In ‘The Times‘, there was a feature recently in which a variety of diets and approaches to food was compared and contrasted. In the article I was reminded of the mantra of the food author Michael Pollan’s whose famous seven-word mantra—’Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.’—is introduced in his books ‘In Defense of Food’ and ‘Food Rules’. It means you should eat real, whole, unprocessed food, keep your portion sizes moderate, and base your meals primarily on vegetables, fruits, and grains. I read this book several years ago and I am sure that it is worth a re-read if I can lay my hands on it again although I am pretty sure that the copy I read belonged to my daughter-in-law. I remember being particularly impressed by his argument that modern margarines are little better than plastic bags processed into slivers and I have never eaten the substance since. But this mantra is easier to say than to put into practice but I was reminded of it because the naturalist Chris Packham has been urging people to avoid both bacon and sausages which, of course are enjoyed as part of the traditional UK breakfast. Then I went shopping recently, I discovered and indeed bought, those trays of foods which consist of the off-cuts of chicken, pork and beef. Now these products (particularly the ham-based ones) will consist of processed product full of nitrosamines which are not good for you, particularly if there is a history of colonic cancer in the past. Nitrosamines are chemical compounds that can cause cancer over long-term exposure. They form when nitrites react with amines, often during high-heat cooking of cured meats, tobacco use, or via manufacturing flaws in certain medications. You can lower your exposure by changing how you cook, what you eat, and how you manage products . The advice given is to eat cured meats less often, limit bacon, hot dogs, and sausages, avoid high heat for processed meats, do not fry, grill, or char protein-rich foods preserved with nitrites and to choose lower-heat cooking methods instead of frying. One should also eat foods rich in vitamin C or antioxidants with meals to block nitrosamine creation in your stomach. I must admit that I had not realised that frying such foods was so bad for one but my reason for buying such trays of food is to provide myself with a small quantity of protein which I can then add to an omelette, a stir-fry or a curry. Last night as part of my regular routine, I met my American friend in the park where we have a walk and a chat and this is always a very relaxing part of the day, not dissimilar to the Spanish habit of ‘paseo’ and is, of course, made so much more pleasant when one wishes to cool off after the heat of the day. The population of the park at 7.00pm falls into quite predictable patterns of which the most prominent are the dog walkers. This is followed by the joggers and exercisers and there are also a smattering of teenagers on their bikes. Finally, we have the staid older couples who are our to enjoy the evening air (like my friend and I) but if we have a light repast at about 6.00pm then a walk at 7.00pm is a good way to round off the day, both physically and psychologically. Apart from anything else, there are always items from the days news to discuss and I was keen to discuss the exemplars of rampant American racism which I discerned in the film which I watched the day before.
This morning turned out to be quite an entertaining one. I attended my normal Tai Chi class which is carrying on as normal throughout the summer months. Afterwards, I walked into town with my banking friend and we went for our normal coffee in our ‘Gifts of Love’ charity outlet and serving in the shop was a volunteer who I did not know. It turned out that she as a native of Alcester, the pretty little Georgian town to which I am going to make a trip tomorrow with my American friend and she gave us some useful hints as to which coffee shops made the best coffee in town. Then she knew several of the Lancashire towns quite well so we chatted on this subject before alighting on the subject of holiday destinations and we both happened to know and to enjoy some of the resorts in Devon. After this, I returned home walking along the High Street but picked up a coffee jug which has been mysteriously marked down to 50p and was too good an offer to miss, so I bought this not for myself but as a little present to give away. Tomorrow, when we visit Alcester, one of the ‘must visit’ locations is one of those little hardware shops that is stuffed to the rafters with all kinds of kitchen and hardware products that you never knew you wanted until you step inside the shop. We are booked into a hotel on the High Street where they serve a home made lasagne in pensioner size portions which is full of home made ingredients and absolutely delicious. We have learned on the news this afternoon that two people have been arrested after a second night of violence in Norfolk saw a female police officer ‘seriously bitten’ and another hit with a rock. Police condemned the attacks directed at officers who responded at about 9.30pm on Wednesday night after a group of demonstrators in a residential road in Thetford were trying to get into a house. Some people inside were dragged from their homes and properties were vandalised, the local MP said. The unrest in the town reportedly followed rumours the properties were being used to house asylum seekers. One resident of the property claimed a group of between 30 and 50 people were trying to get into the house, while others were shouting and stopping a workman from leaving. These kinds of occurrences are happening up and down the country but the undoubted and legitimate concerns that might be raised in a local community are nearly always heightened because unverified information is spread abroad widely (and believed) on social media and there are always right wing activists who can speed to an area and fan the flames. Sometimes, it is pure ignorance that takes hold and I remember well the case of a German born paediatrician who established a private businessIn Portsmouth as a paediatrician and put up a brass plate outside her house/clinic advertising her business. The women and the premises were attacked by a baying mob who did not know the difference between a ‘paediatrician’ and a ‘paedophile’ and this is indicative of the type of misinformation that is often broadcast and amplified by today’s social media.