September 20, 2011

Trying to Eat What is in Season

One of the snippets of information that I learned (or TRULY realized) this summer at the Ancestral Health Symposium was that we no longer eat based on the season. This means that instead of eating what would typically be ripe or available right now, we eat many foods year round.  These foods are imported from countries with much warmer climates than us 'northerners.'  Now, it is very clear to me that I do not live in California or some tropical place, so why do I eat bananas or pineapple all year round?  Why is it that berries or oranges find their way into my daily eating?  Normally, during the winter we would only have what is left in the cellar, so maybe some potatoes, squash, beets, but nothing that would resemble corn or lettuce or even tomatoes!  Definitely NOT bananas.  Why does this even matter though?  What kind of affect does this have on us?  I imagine there is a lot of scientific information about this and how it translates into us eating more sugar throughout the year. Sugar, as I also learned at the Symposium, is essentially to blame for many of our health problems (e.g. metabolic syndrome, diabetes...).  Have our bodies not adjusted to our new eating habits, which include eating more sugar throughout the year?


I am not an expert and know very little about sugar and what it does within the human body, but what I do know is that I have the choice to eat what I want and what I know is healthy for me.  My goal and focus for the next few months is to eat for the season.  I will be starting with beets...I LOVE BEETS!


Check out this link for more information about fructose and seasonality:


http://www.marksdailyapple.com/fruit-fructose-availability-seasons/


Check out the link below for some great recipes (not all gluten or sugar-free) that use in-season fruits and vegetables:


http://www.foodnetwork.com/in-season-now/index.html

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