Our Complex Food Supply

 

The second most intimate thing you can do is have a meal with another person.  The joy of eating cannot be overstated.   Not only is it joyful, but it is also essential to supporting the continuation of life.

 

For example, if you wiggle your index finger you may or may not know that this is enabled by an extremely complex electrical system in the human body which is a balance of potassium and sodium.  One of these complexities is that the body stores sodium and you can go for an extended period without input of sodium or simple salt.  Potassium is more complex.  Potassium washes out of the human system in approximately 24 hours and must be constantly resupplied.  While potassium comes from many sources, the most common source and one or the richest sources is the banana.  There is approximately 1,000 mg. of potassium in the average size banana, it takes three years to grow and is relatively inexpensive.  It may well be God’s perfect food.

It is an absolute fact that many acute heart conditions originate from a shortage of potassium. Several years ago, it was horrifying to observe on television school children in Appalachia who were shown a banana and they had no idea what it was.

My own Mother was seeing her primary care physician and he oversubscribed Hydrochlorothiazide to lower her blood pressure.  Consequently, she became potassium deprived and her heart was severely damaged.

Now the rough stuff.  Some processed meats, e.g., hot dogs, hamburger meat, sausage contain up to 32 noxious chemicals with no benefit to the consumer of these products.  In fact, these food additives are thought to be linked to many of the common diseases that plague American people including heart disease, cancer and diabetes.  These products also can be

heavy laden with unnecessary fat and these meats can be loaded with fillers like soy and wheat which offer no nutrition and may be harmful.

Worse, many food products include peanut additives, wheat additives to which many people have severe allergies.  Many people are lactose intolerant and may or may not be aware that the food they consume contains lactose.   Our  microbiome have been significantly altered, and plastic is in everything we eat including the fish we eat.  It is thought that the average American eats the equivalent of a credit card in plastic each week.

What can you do about this to protect yourself and the people you love?  Well, data becomes information, information becomes knowledge and knowledge becomes power.   The more knowledge you have about the food supply the better choices you can make in purchasing the food you consume.  When it comes to purchasing food there is probably no better example of the power of caveat emptor, i.e., the principle that the buyer alone is responsible for checking the quality and suitability of goods before a purchase is made.

 

Jan Ricks Jennings

Senior Consultant

Senior Management Resources, LLC

 

Jan.Jennings@EagleTalons.net

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