A bit about food.

I've been having a lot of nerve pain again lately. There is no telling why. It comes and goes. I have permanent nerve damage from my good old anorexia days. My body stripped the fatty acid casings off my nerves in my arms and legs, hands and feet, to preserve my brain. It seems so have worked because I am still alive and function just fine. But the price is nerve pain. Misfires you can call them. The nerve gets triggered for no reason, resulting in pain. It's not comfortable but I have a high pain threshold and you get used to it. It's not fun though, I can tell you that. I used to hope that with a healthy life style it would go away. Alas, eventhough it is a lot better, it will never fully go away.  Some things you can not restore. Obesity has long term effects that can not be reversed as well even if you lose all the extra weight. People hardly think about these things. There are so many things we do now that seem fine at the moment but have devastating effects in the long run. Because we don't see anything happening right now we think we can get away with it. Statements like: my grandparents ate like this all the time and they lived well into their eighties, simply don't apply. We need to develop a new view on the way we treat ourselves.

A Dutch study: http://musclemotion.nl/PDF/052-055%20Voedingswaarde.pdf
And an American one: http://www.utexas.edu/news/2004/12/01/nr_chemistry/

Here in Holland we still promote eating 2 pieces of fruit and 2 ounces of vegetables as day. These recommendations were set back in 1986. The amount of vitamin C in apples has declines by 80% since then. An apple a day does not keep the doctor away anymore.

 

My sister lives in Sydney. She told me the other day that she doesn't buy tomatoes because she can not afford them. She and her boyfriend both have above average incomes. Tomatoes are about 14 dollars per kilo. That's 11 euro's. Can you imagine? But she's not the only one who can not afford to eat healthy. I come across people at the gym on a regular basis who tell me they don't buy fruit because it's too expensive. In a time like this with the economy going down the drain world wide a lot of people are confronted with the choice between quantity and quality when it comes to food. Most people choose quantity. It's nice to get your vitamins but if you don't get in enough energy you're going to starve anyway.

To sum things up: most people can not afford healthy food and choose quantity over quality which can lead to long term, possible permanent damage.

I'm facing the same challenge. I don't have much to spend but am set on eating as healthy as I can. So I save money on a lot of other things. I hardly ever buy clothes, I don't go out but have people come over for a cuppa, I turn off the lights when I'm not in a room, I shower at the gym most of the time, etc. That saves me money to spend on food. I buy most of my fruit and veggies on the market instead of in the supermarket. Yes, even when it rains. It's a lot cheaper, at least, it is here in Holland. And I use my balcony to grow vegetables, strawberries and herbs. This year the harvest was a bit disappointing and it's starting to get colder so it's time to bring some of the pots inside. I am going to plant some new seeds and use the windowsill as a bit of a greenhouse. These are little things one can do but they add up.

I hope this helps people a bit to become more aware and get in good health. You only have one body. Treat it well and it will carry you.