Interesting article about processed food...

...from Bitten today
http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/processed-foods-and-depression/

A study was done in England with findings concluding that people who eat more processed foods are more likely to suffer from depression. One chap in the article went so far as to give up all dairy, wheat and meat and decided that he felt better. He said that he would rather eat right and not suffer from feeling bad as he had for so many years. Hmmm... I think that's overdoing it a bit since what kind of life is it not to have all sorts of yumminess around you?

I can certainly see staying away from processed foods where much of the nutritional content is removed during the processing and then loaded back up with emulsifiers, preservatives, sugar, salt, petroleum and corn by products, etc. You can still eat naturally produced foods and still feel healthy all while eating animals and their produce along with the fruits and veg; we just need to eat less of it.

I think of it this way - I drinks some pretty good fermented juice and grain products, mighty fine distillates of plants, grains and herbs (gotta add the citrus, wouldn't want to get scurvy now would we?) but I drink in relatively small amounts because I'd rather drink a better product and drink less of it. Well the same can go for food - the most expensive bit of our diet is the animal and animal products. Let's just eat a higher quality and less of it. I would certainly never condone a fully vegetarian or began diet just as I would not condone a fully animal and animal product based diet. For one thing any of these limiting diets is far too boring. Another reason is I like vegetables, fruits, meats, cheese, eggs and grains; I like 'em all. We will be trying to eat more veg and fruit, in fact that is one more of the guidelines I've set for us this month is fruit or veg with every meal and so far so good.

Enough proselytizing for one evening, I have a center cut pork loin roast in the oven along with red thumb and chieftain spuds from our garden and carrots from the farmer's market. Henry is building a bookcase and we haven't turned on the tube (another new program, a minimum of an hour of quiet time or time spent together at home without TV or radio; just reading and or activity, tonight I'm blogging and he finished his homework and is building).

I'm going to open a bottle of plonk and check the roast...

Hasta