Let's Keep it Real

In Michael Pollan's, In Defense of Food, he discusses the importance of eating "real food." Today, the Western diet it filled with fortified, refined foods, which is taking the place of the food found naturally in our world. We are all victims of eating fake food at one time or another, and i feel though it is becoming especially worse now being a college student. Everyday i walk into Pops Club, the dining hall, and i look around and realize that nearly half of the items being served were frozen, processed, or fortified with nutrients in one way or another. With that being said, for some unknown reason i put these ungodly ingredients into my body without a care in the world.

Every summer my parents tend to overuse our grill outside of my house. Don't get my wrong, i love grilled meat and vegetables; but a girl needs some variety in her life. Corn on the cob is a staple for our family. We soak the corn in water for hours, and then finally grill it with the husk on. It is delicious to say the least. On the contrary, here at school i am stuck eating once scoop of previously canned "corn". I mean, it looks like corn and smells like corn, but the corn i find in my dish is no where near tasting like the corn straight off the cob. Anything that can sit on a shelf for years at a time really isn't something that we should be digesting.

Nutrient wise the corn on the cob is obviously the better choice. Although the caloric values are the same, the canned corn has a whopping 489mg a sodium per serving; whereas the corn on the cob has only 23mg. To add, the canned corn loses about a gram of dietary fiber. I can't wait until the summer, when i get to feast on corn straight off the cob each and every day.

In the article, Are You Filling Up On Real Food or Fake Food, by Dr. Leslie Can Romer she discusses what “fake” food really is and goes through all of the possible health problems that can be associated with consuming these foods. I completely agree with this article's argument against processed food and why organic food should be consumed instead. The only way to consume the vital nutrients you need is to eat food when as it is in it's natural state.