Chapter 2: Modern Eating Habits

The Negative Impact on Our Health and What We Can Do About It

Before we get into the specifics of diet it might be good, before we focus on some details, to briefly consider the role that food plays in our lives and how this relationship is often one that is characterized by ignorance and tension. I believe that understanding, and reforming if necessary, our relationship with food is one of the keys to a healthier life. It is also my conviction that it is one of the key building blocks in an effective anti-ADD/ADHD strategy.

Our relationship with food has changed over time, and it is not accurate to assume that people in the past had healthy diets. While it may be tempting to romanticize the past as a "Golden Age" of healthy eating, the reality is that people in the past had their own food-related challenges, often related to a lack of access to sufficient food rather than the abundance of unhealthy options that many people face today. 

By analyzing the ways in which our understanding of food and its role in our lives has evolved over time, we can gain a better understanding of our current relationship with food and how to improve it.

It is clear that past generations did not experience the widespread diet-related health problems that are common today. For example, the prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically in recent decades. In 1960, only about 10% of adults were considered obese, but today, that figure has risen to around 35%. This is just one example of the ways in which our relationship with food has changed over time and how it has contributed to the rise of chronic health conditions. 

These changes are the result of a variety of factors, including the availability of processed and unhealthy foods, the marketing of these foods, and the rise of sedentary lifestyles. It is important to address these issues in order to improve our overall health and well-being.

It is evident that our relationship with food has changed in ways that have not been beneficial to our health. In order to understand and address the current problems related to diet and health, it is helpful to examine the traditional view of food and how it has changed over time. I believe that the breakdown of these traditional elements is at the root of many health issues, including ADD/ADHD. By understanding the changes that have occurred in our relationship with food, we can begin to develop strategies for improving our health and well-being.

Some of the elements of this traditional view were:

Food was scarce: In the past, food was often scarce and people did not have consistent access to it. This meant that people valued food as a precious resource and were more careful in their food choices. While not everyone may have worried about where their next meal would come from, the scarcity of food was a reality for most people, particularly those who were not wealthy. 

This scarcity led people to view food differently than we do today, when food is abundant and often taken for granted. In many cases, our ancestors would have had to hunt, gather, or grow their own food, and they would have had to carefully manage their resources in order to ensure that they had enough to eat. This emphasis on the value of food was an important factor in shaping our ancestors' relationship with it.

Food was seasonal: Previous generations ate certain foods at certain times of the year, more or less in line with when Mother Nature provided them. This meant that different types of food were ‘averaged out’ in the diets of most people through the fact that it was practically impossible to survive on just one type of food for the whole year. 

Food was fresh: In the past, food was often preserved using natural methods, such as drying or storing in brine. However, with the advent of modern preservation techniques, such as refrigeration and chemical preservation, food now takes much longer to reach our plates. 

These methods are more radical and invasive than the methods used by our ancestors, and they have had a significant impact on the way we view and consume food. 

While these technologies have made it possible to store and transport food more easily, they have also contributed to the abundance of processed and unhealthy foods that are now widely available. This has had a negative impact on our health and well-being.

Food was natural: One of the biggest differences between our diets and those of our ancestors is the presence of harmful chemicals and pesticides. While our ancestors focused on natural cultivation and preparation methods, modern diets often contain a variety of chemicals and additives that have a negative impact on our health and well-being. 

These chemicals, which are often found in processed and packaged foods, can have a variety of negative effects on our bodies, including damage to our cells and tissues, disruption of our hormones, and increased risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease. This impact would have been unimaginable to previous generations, who were not exposed to the same levels of chemical additives in their diets. It is important for us to be aware of these chemicals and to make efforts to reduce our exposure to them in order to improve our health and well-being.

Food was hard work: Over the past century, the amount of time it takes to prepare an average meal has decreased significantly. This is largely due to advances in technology, such as the availability of modern cooking appliances. However, this decrease in preparation time has also had negative consequences. For example, the availability of quick and convenient meal options, such as microwavable and deep-fried foods, has led to an increase in the consumption of unhealthy and processed foods. These foods often contain large amounts of chemicals and additives in order to preserve them until they are ready to be eaten.

This shift in our relationship with food has had a profound impact on our health, contributing to the rise of chronic conditions such as obesity and heart disease. It is also possible that this shift has contributed to the increasing prevalence of ADD/ADHD. In the following section, we will explore how modern people view food and how these perceptions are harming our health.