Oh, past and present diets. Where to begin? Like every time you blink, a new one appears promising to be the miracle cure for your health woes. We should take a moment to reflect on where we came from.
Back in the old days, and I do mean back then, people ate what they were able to hunt, gather or grow. It wasn’t trendy to eat a Mediterranean diet; it was just a simple dinner. It’s simple: a few fresh veggies, a little olive oil, and some fish that you caught the morning. In the north, the Inuit lived off blubber or whatever they could catch on the icy tundra. Wow, what a contrast.
Fast forward to the 20th Century, and bam. Foods that were processed hit the market like a ton bricks. The craze for ‘fast food’ was born. As a result of this convenience craze fads diets popped up like daisies. Remember the days when everyone ate cabbage soup every week? Remember when everyone was eating cabbage soup for weeks? Ah, those were the days.
But then, something really cool happened. People began to take notice of what they actually put into their bodies. Organic wasn’t for hippies any more, and “farm-to-table” wasn’t some fancy phrase chefs threw about; it was part of the way we thought about food.
Now, diets are just as varied as Spotify playlists. Some people swear by veganism, not just because it’s good for their health, but also to protect Mother Earth. Paleo fans are eating like cavemen. Then there is biohacking, because why not try and optimize your body just like the latest iPhone.
The intermittent fasting trend has caught my eye. Not so much what you’re eating but when. This takes the phrase “timing” to an entirely new level.
What is next for diets? The climate change is on our backs, and we have more mouths every day to feed. We’re going to need to make some changes. Perhaps we’ll be enjoying lab-grown beef or cricket protein bars before we know it.
From the days of hunter-gatherers to debating if or not we should put butter in our morning coffee to increase brain power, it’s been a long journey. The most striking thing to me is not how much our eating habits have changed, but why. Was it for survival, convenience or health? The list is endless.
We may not be looking for a diet at all, but rather a sustainable way to eat that is good for us as well as the environment.
Who knows? It’s okay, so long as we don’t have a cabbage soup diet or give up grandma’s lasagna recipe completely – I am willing to continue this culinary journey. It’s more than just keeping water flowing. It’s also about connecting to our past, while paving the road for sustainable living.
If nothing else, we can share our plumbing stories with the craft breweries that I mentioned. Nothing says “community”, like sharing a common problem. Use them without a PhD, and perhaps add a little training, as sometimes people are the weakest links.