EATING THE STARS
WHEN I COOK MY protein-rich eggs in an iron frying pan coated with olive oil and pair them with the wonderfully healthy fats of sliced avocado, some complex carbs in the form of sprouted rye bread, and all of the nutrients of bright, juicy orange, I’m getting a delicious breakfast.
I’m also getting a full course of vitamins and minerals, including some of the iron from the pan, which gets absorbed into my eggs in trace amounts.
In addition, my eggs contain their own iron as well as magnesium and calcium. My avocado contains potassium, phosphorus, and zinc, plus a bunch more vitamins.
When you eat plants and animals that eat plants, not only are you eating the sun, you are also eating the stars. The calcium, magnesium, and iron that are soaked up from the soil by plants that are then eaten by animals and people are the same minerals you’ll find in stars in the sky. They’re also the same minerals you’ll find in us humans here on the ground as our body is 4 percent minerals!
Most food is or recently was alive, so most nutrients, like vitamins, are organic. Minerals are not alive. They are called inorganic substances to distinguish them more from the more complex, carbon-based organic materials that make up living things. And all of these vitamins and minerals, are absolutely necessary at the right levels to keep us healthy. Vitamins and minerals are so good at their jobs that there are a host of diseases you have probably never even heard Of that you are being protected against daily when you eat apples and bananas and spinach.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T EAT THE STARS
Here’s a brief history lesson: one hundred years ago, the southern united states was struck by a mysterious plague. They called the disease pellagra. Sufferers’ skin changed texture and become thick and strange. They lost their minds. And many people died.
By 1914, one hundred thousand people were sick. But nobody knew why! The assumption was that it was a contagious disease, but doctors were unable to offer conclusive proof- until a man named Joseph Goldberger got involved. He went down south and started asking pellagra victims questions and paying attention to the answers. Finally, Goldenberg thought he had it. Through his conversation with the sick, he knew that most pellagra victim people were poor and getting by on a restricted diet that considered mostly of cornbread, molasses, and some pork fat. They ate no, or very few, fresh fruits and vegetables. The cause of the disease he deduced, was poor nutrition.
DO You love having soft, smooth skin? Do you love being able to think clearly? Then eat your fruits and vegetables!!
In order to get people to believe that pellagra was the result of a low-quality diet and a contagion, Goldenberger conducts an experiment. He found a farm-based prison where the inmates were healthy and ate plenty of produce. He changed their diets to mimic what the pellagra sufferers had been eating. Within months, all of the inmates had come down with pellagra. When they were given fresh fruits and vegetables again, their health improved! In the end, Goldenberger’s findings were confirmed. Pellagra wasn’t contagious; it was the result of a nutritional deficiency. He died before the actual deficient nutrient – niacin, vitamin B, – was discovered, but he was right about the power of fruits and vegetables. The absence of niacin affected people’s skin. It affected their brains. And it ended their lives.
Even though niacin hadn’t yet been identified as a Vitamin, it was still clear that fruit and vegetables possessed the ability to heal. This is probably why my parents always told me to eat my fruits and vegetables…
FRUITS. VEG. MICRONUTRIENTS
Ever since I was a kid, people have been urging me towards the salad bar. I bet it’s the same for you. Perhaps, you listened and devoured those platefuls of Brussels sprouts. Or maybe your dog had a steady diet of greenside dishes, served under the table while your parents couldn’t see. Either way, now that . . .