Safe Foods

To Eat or Not to Eat   

In the World with so many different attributes attached to the food; low fat, trans fat, refined, antioxidants, organic etc.; no wonder it causes a lot of confusion for any person as to what is safe to eat and what is not. Studies after studies show how previous studies are faulty! How long should we wait to have the perfect study which is not invalidated by a future study? How can we guarantee that all studies related to food are over and it’s safe to eat the food prescribed by that infallible study? Not only are the researchers clueless, but so are the doctors! One of my friends’ doctor suggested that he should consume more protein and start eating beef. My friend is a Hindu Brahmin and his ancestors have not eaten beef for centuries (or maybe ever)!

Speaking of ancestors; whether you praise or curse your lineage, the fact is you have just inherited their genes. Your body is geared towards eating the same type of food your ancestors have been eating for centuries. In all other aspects, you can revolt against them, but not in the food habit. And if you do that, it will be detrimental to your health. A short lifespan of 70-80 years is no match for the hundreds and thousands of years of the food your ancestors have been consuming. You just can’t change it overnight. It will take generations to adapt to a completely different food habit. If your ancestors were vegetarian, it’s in the best interest for you to remain vegetarian. If your forefathers have been eating fish or poultry, no point in you converting to a vegetarian diet.

Most of the studies happened so far are geared towards westerners.  There have been a very few studies for Indians. So when they say that olive oil and red wine are best for you, use your caution, as your ancestors never consumed these foods. Only those foods are safe for you, which were served by your Mom for the better part of your life.

Look at the cause and effect relationship. Humans have been consuming berries and fruits for hundreds of thousands of years. Berries have high levels of antioxidants and hence they are good for health. Or conversely and more importantly, your body is geared towards consuming antioxidants for those many years. If a type of food has been in consumption for centuries, you don’t have to think twice. It’s good for you.

Studies carried out about 30-40 years back favor low fat dairy products over their full fat counterparts. Since then our society has been fixated by low fat food. Think; in the centuries prior to that, in fact no point in the history, humans consumed low fat dairy products! Why do the researchers think that low fat dairy is good for us? A study over 10 years with a few thousand sample population is no match for the thousands of years of consumption of full fat dairy products by billions of us. And now, researchers are back to advocating the full fat dairy products’ benefits (Dr. Sinha’s excellent blog at https://www.culturalhealthsolutions.com/is-full-fat-dairy-ok/).

Humans started eating berries, fruits, then started hunting before they began farming. So, folks may argue that if berries and fruits are good for us, why not animals? Well, it depends. If you are brought up in a culture that consumed animals for the last several centuries, you must continue that habit.

A word of caution, though. Eat the same types of animals that your ancestors ate. In the past, as early as 100 years back, when refrigeration techniques and fast transportation & distribution were not prevalent, people used to consume small animals – chicken and fish during their normal course and consumed larger animals like lambs, pigs and oxen as a part of feast to several people. It would have made no sense to kill an ox and a family of four eats it for several days, as the meat would rot in a day or two. So keep these animals only for small number of occasions. Now you know why white meat is better than red meat! They had to waste several million dollars to arrive at this conclusion through multiple studies!

Why is anything organic, unrefined, high fiber food good for you? Because you have been eating it for centuries. It’s simply logical. And what about preservatives and canned food? Okay, you got the idea.

What about cheese? Those Italians eat a lot of cheese and have healthy heart. Why? Again the same reasoning, their culture and food habits for the past several centuries! Should I, as an Indian, be consuming cheese, maybe not.

But what about butter and ghee, or should I use margarine? Well, studies have shown margarine is bad. Yet another study! Oh margarine has trans fat, so may be “I can’t believe it’s not butter” is an ideal alternative. Think twice! Refrain from consuming any new type of food. You would certainly benefit from consuming butter & ghee instead; of course moderation is the key.

Moderation is true for sweets too. Indian festivals, large in number, are the only times you should be consuming sweets. If you start celebrating festivities every day, you will surely have health issues.

But I want to try different types of food, why should I be monotonous? After all, I believe in diversity, you know! You can surely try different foods, but in extreme moderation. For example, once a week or once in two weeks could be a good cadence. You should not increase the frequency of trying different foods during your lifespan. Your kids could eat other types of food a little more frequently. But to adapt to say Western food habits, it will take 3-4 or even more generations. No point putting your or your immediate offspring’s’ lives at risk! Things may seem to be working out fine during the short term, however, eating too much or too often the food not meant for your body will start causing troubles like ulcers and cancers!

A simple guideline, any food that has a word in your Mother tongue, is probably safe to consume as long as your ancestors have been eating it. My South Indian friends tell me that they like rice, but rice is bad and hence they would avoid it. NO! Rice has been the part of your stapled diet for centuries! It’s good for you; in fact, eating excessive wheat may be detrimental. Just eat the same type of rice, don’t substitute it with basmati rice for example.

There is a huge difference between you and your ancestors, though; the lifestyle. We tend to have a more sedentary lifestyle. We ought to consume a fewer calories based on the lifestyle, however, the calories should come from the same type and proportion of foods that your ancestors consumed.

Now the choice is yours! You can wait (indefinitely) for the perfect study or just your common sense and get going!