Schopenhauer used to say that “nine tenths
of happiness are based on health.
Through it, everything is source of
pleasure”.
What did he mean for “health”? And what did we mean today for this
word, which has articulated its meaning over the centuries in proportion to the
complexity of society? If health was synthetically meant to be absence of
disease, today this concept is way more sophisticated. It is preferred to talk
of wellness to mean not just the health of the body, but also the psychological
well being of heart and mind.
The well being starts at the table and this
assumption, typical of the Western mentality, has resisted since Hippocrates,
when the doctor was, incidentally, first and foremost a food expert. If it is
true that we are what we eat, it is also true that our body, made of muscles,
skin, bones, fibers, blood, cells, molecules and atoms, is the result of a
possibly healthy eating style. The same is metaphorically and poetically true
for our heart, as the synthesis of mood, emotional and social states. And it is
even more true for our brain, which is not only a chemical and electrical
device, but also a thinking engine which translates energy in reasoning,
emotions, wishes, memories and dreams.
Therefore, The organic concept of
health, focused on quantity and substance of inputs we ingest and digest, is
today integrated by a more spiritual and holistic concept, based on quality,
hidden virtues and intrinsic properties of these inputs. The Western idea of
health is then interconnected with the Eastern one, which emphasizes the
harmony between body and environment, Mankind and Nature, embraced in a
continuous exchange where nothing is lost, but everything is renewed and
transformed, with a contemporaneous modification of both the human being and
his environment.
Still, one of the simplest and most satisfactory experiences
of existence (with love and sex!) that is eating, is a source of ever growing
worries, concerns, doubts and frustrations, rather than pure pleasure. It is
maybe because of an often imprecise information, which creates confusion and
anxiety instead than clarity and good mood through its contradictions and
exploitations.
As a good vegetarian, I personally feel good with myself, in
excellent psycho-physical shape and in harmony with Nature. With this, I do not
mean to propose vegetarianism as the absolute philosophy of healthy feeding,
because I am convinced that thre are no perfect nutritional recipes, that
everybody can accept. Moreover science, including food science, is in
continuous evolution, like a flame which constantly burn. When a spark ignites
a new hypothesis, another spark is created somewhere else at the same time,
ready to unleash an even more powerful fire. No authority can completely
convince an individual or society that a nutritional thesis is completely
right, because the final judgment on what is good and healthy comes from the
psyche and sensorial perceptions of each of us. Still, we need parameters and
references to point at the way without risking losing the direction.
I have
never been able to distinguish a cute veal who pastures quietly in the grass
and a smoking rare cooked steak in a plate. I have always felt instinctively
attracted to the fruit and vegetables from my garden, since this has been my
food imprinting. My taste come from this. Obviously, when I go for my grocery
and look for fruits and vegetables, I am spontaneously suspicious of the labels
and indications of so-called natural products, which create me more
embarrassment rather than confidence.
The language sometimes complicates
things and emphasizes distances between an object and the awareness of it. I
think that the vocabulary which is used to define the “goodness” of food is
symptomatic of this new holistic conception of health. Today a food is considered
healthy if fresh, pure, virgin, light, anti-oxidant, vitamin rich,
de-intoxicating, depurating, energizing. All these attributes are intangible
and invisible, but are related to concrete benefits, which can be understood
more through confidence than reason.
Fruits and vegetables should be symbols
of a clean and transparent eating style, which makes us feel good by
definition. However, a different terminology comes into play to complicate the
issue: biologic and transgenic, for instance. These words are like mirages or
ghosts on the shelves of supermarkets or in the colored baskets in markets or
even on our tables, and they deceive or trouble us, rather than orient us in
our choices.
I am not enough of an expert to give recommendations and sure
information, because of my often contradictory and debating reads. However, I
try to keep myself informed, and I believe we all have the duty to gain deep
information on these themes, without getting too enamored of a philosophy, or
ideological flag, but keeping constantly receptive and open to dialogue,
without indulging in malignant and sterile debates. Scientific discoveries,
also in the field of food science, are often appreciated after very long times,
which cannot be foreseen in the present or immediate future.
Goethe once
said: “We know when we know little, indeed. The doubt grows with knowledge”. It
is so true! A sure and wonderful thing is that Nature at work is amazing, both
at microscopic and macroscopic level, both in the good and evil because Nature
potentially comprehends everything, with no need for artificial solutions and
corrections. Did you ever ask yourself (back to my love for vegetables) why
fruit and vegetables have such captivating colors? No matter if you believe in
God, in evolution, or simply in randomness, the beauty of vegetables is an
incredible example of the Nature wisdom and the relationship between color and
health is scientifically proven.
The color of vegetables comes from a variety
of chemical substances, the anti-oxidants. Plants express their beauty with
their colors: they capture the energy of the sun and convert it in life through
photo-synthesis, which modifies energy in sugars and carbohydrates. the process
is put in action by the exchange of electrons between molecules, which makes
photo-synthesis similar to a nuclear reaction.
Anti-oxidants are colored
because the chemical properties allow to absorb electrons and to create visible
colors. So, the carotenoids appear yellow thanks to beta-carotene (as in the
pumpkin) red because of the lycopen (tomatoes), orange because of cryptoxanthin
(oranges) and so on. Some anti-oxidants are colorless, such as ascorbic acid,
or vitamin C, and vitamin E, because they act in more hidden parts of plants,
where protection from electrons is necessary.
The action of anti-oxidants
fights free radicals, which cause the ageing of organisms. Human beings are not
able to produce natural shields against free radicals. We are not plants, and
thus we are not able to produce anti-oxidants through photo-synthesis. We
acquire them from vegetables, since they act in harmony with our organism and
release their good content of irreplaceable substances. Hence, I like to think
that vegetables look so beautiful colored, attractive and sensual to stimulate
our senses and be useful for us, other than tempting.
In conclusion, being
informed is fundamental to gain orientation, through a critical spirit, able to
discover precious concepts among books, magazines and websites which fast
update us on food, in order to avoid being hypnotized and deceived.
Cautiousness is necessary in communication and listening, but being curious and
hungry for knowledge is always essential. We live in wellness, but being not
well informed can put us at risk.
Maybe a correct and honest information
could add that missing component of happiness that is mentioned by Schopenauer
in the aphorism which was the beginning of all these considerations.
For sure,
the wise philosopher would have agreed with a great actor such as the late
Massimo Troisi, who exchanged these ideas with his companion of adventure in
the movie “Ricomincio da tre”:
She: “Why do you mind about the others? When
there is love, there is everything…”
Troisi: “No, that’s health!”
