You are what you eat
Real Stories with Mary Lynch • Published 2 Feb 2012 09:30
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am not trying to sell you Gillian McKeith's book even though I found it interesting; nor indeed am I trying to compete with Audrey's wonderful recipes in this paper; but as I feed my guests in Ti Suaimhnis I keep it simple. Good wholesome organic food. We all know (and most try to ignore) the fact is that you are what you eat as it affects everything about you, not only your weight.
I have had an interest in my diet for a long time (not the trying to lose weight diet) but how food affects you. When I first arrived in the United States I ate a lot of new exciting foods and even I put on weight and also found I had no energy. One day I was barely able to make it out of the subway to get to work; so I went home to my apartment and dumped all foodstuffs out of the cupboards and decided to get back to basics (I don't recommend you be this drastic but I was young and impetuous then).
Off to the health food shop I went and found that everything was more expensive but I had enough sense, even then, to know if I cut out the rubbish I could then afford the price difference. I was also aware that we did not need to eat as much as we do which only puts extra strain on our systems. This left me with more time to chew which is something none of us take enough time for, leaving us not only eating too much but reaching for medication to help us digest it and I can imagine at this point I'm giving you all indigestion.
This all reminds me of the time my sister and I were living with friends in New York when we were between apartments. The lady of the house would feed us as if there was a famine coming.
My sister refused to eat it all and one day the man of the house said in annoyance (as he sat in front of a mountain of food),
'You know it's a sin to waste food.'
And my cheeky sister replied as I tried not to laugh,
'It's also a sin to commit gluttony!'
(This was thirty years ago when even then Americans were buying indigestion tablets in bulk - I joke you not).
So with the New Year in full swing and all the diets in place remember one thing as you measure your food intake and count your calories. When you diet to lose weight the body thinks there is a famine so it makes provisions to store what you eat as fat! - Simple reason why diets never work and long term your weight becomes an even bigger struggle (that is both physically and mentally).
In the early eighties I decided if a recipe needed more than three ingredients or two pots then it was too much for both me and my body to handle; so I keep it simple as the function of digesting food is where you expend the most energy. A contradiction in terms I know but, the source of your energy really is the greatest source of its expenditure!
So tell me why does everything need twenty ingredients today - could it be to enhance the flavour of second rate food!
As I cook with my few ingredients, people love it, maybe not only because it is easier to digest but it is in an old house with great character, no TV and memories of another time when things were much simpler, especially on the digestive tract.
You wouldn't put dirty fuel into your car and expect it to run well nor would you ever dream of having the fuel either flavoured or coloured (well… maybe coloured if it was diesel!) but you constantly put rubbish into your mouth and expect your body to function wondering why it sometimes has a reaction.
All this is basic common sense so why do we allow ourselves to be baffled with bullshit?
As I search the aisles of the supermarket for real food I find very little there. I see overweight adults and children cram their trolleys with products masquerading as food and I wonder has anyone any sense anymore.
So tell me, what is so complicated about changing your diet (not for six weeks to lose weight but for a lifetime to maintain your health)? Trust me it is worth it and it really is as easy to acquire a taste for something that is good for you as something that is not. Remember that first alcoholic drink that tasted horrible but, you knew the effect it was going to have so you persevered, didn't you? Why not give your food the same opportunity, to be a lot more efficient than it is whilst remembering that it only takes twenty one days to change a habit.
I tried to teach my children this but Jarlath being more argumentative than Roisin fought against everything I said. Then one day he came into the kitchen and said with such surprise, 'Mammy I just watched Jamie Oliver's programme and I now know what you meant about real food.' Isn't it amazing how they hear it better from everyone else's mouths!
I won't say that he then saw the light and ate no more rubbish but he did learn to cook and I have to admit he is a great one but I would want to photograph not eat what he puts on a plate.
Getting back to basics may not be that simple if you are not as old as me to remember what people ate when there was not all the selection on the shelves today but, I'm sure it won't be difficult to find a cookbook on basic food or turn the page to Audrey's Kitchen (even though she may use more ingredients than I do). As for fast food no one can make a dinner faster than me especially if no meat is involved, if it is then it's usually in stews which just need a time element to be applied.
Really it is not complicated. Just think of what a wonderful body and mind you are destroying as both try to function when most of the energy has gone to the complicated process of digestion not only food but, also the many chemicals that have been added!
Like Gillian McKeith I simplified this process even more by food combining but we won't go there now - if you are really interested in simplifying your digestive tract and thus your life come and visit me and I'll put you on a diet that works with the foods you enjoy (and I mean real food).
The bonuses don't end with a body in shape without needing a degree in nutrition, but also a mind as clear as a bell, less time sick, less time waiting in doctor's surgeries picking up other people's germs and like me you will be able to rise at the crack of dawn to do something you love. Hope all this gives you some food for thought!
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