A3

Elaine Mandrona

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Just for the amount of time it takes you to read this article, I would like to invite you to think of food in a different way.

There is an invisible quality to food that can't be measured scientifically. Or maybe we have not yet discovered all that food really is, all of it's dimensions. Food is more than matter, it is also energy. As energy it can nourish then body, mind, emotions and spirituality.

We have become disconnected from the production of food, and this intangible energy on all of these levels. This may be one reason why people are becoming less healthy.

One very obvious way to reconnect is to eat foods that are grown locally and organically. This will insure that you are eating foods that have been grown with care and awareness on healthy soil. It also means that you will be eating foods from the same climate in which you live and that are in season.

All of these factors can enhance the energy of your food and contribute to your health.

Lets start from the ground up, literally. Organic growers regard the soil as a living organism. Healthy soil has a balance of decomposed organic matter, minerals, organisms like earthworms to aerate and enrich the soil, and bacteria that assist in soil building.

Organic growers make compost, use green manures, utilize companion planting, mulching and natural pest control.

Healthy soil grows nutrient-rich food. Research has shown that organic food is superior in vitamin and mineral content to chemically produced food. It tastes better, too. It seems to be more than the sum of its physical parts.

Eating seasonally is a way to insure that your body will receive optimum energy, as well. In summer, eating foods that grow in the warmer months - lighter, cooler foods like fresh fruits and vegetables and salads - is in order.

In Winter, we need warmer, heavier foods - root vegetables, grains, beans, more healthy fat. Foods grown in a particular season give you the energy you need to be healthy in that season. Nature makes it as simple as that.

So where do we find all of this organic, local, seasonal food? It's right under our noses - in backyard gardens and in our Farmer's Markets. What could be easier?

* Elaine Mandrona is a locally based registered nutritional consulting practicioner who advises people on nutrition and weight loss, as well as a Nutritionist with Healthier for Life Nutrition and Weight Loss Centre. If you would like to reach her, please phone 874-8142.