Due to the advances in technology, anyone anywhere can have access to foods from any country, and in any season. Progressive as this may seem, it poses a major challenge to health which many choose to ignore. These foods are often highly processed and are kept in cold storage for long periods of time, rendering them of no nutritional value to the body. The human body is a miracle of creation, a finely balanced combination of substances, which, unfortunately, we often abuse (frequently unknowingly). Like everything, it operates perfectly when in balance. This balance is between acidity and alkalinity. If we are out of balance our acidity levels are too high.
This balance is best achieved by what we eat People today need to be made aware that the food a person eats influences not only their health but also their behavior. In the past people were worried about how much they ate. Today they need to be concerned about what they eat. Most of what we feed ourselves has been processed to increase the shelf life of the product. Unfortunately, this processing of our foods does nothing to improve the quality of life or the state of health of the people who consume them Our children, for example, are at a great risk even before they are born. If a mother has been on the pill, on a low fat, weight reduction program just before she conceives, this can impact on the health of her child. Oral contraception, for example, destroys the important B group vitamin-Folic Acid which is essential for the prevention of birth defects, like spina-bifida. Attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, asthma, allergies and many other disorders can be as a direct result of the nutritional status of the child’s parents before conception, and the mothers, during pregnancy.
In their book, “Chemical Children” Published by Century, (1987). Dr Peter Mansfield and Dr Jean Monro, have this to say:- “We are facing a medical problem, which is only about fifty years old. It is now affecting a large minority of young people throughout the developed world – estimates vary between ten and thirty percent. Children, teenagers, and young adults in their twenties are the first generation to have grown up totally cocooned in chemicals. Each year’s new babies encounter a stiffer challenge to their physical constitution than was faced by older children in their day, a year or two before. The numbers of children adversely affected by chemicals now amount to an epidemic which ought to be obvious, recognized, taken seriously and dealt with.”
Genetics, as well as maternal, hormonal, nutritional, and environmental factors contribute to a child’s growth. Good nutrition is the single most important factor affecting growth and development. Nutrition affects a child’s physical growth, body composition, immune function, and mental function. Most of the food we eat is stored, preserved, chemically treated and then over-cooked. This is not what nature intended.
Eating organic foods would be the best way to strengthen the immune system. Unfortunately, the challenge we face in this regard is that organic growing of crops has been replaced by chemically based food production, thereby diminishing people’s access to organic foods. Non-organic foods often have pesticide or herbicide residue which can build up to toxic levels over time and have the potential of overloading consumers. Mass production fertilizers such as phosphates used in non-organic food production can remove minerals from the produce. It is important, however, that even faced with the challenge of non-organic food production, we must carefully choose what foods to eat, bearing in mind that Water – Carbohydrates – Proteins and Fats are the basic building blocks of a good diet, as well as vitamins, minerals and macronutrients. We should choose and consume them in their healthiest forms to assist your body in functioning properly.