Diet Transformations

Every new wave of immigration brings to America its ethnic food and introduces it to the general public. In exchange, within a generation or two, newcomers are expected to switch from their humus and kielbasas to pizza and diet coke. 

As so many before us, our family started here by happily embracing everything American.  We were totally enjoying supermarkets, where no food was expensive for a working person; strawberry could be bought in February; canned and frozen section made dinner preparation a no-time and no-brainer (still could not comprehend, why so many people preferred to go out and take carry-outs). 

Abundance, variety and freshness – these undeniable achievements of American food industry made the experience truly democratic.  Please, remember: we came from the country, where canned peas were bought on a lucky occasion, and thereafter - strategically stored for months in view of holiday salad.

Yes, that’s the salad!

No holiday meal could be without it

But the first encounter with amazing chicken made us realize that we faced a more complicated phenomenon than just new cuisine.

Gradually we started noticing troublesome signs. Many of our friends, regardless their age and physique, were gaining weight with astonishing ease. Giggling timidly they tried to convince us it was inevitable part of aging.

To my unaccustomed eye people around us represented two polar extremes: very skinny and very heavy. Skinny, mostly celebrities, often looked skin and bones. Overweight people were not only of unusual size but also seemed lacking gender. It felt as if healthy build had no chance to survive: you either starve yourself, or gain a lot.

Something much more destructive than extra pounds was going on.

Next, we noticed rapid change of heart to almost every new food we tried: after a month or so of enjoying Sam’s Club hot chicken wings, we suddenly could not look at them anymore. We thought we were spoiled by variety.

My allergic reactions I already mentioned.

It was the end of the nineties in Michigan, the concept of organic food was not yet around. In search of cleaner and more wholesome products we turned to ethnic groceries of less developed countries with supposedly more traditional practices. Eventually we found ourselves in the process of intense diet transformation.

The first on our list was naturally the Russian food market, where we hunted products of authentic origin with obscure Soviet-era labels and thick old-fashion, sometimes rusty lids.

Surprised saleslady tried to offer us a Brooklyn-made counterpart:

-         It tastes much better!

This was true, but it also contained my personal enemies - “artificial flavors and colors”.

In comparison Russian-made products of that post-Soviet period not only had ridiculously small number of ingredients (for example, a cherry preserve included only cherry and sugar). But even this list could be excessive comparing to the real content.

Anyone who was born and raised in the former USSR understands what I am talking about, but for others this needs to be explained.

Well, according to a long-standing Soviet tradition all nutritionally valuable components were chronically stolen from manufacturing facilities by those who worked there. So, the final product was usually stripped of salt, sugar, cream… you name it.

But thanks to this peculiar practice, for no extra cost we were in fact consuming dietary products.   

Next, we explored Indian and Middle – Eastern groceries with their dry fruits, nuts, flat breads and spices.

Unfortunately for us the Japanese food industry turned up to be too advanced. Any product in the store that provided English explanations presented a long list of chemicals.

To reduce consumption of antibiotics and hormones in meat we switched to Amish poultry.

It was the time of wide interest to Dr. Atkins diet that according to Wikipedia “entails close control of carbohydrate consumption, emphasizing protein and fat intake, including saturated fat in addition to leaf vegetables and dietary supplements”.

The interpretation given to us by the diet’s enthusiasts was slightly different. Many were particularly allured by the idea of loosing weight while eating liberal amounts of fatty meat.

- You see, it is very smart – they would explain to us, - Human body craves carbohydrates. They satisfy hanger fast but also are easily digested. We, instead, consume meat that needs much more calories to digest, and by burning these calories body actually loses weight! At the same time we can enjoy tasty stuff…

For me such an approach looked questionable.

- What about long-term consequences of outsmarting your body? - I asked Atkins’s followers.

I was assured that, according to the diet’s author, none had been found.  This was not good enough for me. I tried to indicate similar patterns among traditional ethnic cuisines: if a certain nation practices such a diet for centuries staying strong and healthy, it might have merit.

For example, Mongolian and Middle-Eastern nomadic tribes were always renowned meat eaters. Sheep herders in Caucuses Mountains have many similar traditions and are also famous for living long. Maybe this is the evidence of meat eating health benefits? 

But according to historians cattle herders never ate of their livestock freely: meat was saved for a rare feast, while daily food was limited to byproducts like fermented milk and cheeses; grains and legumes.

I once read a novel by Fazil Iskander, a well-known Abkhaz writer, about a sheep herder getting ready to move his flock to high mountain pastures. He packed a pile of home-made flat breads, onions, cheese and salt.

Breakfast or lunch in Armenian mountain village

This fare with addition of wild herbs and water from pristine mountain lakes was going to be his menu for months. He would have meat only in case of the outmost disaster - that is if a sheep was killed by wolves.

Maybe because healthy living, not weight loss was our priority, we were not tempted by “magic potions” that slim our waists while we are eating burgers. Maybe early involvement in sports made us more aware of uncompromised relations between good efforts and good shape.

Anyway, we were not looking for shortcuts but rather for a wholesome lifestyle that would be better adjusted to the modern American reality.

At one point the Miracle of Fasting by Paul Bragg caught our attention.