God made food, the devil [made] the cooks, or why gourmet food is not healthy [OLD]

Nature provided us with plentiful sources of food, and yet somehow we're as far from it as possible: starting with hybridisation of crops throughout the history, now GMOs, continuous intensive agriculture (not even talking about battery animal farms!), and ending with highly processed, "molecular" and junk foods. But it's not just the obvious junk foods that cause concern.

The problem is (and I won't be popular for it): many people think they eat healthily, when in fact very often they're not! We're so used to our ways (parent influence, traditions, recipes, TV cooking shows, restaurant meals) we don't realize that just because we cook at home, from scratch and include some vegetables, it does not automatically make it healthy.

And when it comes to eating out, it's even worse. This quote of dr. Klaper describes it quite well: "When my friends ask me to go out for dinner, I say, hmmm, do I want Italian flavoured salt, sugar and fat? Or maybe Chinese salt, sugar and fat? I haven't had East Indian salt, sugar and fat in a while! Ooh, Thai flavoured salt, sugar and fat is really nice..."

Due to food shortages common in the past, we naturally lean towards calorie-dense foods, so it makes sense that we are attracted to sugar and fat. And then comes their little buddy salt! There is no one opinion on why we're addicted to it: it might have something to do with electrolyte-water balance or need for minerals (either way, it's addictive).

Have you ever tried quitting sugar? I bet that was hard. Not only it's seriously addictive, sugar is in so many products! And it's not just the obvious sweets, chocolates, cakes, jams and soft drinks (and syrups in your coffee!). It's also in breakfast cereals, ketchup, BBQ sauce, salad cream and various other sauces and dressings, chutneys, baked beans, bread, yogurt, snack bars, many alcoholic drinks and hundreds of packaged meals that otherwise would seem savoury (soup, chicken and rice, sushi, sandwiches and salads). Why is it there? Because it tastes good. We like it - we'll buy more!

When it comes to salt... Health nutters use pink Himalayan or Celtic sea salt, regular people use regular table salt but we do use it. It can make the plainest salad or soup into a tasty meal, and it also adds a nice touch to a chocolate or caramel. Salt actually irritates our mouth and stimulates saliva production, so we can taste our food better, and our appetite grows as we eat (even when we might already be full). And after a while we get thirsty - it's a natural body's response, trying to dilute the salt as in high concentrations it can be toxic to the body. Sadly, many people confuse this thirst with hunger!

And my favourite - the fat. It has the most calories of all macronutrients (9 kcal per 1 gram) and is very easily stored in the body (unless in ketogenic conditions). There are essential fats that our bodies can't do without but we learned that a bit of oil or other fat here and there adds some nice flavour and makes us fuller (who doesn't like the smell of onion frying in some olive oil?). Not only it slows down the digestion, high-fat meals have been shown to impair arterial function and blood flow, and many fats (rich in omega-6, saturated and trans-fatty acids in many vegetable oils and animal products) increase inflammation in the body and predispose us to many illnesses, e.g. cardiovascular disease. Even olive oil can affect arterial lining!

Are you sure you're not using some of them or a combination to make foods tastier? We are taught to eat that way through our life experiences (starting with parents feeding us!), and if we try to switch to "healthier" foods, they just don't taste good, something's missing!

The good news is: our taste buds adapt. If you haven't had sugar for a while, you can notice straight away that something is too sweet (or even sickly!). If you've been avoiding salt for some time, a slice of bread or any meal in a restaurant might taste incredibly salty. If you haven't had much fat lately, a high-fat meal might not digest very easily and can make you feel heavy.

What we often do, is blame one of them and use the others. Most of us know what happened when Western populations were advised to eat less fat: low-fat (but super high in sugar!) foods arose. When we want foods low in sugar, most foods will be heavily based on protein and fat (and most likely lots of additives and sweeteners which has problems of its own; plus diet coke is not diet at all!). And when the doctor recommends reducing salt intake for our blood pressure, we go for low-sodium salt that is highly processed and carries additional dangers to our health. We can survive on many ways of eating and restrictions/overconsumption of multiple nutrients because our bodies use their regulatory mechanisms to reduce the damage, but at some point they can't keep up, and that's one of the reasons we see so many illnesses in the ageing population.

OK, now seriously. Life is not just black and white. Food is and should be a pleasure in our lives (maybe not the main one though?). And it is hard to leave old habits behind. Start small in making healthy choices. Incorporate more healthy foods. Reduce the amounts of health-damaging products that you consume. As on of my favourite gardeners/health promoters John Kohler says, there's always good, better and best. If "good" is what you can achieve, good. However, if you're one of those people who strive for the "best", go for it.