What are my grandchildren going to eat?
Like many people I've started to pay a lot more attention to what I eat. Actually the journey of food reflection began about 22 years ago for me after giving birth to my first daughter. I was fortunate to be assessed by an iridologist to dive deep into what was working well and what help was needed in terms of my health. As per her instructions, I completed a 12 week cleanse (no caffeine, no meat (except turkey or chicken), only spelt bread, no dairy, no alcohol, no raw veggies, and no fruit).
After 12 weeks (and losing a ton of post pregnancy weight) I started adding some foods back into my diet. I quickly realized that some foods that I reintroduced made me feel tired, some made me feel bloated, and some made me moody! Who knew? Certainly not me - I was completely ignorant of what food was making me feel what way. I grew up in the era of white Wonder bread, homogenized milk, Coke (the real stuff!), and meat with every dinner. I never questioned it and didn’t know that there were other diets that could sustain you.
This cleanse was the beginning of a beautiful journey of self health discovery - a gift to myself! It has had many stages and many changes at different times but ultimately it has led to the giving up of dairy, wheat and sugar. I never thought this possible! Most importantly I feel great! Great energy, great feelings, great mind!
I had heard from friends that travelled to Europe that when they ate wheat on their travels that they had no issues with the occasional splurging of wheat and other gluten products. So during my next trip (Portugal) I threw caution to the wind and indulged in beautiful pasteis de nata (custard tarts). Ordinarily a treat such as this would have led to a sugar headache and severe bloating. But no so in Portugal! I got brave and added some toast to breakfast the next day. And again nothing! Happy days!! When I returned home to Toronto it was back to reality. Foolishly I pushed my luck and had a small bowl of gluten heavy pasta at dinner. The proof was in the pudding! Bloated tummy, aching under my ribs, and an overall yucky feeling!
With all the genetically modified food (wheat being one of the biggest culprits given its gluten content) I worry about the next generation and the one after that! The greed for increasing output for the gain of the almighty dollar is not a trend that will go away. In fact, as more and more people use their purchasing power to bring home alternative foods (long live Whole Foods!) these too will be tampered with to increase the yields and therefore profits.
I don't know what the answers are but I have a lot more questions that ever before. I want to leverage food as a part of my self care and treat my body and mind with respect and love - I want to eat to improve myself with each and every meal. That may sound like a tall order but you have to put your goals out to The Universe if you are gonna have a shot! And to me the grandchildren of the future are worth it!