Chapter 2.5: From Hard Work to Super Easy

Throughout this chapter, we have examined the significant changes that have occurred in human nutrition over the past few decades. While it is not our intention to imply that previous generations had a perfect relationship with food, it is clear that our modern approach to food has had negative consequences. In particular, these shifts have had a disproportionate impact on individuals with ADD/ADHD, due to their brain's heightened sensitivity to factors that impede optimal functioning. It is important to recognize the ways in which our relationship with food has changed and to consider the potential effects on our health and well-being.

The shifts that we looked at were: 

1) Natural to Artificial 

2) Scarce to Superabundant

In this section we will begin to discuss a shift that is perhaps a bit more difficult to pin down than the two mentioned above but that are no less significant. I am referring to the historical perception that food almost always equaled hard work.

Most people, especially those responsible for getting meals to the table, would perhaps unreservedly welcome the fact that this is not always the case anymore. The fact that we do not have to spend days and months cultivating our own food, followed with hours behind the stove to prepare it, has undeniable benefits. Time previously spent in food preparation can now be used for leisure or work in other areas. I am, of course, not advocating a return to the time when the main meal of the day took, on average, four hours to prepare. I am merely asking you to consider what we as a society lost due to the fact that it is now possible to put the words ‘easy’ and ‘fast’ before so much of what we eat. Consider the following:

The cost of ease of access: Modern methods of cultivation and distribution means that we have left the link between cultivation or hunting and consumption far behind. While there was nothing romantic about tilling the fields, previous generations were in no doubt about where their food came from. These days our food can just as easily come from the other side of the world as from a farm in your county (with the former perhaps more likely). Most of us do not spend any time thinking about this fact, aside perhaps from the occasional amused glance at a food label spelling out the name of some obscure third world country. Our forebears couldn’t help thinking about the origins of their food – especially since they had to gather, hunt or cultivate it themselves. 

Our foods often have much more ‘interesting’ stories but we can afford not to worry too much about where it came from. Or can we? Foods shipped from the other side of the world are 

a) often grown with the help of pesticides that are banned in North America 

b) Preserved with chemicals that could have a marked negative effect on optimum brain function.

The cost of ease of preparation: The convenience of quick and easy meal preparation has become increasingly prevalent in our society, allowing us to save time and energy on food preparation. While this may seem like a positive development, it is important to recognize the potential drawbacks of this trend towards "food on the fly." For example, faster methods of preparation are often less healthy, as they may involve deep frying or other unhealthy cooking techniques. 

"Ready meals" can also contain excessive amounts of salt, saturated fat, and other harmful ingredients. In some cases, the ease of preparation is achieved through the use of chemicals as cooking aids or preservatives, which can be detrimental to our health. It is important to be mindful of these potential consequences and strive for a balance between convenience and health in our food choices.

After considering the costs and drawbacks of our modern approach to food, it is clear that convenience does not necessarily equate to goodness. In order to improve our relationship with food and prioritize its value and nourishment, it is necessary to reevaluate our thinking and practices. This may seem challenging, given the ease and accessibility of food in the current market. However, as I will discuss in the next section, it is possible to rebuild our connection with food without sacrificing convenience or accessibility. By reclaiming the significance of food in our lives, we can foster a healthier and more sustainable relationship with it.

How to respond to superabundance

It is very difficult to respond to superabundance as cheap and easily available food is so ubiquitous. One, rather extreme, way of responding to this fact would be to move to the ‘back of the beyond’ and recreate a kind of hunter gatherer existence! Those of us who are not quite ready to drop out of society will have to find other solutions however.

I believe that part of the solution lies in the (take a deep breath!) de-commoditization of food. Complex words, simple concepts! Commoditization refers to the process where the internal differences and competitive advantages between certain products give way to a mass market where price is the only differentiating factor. A product is thoroughly commoditized when the only question that I ask is ‘How much does it cost?”. Gold, iron ore and copper are classic commodities. Buyers simply do not care where it was mined, or which company is marketing it, as long as the price is right.

The commoditization of many food items, such as eggs, flour, sugar, and milk, has been a longstanding trend in the market. This is evident in the way these items are often quickly and impulsively purchased without much thought or consideration. Have you ever taken the time to carefully examine a bottle of milk before buying it? This lack of attention to detail is concerning, especially as more and more food items are joining the ranks of the "classic commodities" each year. This commoditization can be scary, as it highlights the need for greater awareness and scrutiny in our food choices.

Massively improved transport infrastructure, genetic modification, cooling technology, chemical pest control methods and super efficient distribution methods all combine to bring us foods that can often only be distinguished on one level: (you guessed it) price! “Where is the harm in that?” you may ask.

I have already explained in the previous section that the ‘superabundant’ foods are often exactly those that cause the worst health outcomes if taken in excess. This superabundance is made possible by commoditization as it streamlines the delivery of vast amounts of products based on the lowest common denominator

One of the major drawbacks of commoditization is the loss of transparency and accountability in the food supply chain. Provenance, or the origin of a food product, is an important factor in ensuring its quality and safety. When a product is highly commoditized, it becomes difficult or impossible to determine its provenance, making it difficult to know where it came from and how it was produced. This lack of information is particularly concerning for individuals with ADD/ADHD, who may be more sensitive to the effects of certain foods. In contrast, high-end products often provide detailed information about their provenance, allowing consumers to make informed decisions about the food they consume. It is important to prioritize provenance in our food choices and to support producers who prioritize transparency and accountability.

Why is provenance important? Simply because where something came from will often determine what effect it is going to have on you. This is true in two ways:

1) Production location can have a huge impact on the final composition of a product. For example, some countries will allow the use of pesticides and chemicals that have long been banned in North America. 

2) Production methods can have a huge impact on the final composition of a product. This is not only true when talking about primary production (i.e. farming) but also when it comes to processing. Additives, cooking oils, sugar, fats etc. can all play a part in turning essentially healthy products into disaster zones. You should therefore always ask the following questions: 

Where was this produced? 

By whom was it produced?

Giving in to the easy availability of convenient foodstuffs by not asking the questions above is a very risky business as it could lead to exposure to the very factors that are known to exacerbate the symptoms of ADD/ADHD.

My first piece of advice in dealing with the easy availability of food is to make sure that you play close attention to provenance. Doing so will allow you to enjoy the convenience of our modern food culture without being damaged by it. So how do you get serious about provenance? 

Read on…

Getting serious about where our food comes from

One of the keys to ADD/ADHD friendly nutrition is to stop seeing food shopping as a health-neutral activity, but to rather view it as a valuable investment in the health and well-being of your family. Some suggestions on how you can ensure that every bite that your family put into their mouths is safe include the following:

Grow your own: Most people would recoil at the very idea of growing their own food, but what can be more natural?  If you have a bit of land it would be quite easy to utilize it to grow some basic foodstuffs.  The fact that you are cultivating the food yourself means that you can control to the finest detail what chemicals and pesticides (if any) are used on it.  Growing your own food will also serve as a wonderful lesson to your family about the value of sustainable food production.

Buy locally: Do your best to source as much as possible of your food from your local area.  Buying locally produced food will not only support the local economy, it will also mean that you will eat food that does not have to travel halfway around the world to get to your table.  This means that no chemicals or refrigeration technology were needed to help it along on each part of a long journey.  Getting hold of locally produced food is perhaps not as difficult as you might imagine.  Most large towns and cities play host to farmers markets these days.  This is where local producers get the opportunity to market their products directly to the public. Visitors to the markets are often pleasantly surprised: Both by the pleasant atmosphere and by the reasonable prices.

Go organic: Foods marketed as organic were produced under strict guidelines governing the use of pesticides, chemicals and harmful production methods.  Buying organic produce is therefore an excellent way to reassure yourself about provenance. Increasing demand for organic products means that going organic is certainly not as expensive as it used to be. If price is a significant consideration you should at the very least consider going organic with certain high-risk foods.  .

Update your skills: The farm where something was produced is not the only issue when it comes to provenance.  It is sometimes the case that perfectly healthy food is turned into something altogether more sinister in a factory somewhere.  Mass-produced foods often contain very high levels of oil, salt and harmful chemicals.  Weaning yourself from commercially produced foods by learning to prepare your favorites at home will not only benefit your waistline but also quite possibly your brain!

Always read the label: The importation of food from countries with lower environmental standards is a significant health risk.  It is therefore important that you educate yourself about where your favorite foods come from and about the standards that prevail in that location.  One way of doing so is to spend some time on the website of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Their website contains massive amounts of information about environmental standards and pesticide use in different parts of the world.  Familiarizing yourself with some of this information will put you in a much better position the next time that you pick up a piece of foreign fresh produce at your local supermarket.

The steps highlighted above do not represent some kind of silver bullet that will instantly deliver perfect health.  Taken together, however, they should at least place you in a much better position to enjoy food in a way that will not exacerbate the symptoms of ADD /ADHD.