I have been reading a bit here and there about “decolonizing the diet” (sort of an oxymoron for me, since you have to go way, way, way back on my family tree to find any ancestors who are indigenous to the Americas). Not any extensive study! But a little bit.
I’m finding it pretty interesting. For example, one opinion I read talked about how in Mexico, in areas where people eat mostly whatever they can grow, people are much healthier and live longer, but when their relatives come to the U.S. and begin eating cheap food here (mostly processed crap), their health goes downhill fast.
I remember discussing this is one of my anthro classes, too, how many indigenous villages in Chiapas that are kind of isolated eat mainly from the land, and they tend to be much healthier than the places where tortilla factories and supermarkets have come in. There was also some discussion about beans, rice and corn; apparently, beans and corn work together to provide certain enzymes and proteins that beans and rice do not, so as areas stop eating corn and start eating rice, they start having more nutrition problems.
I’m also thinking about back in my AOL days, a lot of folks on the pagan boards used to talk about paleo diets. That’s not really realistic for me, since they involve a healthy amount of meat, but some of the suggestions are good, like cutting out enriched flour, processed sugar, and most potatoes. (Sweet potatoes and yams are okay, Idaho varieties not so much. Something about starches and acids building up in your system, I don’t really remember.)
Anyway, I was thinking about this and about how at one of the forums I visit people were discussing decolonizing the diet, and I’ve kind of been thinking of trying it. I have some health problems, and I am beginning to wonder how much the crap I eat exacerbates or even causes them. I’ve been eating “healthier,” but it’s still a lot of processed food, frozen veggies and canned fruits, frozen teriyaki bowls and canned chili. It’s healthier, but it’s still processed.
I’m not going to cut out processed foods entirely — I’m a vegetarian, so I get all of my protein from beans and peanut butter and soy, and I can only switch to unprocessed beans, feasibly — and I’m not giving up my diet sodas, though I will try to cut back to after I’ve had plenty of water. Yes, I’m addicted to Diet Dr Pepper.
What I will do, though, is this. It’s getting warmer, so the fruit stands will open and the farmer’s market will be starting up again in a month or so, and the flea market one town up sells some produce, too. And they’re as cheap as or cheaper than the grocery store. So I’ll be trying to get most of my fruits and veggies from those, and eating fresh (more nutrients, less pesticides and preservatives). I am going to try and cut out as much white flour, white potatoes and processed sugar as possible, so that, at most, I’m having some once or twice a week. It’s not like I can’t get organic wheat and corn flours and raw sugar, and I eat way too many potatoes anyway. I’m also going to do a little research on which foods go well together and which don’t, so that I can try to plan my diet accordingly. This will be gradual, as I can’t stand the idea of wasting food and I have a lot of crap in my cupboards, like Girl Scout cookies. Which I can’t eat right now because of Lent.
This is not going to be easy at all. I have no willpower. Seriously, as I’m writing this, I’m eating Tostitos and bean dip. But I think I can do it. I gave up sugar once before for a year and a half; I’ve never caved during Lent and I always give up food. It’s obviously possible for me. I think I may need a support group, though!
