Earlier this month I had the opportunity to interview Nancy Deville, author of the critically acclaimed book Death By Supermarket. By the way, here is the link to the on-demand broadcast for your listening convenience; Food Poisoning: Is the FDA killing us one bite at a time?
It was an interesting discussion to say the least, especially since I had in the past viewed those who sought the purity of organic foods as being the wear socks with sandals granola eating set. How wrong I was, and how smart they have been.
Since August I have made the transition to eating healthier food as opposed to the factory junk that comes pre-packaged and has a shelf life well into the next millennium. Okay may be not the next millennium, but you get my point.
I have to tell you that in making the change I seem to have more energy. Given the fact that Jennifer and I have four children under the age of 7 having more energy is a big plus.
There have also been a number of other benefits as well. For example, I have noticed that I suffer less from my seasonal allergies – I no longer have to take antihistamines. Even a recent cold seemed to be less debilitating despite the fact that I eschewed the usual OTC remedies such as Nyquil.
The problem with making these kinds of changes is that outside of the above examples one tends to lose context relative to measuring the improvement in general overall well-being. Or to put it another way, our “before” memories are frustratingly if not thankfully short. What I needed was to find a means by which I could experience the before so as to gain a better of appreciation of the new me.
Enter that venerable fast food chain McDonald’s!
Like most parents with a busy family the day can slip away very quickly. While I accompanied our oldest Savannah on a 6 hour school outing yesterday, Jennifer had the three boys aged 1, 2 and 4 at home. Even though both Jennifer and I enjoy cooking – Jennifer is especially adept at preparing amazing meals, we decided to try McDonald’s.
Outside of the occasional chocolate shake and small french fries, I hadn’t really eaten food at McDonald’s for some time. As we approached the drive through, I quickly scanned the overly business menu and decided to have two crispy chicken wraps.
Within hours of eating the wraps I began to have a heavy, bloated feeling in my stomach accompanied shortly thereafter by heartburn. And then it all started coming back to me. This is how I used to feel before moving to a more natural, dare I say organic food diet.
Now do not get me wrong, I have not made the move to a socks with sandals attire. However I cannot deny the fact that after being off of the factory food for the past 2-months there is an undeniable improvement in the quality of life.
So here is the question . . . has factory food such as that which is churned out by a McDonald’s diluted our taste to the point that we no longer notice the fact that we might be slowly poisoning ourselves?
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