Don't Alter the Food God Designed

God Created Our Food Exactly Right

For Health Moment -JG-TC article on Friday 8-23-12

God created our food exactly right to give us optimum health. The more we alter it with processing, additives, high heat cooking, and gene splicing, the less nutritious it becomes.

We often fail to realize how amazingly complex and intricately designed the food is that God designed for us to eat day by day. Most of us know about vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein, and fiber. But did we know that food properly grown and prepared has hundreds and thousands of compounds called phytonutrients besides the ones listed above.

Scientists believe there are over 10,000 of these components found in plants that make a huge difference in one's health and are just as important as the basics listed above. Some of the more common classes of these are cartenoids, flavonoids, phytates, lignans, phytoestrogens, indoles, phenols, saponins, sulfides, and targenes. These foods are abundant in fruits and vegetables.

Unfortunately, many who eat primarily the "Standard American Diet" (SAD) do not get enough of these miracles health promoters to keep them disease free. This diet is composed primarily of processed foods which destroys the phytonturients. Also, when one regularly consumes some of the 10,000 food additives put in the food for preservation and enhance taste, a host of undesirable effects will result.

Below are ways to handle fruits and vegetable to preserve the 1000s of delicate organic components found therein.

1. Try to get these foods from the garden or buy organically gown. This will give the top nutrient value and they will be free from pesticides. If unable to get organically grown, commercially grown produce should be soaked 20 minutes in a vegetable wash to remove chemical residues. Avoid GMO grains and vegetables.

2. Food should be fresh as possible. Foods process and packed in container will have most of the nutrients destroyed. Frozen foods if harvested and prepared properly are preferable to canned foods.

3. In preparation for eating, the order from best to worst is raw, lightly stir fired or steamed (crunchy), and cooked or roasted slowly at low heat. Heavily cooked food will cause most of the phytonutrients to be destroyed.

4. Juicing of raw vegetables and fruits is a great way to get concentrated nutrients into your system.

God packed our foods with nutrients for health and healing. Eat them as close to nature as possible.