Experiments and Decisions

We all have to make nutrition-related decisions based on factors such as  quality, taste, price, availability, shelf life. For instance: organic vs.inorganic products; tap water vs. bottled water. 

I sometimes do little, rudimentary, home experiments to help with my shopping decisions. Although  I have  preferrences as a result of these 'experiments', I often give in to price and availability, and... 'sleep well'  with that.

How come? Well,  my major conclusion is that most health issues stem  from lack of moderation and balance, less from eating conventional grown items (yes, with traces of pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones), or drinking tap water.

Eggs are a good example .  They have been linked to high cholesterol (major risk factor in cardiovascular diseases).
On the other hand,  their protein is of the highest quality regardless of production method.  Without good protein one might experience among other bad symptoms, hairloss and weight gain.

So, the bottom line would be moderation. One  boiled egg per two (2) days , is probably safe in the cholesterol area, and provides the protein neccessary for body functioning. One could also choose to eat the whites only,  have a tiny bit of the yolk or not  yolk at all.

Price and availability do play an important part in my decisions. The small apple with the worm (organic growth) is tastier, probably healthier, than the one with the traces of pesticide (inorganic), but  more expensive , and  not always available at the nearby grocery store. This applies to almost all fruit,legumes and veggies, 

Goat milk yogurt is definitely superior to cow milk yogurt (because of its probiotics benefits), and the taste is great.

Lately, the price of goat milk products has gone up steeply, so I  switched to balkanic cow milk yogurt for the time being (produced by the same firm - Gad Dairy)  ; it's cheaper and tastes good.

goat youghurt and cow milk youghurt in similar bottles

Tap water is cheapest and of optimal availability. However, after doing some  experiments in the kitchen (boiling the water and examining the deposits on the bottom),  I've decided in favor of bottled water both for cooking and drinking.

bottled water

(For my indoor plants - lucky bamboo - I buy distilled water at the pharmacy; that seems to be the best water for keeping them well).

In this post, I'm not referring  to people with allergies or specific health issues. I'll only mention a case that gives hope to many.  Sometimes at the supermarket, I meet a lady who has gone through any allergy one could possibly imagine (according to her stories).

Doctors have failed her, and she cannot always afford all those free gluten, free lactose, free sugar, free whatever, food items. So she has found a way of her own ,essentially  based  on  veggies, fruit, rice, and fish (all available at the local supermarket). In addition,  she also keeps away from doctors and medications.
Well, not only is she alive and active, but she even looks much younger than her 76 years.

Capoeira

Yesterday, I had some errands to run in an adjacent town. It was getting dark and I hurried to catch the bus back home. Suddenly, I stopped walking as  I came upon a  kids' capoeira performance.

I was attracted by the rhytmical music, the brazilian-portuguese language of the instructor, the special percussion drum, and of course, the versatile  performance of the small group.  It was a mixture of  acrobatics and  apparent fighting moves. 

They  were obviously enjoying every bit of it: the dynamics, the interraction with the others, the physical challenge, the rhytm.  It started with them standing in a circle, then two entering to play simulating a fight without touching the opponent.

That brought back memories of a conversation I once had with an adult capoeira  fan. Both he and his wife participated in adults' capoeira events, as well as in their kids' capoeira performances. He said that it was family strenghtening, that it helped kids to do well as part of a team and as individuals, and that it was one of the best extra curricular activity options.

I would also add as  side benefit that ....it takes them away from the screens:)

group preparing to leave ;  instructor's orders