Friends

05 February 2017

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD!

Do you ever ponder on food and health reports and wish you lived in a different age… preferably 50 years ago? Current views are that brown toast, potatoes and parsnips are no longer considered good for us. It is reported that they cause cancer together with a list of other ailments. Apparently starchy food should be cooked golden yellow to cut our intake of a possible cancer-causing chemical. Is there anything these days that doesn’t bring on cancer? There was no mention in the report that we would have to eat almost 400 slices of burnt toast to encourage those cancer cells to work.
Years ago we were advised to eat burnt toast because there was something in it (I believe it was carbon but I’m not sure) that was good for our digestive system.
I wonder how I have lasted this long since chips, roast potatoes and toast have been part of my diet for a lifetime! Not so much parsnips, so perhaps I am safe from something. The good news is that I haven’t eaten bread or toast for some time so I might well be able to look ahead to some reasonable health.
Quite honestly, I get tired of hearing that this and that is harmful. We got on awfully well before scientists got to work although, admittedly, people died at younger ages. These days people seem scared over the least little thing and will run to see the doctor – or they would if they could get an appointment. Three weeks is the norm where I live and people complain bitterly. Why? Because it is their right to see a doctor and they want to see him immediately, never once thinking that sheer numbers of unnecessary visits are responsible for the current situation. Got a cold? Go see the doc! Unnecessary when, in many cases a visit to the chemist would provide them with the necessary medication. Oh, I forgot.... buying from the chemist costs money whereas here in the UK getting a prescription from the doctor comes free! 
Well, I’m doing my bit to alleviate the pressure on doctors but that’s only because there’s no need to pay him a call. I guess one day I will join the crowd and demand an early appointment. I shall have a lot more to say then!

23 comments:

  1. "Quite honestly, I get tired of hearing that this and that is harmful. We got on awfully well before scientists got to work although, admittedly, people died at younger ages."

    OMG, me too, Valerie! I don't know about the UK, but here in America, many people have become obsessed (and I mean OBSESSED) about watching every single thing they put into their mouths and on their bodies - gluten-free, sugar-free, salt-free, vegan, organic, etc, etc. And yet, we have so much ill-health.

    I agree, people do live longer now and I think it's wise to eat things in a balanced manner so that we don't become excessive. But the pendulum seems to have swung the other way, in that people have become excessive about being paranoid about how everything is harmful.

    Plus, I think much of our health is due to stress and our mental outlook.

    I say, just be conscious of over-indulging and eat everything in moderation.

    FAB post, my friend. Have a lovely Sunday!
    X

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't know about dying younger in the past, all of my Grandparents lived longer than their children.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ron, yes, you are right, we do have more illl health now. I think that's because medicals and testing done by doctors find health problems before we know we've got them. This was never done at one tine which is the reason for crowded surgeries and hospitals and which has increased the already ageing population. You are right, we should follow our own sensible diets. I just wish scientists would leave us alone.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just read in the i newspaper that taking multi vitamins can cause cancer. I think just about everything in the world now causes cancer. Yes I remember a time when we were told a bit of burnt toast was good for us!

    Nice blog !

    ReplyDelete
  5. Coffee is bad for us. Coffee in moderation is good for us. One cup of coffee a day is necessary for good health ...

    Some of these 'studies' seem to be the work of madmen.

    This is and isn't thinking seems to go along with everything: butter, milk, bread, meat, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  6. LL Cool Joe, Hi and welcome to the blog. Yes, it has got to the stage where we question everything we eat ... at least methinks that's what the medics would like us to do.

    ReplyDelete
  7. SJQ, I didn't know that one cup a day was necessary... oh dear, I haven't drunk coffee for years, not since it started to make me feel sick. Oh well, I'm still here - I think, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  8. We are always hearing how certain things are bad for us and then when more research is done a few years down the road, it is good for us. Here's wishing you the very best of good health Valerie, no matter what you eat or drink. A good variety of food and moderation might be the way to go perhaps :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Denise. I think researchers are always looking for new things to scare us with. Now that I am older I eat less but a always manage to have a cooked meal every day. I must have been doing something right in earlier years to have reached the age I am... grins.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ah yes, and the media is glad to print the results of all these studies. I drink my cup of coffee, brown toast, and vitamin and enjoy the things I like in moderation....except dark chocolate...that I will eat a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Next year they will have changed their minds and blame another food for our ills. I used to love burnt toast, still like it on the darker side. I think they spend an awful lot of money on these studies when it could be better spent on how to fill hungry tummies around the world.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think that moderation in all things is the answer, don't you, Valerie? The only person I know who lived to 104 was a bit of a fuss pot about her food and had been a vegetarian back in the 1930s, but I think really the main thing that kept her going was simply not eating an awful lot. That way, I suppose she avoided a build up of too much of whatever-it-may-be. I have missed the news about parsnips, for goodness sake!!! I like roast parsnips but don't eat them too often anyway so I think I can cope now without knowing the risks :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jenny, parsnips was mentioned in the same breath as the other foods. Strangely enough I haven't heard or read any more about the subject. Have you noticed the press does that - prints once and forgets it, almost as if it shouldn't have been reported in the first place! It was mentioned once on television, but that's all.

    ReplyDelete
  14. kden, I agree with your comment about filling empty tummies. I had forgotten that I used to love burnt toast, especially with lashings of butter. Ooooh the taste buds are waking up!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Katie, sometimes I hate the media! Like you, though, I love dark chocolate.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I just keep on eating what I like on the theory that sooner or later the expert opinion will change with a new discovery...:)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anything can kill you or save you. Everything in moderation is good for you. That's my take on life. :-)

    Re my post, I wish we could get more interesting-looking birds in our garden but unfortunately the two wood pigeons (sometimes more than two) scare the other birds away. Forget our local cats, they're far too tamed to hunt anything. It's the pigeons that eat all the seeds.

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Like your country here too everything has become threat for health .
    i think it is all about the procedure that industry used for quick production and nobody thinks about the health of common men.

    ReplyDelete
  19. It does seem like everything at one point could kill you. I guess I just try to keep things in moderation. Who knows what works best? But I do believe you are going to have some problems if you do try and take care of 400 pieces of toast in one setting. Take care, Val.

    ReplyDelete
  20. as you know Val, Joe and I DO try to eat healthy, organic food for the most part, but that doesn't mean we don't splurge on some cake, wine, and OTHER TREATS, some of the time.

    I think it's crazy too how they are always finding out something else that is bad for us. and often a few years later, then it's ok again. LOL Example that comes to mind, margarine, was considered SO healthy when I was growing up, now it's a no no for most people. that list goes on and on. I think exercise and a positive attitude have a lot to do with good health and longevity too.

    great post!!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Geraldine, the OTHER TREATS intrigues me. I'm now wondering about them... smiles. I didn't know that about margarine. I imagine every new generation of scientists finds something different, but I do wish they would leave everything alone instead of scaring the whits out of people. I agree with you about exercise, after all it got me to a great age!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Teehee...sometimes I'm typing on my Kindle toooooo fast and it capitalizes words that I don't mean to capitalize. I guess other treats for me would include pizza, homemade Mac and cheese, craft beer...nothing too bad!!!All in moderation of course.šŸ˜‚

    I checked re Rescue Remedy in the UK, they have the full product line for people and pets, at Amazon.UK. I'm guessing at other stores over there too. Hope that helps.šŸ˜‚šŸ˜½

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks, Geraldine, I will look into it right away.

    ReplyDelete

If you're new to A Mixed Bag you might find something to interest you, a bit of mirth, a story or two, or some pictures. I'm so pleased you popped in, do leave a comment if you have time.