The Lost Ingredient or The Price of Salt

About a year ago I began to radically change my diet for health reasons. I eat a low glycemic, vegetarian, mostly organic diet. And now that I am completely immersed in a different way of thinking about food I would like to share a few of my own personal discoveries.

Healthy food taste better.

There are some foods that I realized this past year I haven't tasted in a long time. Peanuts. I love them. When I stopped getting salted peanuts and switched to organic, sugar-free peanut butter I suddenly remembered what the little buggers actually taste like. Oatmeal, do you remember what real 40 minute oatmeal tastes like? Oh, it is heavenly. The crap that comes in little bags that you throw in the microwave doesn't hold a candle. Etc.

I was addicted, literally, to sugar. I was unable to maintain a blood glucose/insulin stasis. I would eat things like white bread and sport drinks to combat headaches, mood swings and cramps, not to satiate my hunger. The sugar in these foods would cause me to spike and then drop dramatically. So, I would eat more high-sugar food to combat the drop, just like a heroine addict.

I think many people are addicted to sugar and transfat. Be honest with yourself, do you like frosting because of the way it tastes, I mean really tastes or because of the endorphins your brain releases when it hits your tongue. Think about it. Healthy food does not produce the sugar high that unhealthy food does. Therefore instead of getting off you can actually taste the food. Is it spicy, is it bitter, is it savory, is it sweet, is it SUBTLE?


Healthy food makes you feel better.

Okay so there are the obvious benefits of more vitamins, less refined carbs, less transfats, less unnatural hormones, etc. But there is another psychological benefit. It feels good to do something healthy for yourself. This will sound cheesy as all hell, but I like checking out at the grocery store with my healthy food. I like putting all my vegetables and bulger and buckwheat and tofu on the counter for everyone to see. It makes me feel good to look at it all sitting there. I love it, love it, love it when the checkout person comments on the healthiness of my food. It also makes me sad when the checkout person says that they could never eat this stuff, it is so good. Anyhow, my dream is that some day a righteous, punk, artistic, queer babe will come up behind me in the grocery store and see the way I eat and know right then and there that she is in love with me. Dream on, I know, but it would be great.


Healthy food opens up social doors.

Okay, so this may sound weird, but bear with me. In addition to babes in the grocery store, I have noticed that recently there is a certain subculture forming of healthy eating. There are cool people in the vegetable aisles! These same people are often also found in the fair trade coffee houses and the new world restaurants. Now here is where it gets interesting. These people also seem to frequent cultural events, political meetings and other intellectual gatherings. They aren't hippies, it isn't a fashion, they are smart people who make educated decisions about how they interact with the world. If this sounds like the kind of friends you want to have, then eat smarter. You'll meet them all over the place when you do. It will start with an ally at work who notices that you brought portobello sandwiches for lunch instead of burgers, then it will mushroom, hehe.


Healthy food is better for the environment.

I won't go on about this. It is just true. There are a couple of books on my reading list, The Omnivore’s Dilemma and The Fatal Harvest Reader. They both talk about the role industrial farming plays in the deterioration of our habitat.


Healthy food is better for the economy.

Okay, if you just don't care about the other stuff at least think on this. The American farmer is a dying breed. Every year dropping food prices make farming less and less financially viable. The ONLY growing sector in the food industry in the United States is in organic food. Everything else has been on the decline for years. Organic food helps us maintain our economy by supporting farmers.


Healthy food brings the family together.

I have noticed, since I have started eating healthier that my family and friends have started as well. Now this may just be a part of a trend, but I think I have had a little bit to do with it. 8 months ago my mom would roll her eyes when I picked up the organic milk at the market. Then we talked about it. I told her that hormones fed to lactating cows are known to be a factor in an increased rate of poly-cystic ovarian syndrome, something I am currently suffering from, and she now buys organic milk and eggs on her own accord. We can eat together and talk about how our food tastes and how it makes us feel. Okay, so sometimes we try something and it sucks, but even then we laugh about it and make a mental note: no more rice flour pizza crusts from scratch.