Organic Food and The Benefits
Three years ago we revolutionized hospital food and brought it beyond the boundaries of anyone’s imagination. This changed my entire perspective as a chef.
Recently on the radio, I heard a staggering statistic. The newscaster stated that stomach cancer amongst young people was up 70%. The reason was, unfortunately, diet. It’s not hard to understand why diet has taken such a hit in the last few decades. After World War II, we changed our growing methods in the United States. We stopped growing in the method we now call organic and began using fertilizer. This caused problems with bugs and we combated that problem with pesticides. The “fallout” from this has been huge.
When I was a child, one never heard of nut allergies or dairy allergies. Today they are rampant along with many other food allergies. We, as an American society, are largely obese. Diabetes is a national tragedy. Health care costs have exploded and are crippling our economy.
When we formed the Matt Prentice Wellness Program, I began by reading 50 books and taking copious notes. I changed my diet to reflect what our chefs, breadsmiths and pastry chefs were doing. In other words, I talked the talk and walked the walk. The result was a loss of 40+ pounds without trying, as well as a dramatic lowering of my blood pressure and cholesterol. I was amazed but even better, I enjoyed my new lifestyle!
We, as a society, must insist that our growers go back to what we now call organic growing methods. Our restaurants and other foodservice providers must use proper cooking techniques to mitigate the ills our society is suffering due to the cooking methods of the past.
Americans, as a whole, must get away from the detrimental fast and processed foods.
As the Wellness program grows, we will continue to educate our team and guests, and ensure that we continue to provide healthy-healing food. As I have learned over the last three years, food is medicine.
