Nature packages foods for optimal absorption

Eat only foods that will eventually rot.

~ Michael Pollan

Unlike many industrially packaged edible products, nature packages food for optimal absorption.

Convenience foods that have been fractionated and reconstituted, colour-enhanced, enriched, and preserved to extend shelf life are seldom healthy.

Our son once joked that we wouldn't live long because our food had no preservatives. But he understands that while preservatives prolong product shelf life, they can decrease ours.

Whole foods contain a web of vitamins, minerals, fibre, and other nutrients that work together to optimize our ability to digest, absorb and assimilate them.

Enzymes in the food help the body break them down and spare the need for the body to produce more.

Preservative-free foods eventually rot.

Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) are naturally packaged with dietary fats, such as egg yolks, grass-fed butter, nuts, seeds, and avocados, to enhance their absorption.

Similarly, plant-based iron is often found with vitamin C in fruits and vegetables, which converts the iron into a more absorbable form.

Additionally, whole foods provide a buffer effect. Fibre and natural fats slow absorption, preventing digestive strain and ensuring a steady, efficient release of nutrients compared to isolated supplements.

Before I came to Canada, we ate only what we grew and nature provided.

If we wanted juice, we poked a hole in an orange and sucked it out. We then had to eat the fibre, which reduces blood sugar spikes.

Another sweet treat was chewing sugarcane.

Unlike refined sugar, which depletes our nutrient stores, sugarcane packages sugar with nutrients such as chromium, magnesium, potassium, and B vitamins that support digestion and absorption.

The natural synergy of nutrients in sugarcane helps regulate blood sugar levels, improve insulin sensitivity, and even enhance the breakdown and absorption of fats and proteins.

Once a year, we sacrificed the pig we raised outdoors and ate it nose to tail. Cured meat and sausages, rich in vitamin D, fed us throughout the year.

We used lard to preserve meat by creating an airtight seal to keep oxygen and germs out. This was common practice pre-refrigeration.