Nutrition

We need to change current diets quite drastically. About 40% of Americans are obese, which can result in diabetes or heart disease. This is mainly due to a lack of education on nutrition, as well as the way food can be grown. To that end, some foods that are presented at the grocery store to appear “ripe,” are in fact not. For example, some produce, such as tomatoes, are often picked when they are green, and ripened with ethylene gas closer to when they arrive at the supermarket. This does not preserve the nutrients of the tomato, and consumers think they are receiving great nourishment when they are in fact not. It is my mission to educate in order to support people’s transitions to healthier diets. 

Local produce is fresh, in season, and very nutritious. However, this diet is both seasonal and restricted. While it is not sustainable year round, there are ways to secure wholesome foods in the winter months. The first is by freezing produce when it is in season, as this maintains food’s nutrients over a long period of time. Your freezer is likely not big enough to store produce that will last all winter, but having some frozen, healthy produce is definitely better than nothing at all. Additional ways to preserve nutritious food are by fermenting, pickling, canning, or drying. These are all great preservation methods because they don’t take up freezer space, and still provide tremendous nutrients. You can either choose to buy these preserved foods in the supermarket, or you can preserve them yourself. But, the easiest way to ensure food remains safe during preservation is by buying food in its preserved form, such as canned beans.

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Reference

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About 40% of Americans… heart disease

“Adult Obesity Facts | Overweight & Obesity | CDC,” accessed July 31, 2020,

https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html.