I was [...]]]> I call it the frankenstein factor, that distinguishes real food from the bulk of the crap I see in people’s shopping carts.  I’m always bummed to see that my article Alternative Health Education is an under-performer. Perhaps I should re-evaluate the key-wording and rewrite it, because I think the message is important.

I was recently reminded of the topic while reading Compleat Mother magazine. My bottom-line principle is that we should be eating REAL FOOD. Real food doesn’t usually have a label to read. I am totally and completely positive that anyone who eats real, whole, organic, natural foods will never ever get sick. period. Processed food is poison, made in labs, hence the frankenstein factor.

Reading labels and focusing on grams of this and percentage of that does absolutely NOTHING other than convincing people that science has mastered the human body and that someone at the FDA knows exactly how much ____ you need. That’s a load of crap. YOUR BODY knows what nutrients you need. THE EARTH provides all of the nutrients we need, in the form of REAL FOOD that simply grows.

Breastmilk changes constantly, both in flavor and nutritional value, according to what mom has eaten. If mom is eating local whole real foods, her milk will help train baby’s body to seek specific foods for specific nutrients. We don’t all have that luxury, though, do we. And the idea that it’s a luxury is simply disgusting.

“Nutritional science” funded by food processors has completely interrupted that process. It begins with baby formula, a product which tastes the same at every feeding and only has a fraction of the nutrients that breastmilk has. There are over 350 things in breastmilk that haven’t even been IDENTIFIED by Science. but, like dha and omega 3’s, when they finally figure out what it is and what the body needs it for, you can bet that a law will be passed (In Europe first) mandating that it be included in formula.

Did you know breastmilk changed in fat and sugar ration throughout the feeding, too. At the beginning of a “meal” the baby is given more water in order to calm their hungry tummies quickly. After the initial watery appetizer, the meal becomes rich in proteins and amino acids and toward the end of the meal, the ‘dessert” is fatty. As baby ages, there’s less and less of a substance that helps baby sleep. Imagine if formula manufacturers tried to duplicate that process. “From day 3-17, Feed bottle A for 3.2 minutes, bottle b for 4 minutes and bottle c for 1 minute. On day 18….” But it can never be done, because there are chemical interactions between the baby and mother, driven by what the BABY NEEDS. When mom & baby are exposed to an illness, the antibodies are GIVEN TO THE BABY in mom’s milk. When baby is hurt, mom’s milk delivers PAIN KILLERS and a sleep aid. Babies who are underweight can be left on the breast longer to make use of the fatty dessert milk.

What kind of insanity believes that it’s acceptable for any species to do ANYTHING other than that which it was CREATED to do?

Anyhow- I am so off-track, I was about to get all philosophical on you. It would have started with the phrase “If you believe we were created by God…” which never earns me many fans, since IMHO We’re a perfect creation and apparently religion teaches the opposite. (we are sinners…) Anyhow, here’s my point:

STOP READING LABELS

START EATING REAL FOOD. Plain and simple. Real food doesn’t have a label. Ahhh- packaged grain has a label. Be sure that your grain is packaged and not processed. Whole grain barley, wheat berries, brown rice, etc. Our bodies don’t need BAKED goods (breads are the foundation of the food pyramid. Stupid really, when whole grains are much more nutritious than grains baked into a bread)
Choose whole oats instead of rolled oats.

Meats- Even though I’m big on raw foods, I love a nice grilled salmon or chicken breast. Perhaps my attraction to proteins stems from an over exposure to sugars in processed foods. I don’t eat as much meat as I crave, however, because the chicken breasts in the store are genetically modified and can’t even reproduce without naturally, it’s a disgusting mad-science thing that I find repulsive. When I can find organic heirloom chicken, you can bet that’s what I’d choose. It has more flavor and no Frankenstein-factor. I think it’s better to raise the animals you plan to eat, and eat less of them. Cold water wild harvested fish have less mercury, and that’s why I’m drawn to salmon. We have chickens, we eat their eggs but we haven’t eaten their meat. yet.

That’s just me, though. I think my diet is probably only half as real as I think it should be, which would put my Frankenstein factor at 50%. I’m probably over estimating. My guess is that most Americans are at 90%.