veggies are good for us. We also know that obsessing over a particular aspect of eating is not good. Foods are not pharmaceuticals. The phytonutrient content is not relevant. You can not drink a glass of blueberry proanthocyanidins and get the same nourishment that you would from a pint of blueberries.
I think its great to have a variety of foods that you eat, but I think worrying too much about the colors is not the point. Yes eating a variety of vibrantly colored foods can be wonderful, but i also think simple, tasty meals are great. I also think that its possible to have too much variety, and a person ends of confusing their body by never giving it enough of the same thing. What I learned about food from a teacher who had a lot of influence on my understanding about food and diet, is that (approximately) 50% of our diet should be a staple, like rice or potatoes. The staple should be bland. That gives us a kind of foundation for everything else we do to support our health to stand on. After the staple we have a small amount of meat, and some fruits and veggies. Variety within the second 50% is great, but also we should pay attention to what feels good to us when we eat it, what we are craving, and what our ancestors ate before we came along.
Also, when I see different diets that focus on percentages of fat, carbs, protein, etc. or worse yet, on the different "phytonutrients" in the frutis and vegetables we eat, I get a little annoyed. First I think that diet culture in general is very toxic, and unless a new (i.e. fad) diet comes with a strong critique of diet culture and fatphobia, then it should just go immediately into the trashcan. We already know how to nourish ourselves. We have been doing it for many thousands of years. We don't need new data or chemical analyses to know that veggies are good for us. We also know that obsessing over a particular aspect of eating is not good. Foods are not pharmaceuticals. The phytonutrient content is not relevant. You can not drink a glass of blueberry proanthocyanidins and get the same nourishment that you would from a pint of blueberries.
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