Food, Health, and Common Sense

There are so many claims circulating about what’s healthy to eat.

If you want to do a little research, take a look at this Google search for “healing” + “food”.

Of course, there is that organization (in the USA) that’s set itself up as the guardian of health. One problem with that idea is that they seem to spend an inordinate amount of time peddling drugs…

To be fair, here’s an FDA official’s opinion:

“‘Health claims are not your fad-of-the-week,’ says Jim Hoadley, Ph.D., a senior regulatory scientist in FDA’s Office of Food Labeling. Instead, he says, for health claims to be used, there needs to be sufficient scientific agreement among qualified experts that the claims are factual and truthful.”

Put that together with the ravages of the MegaAgriBusinesses and it may seem nearly hopeless that we could stem the tide of malnutrition and food shortages or get back to the simple idea that Food Is Healthy for Human Bodies.

Again, in the spirit of fairness as well as perspective, here’s a quote from near the turn of the last century:

“At whatever time highly-skilled physicians shall have developed the healing of illnesses by means of foods, and shall make provision for simple foods, and shall prohibit humankind from living as slaves to their lustful appetites, it is certain that the incidence of chronic and diversified illnesses will abate, and the general health of all mankind will be much improved. This is destined to come about. In the same way, in the character, the conduct and the manners of men, universal modifications will be made.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 152-155