REAPING THE BENEFITS OF
e m Ho Cooking BY MICHELE JACOBSON
The well-known adage “you are what you eat” could use some tweaking. Current research shows that significant health benefits are associated not only with what you eat, but also how you eat meals, and with whom. Pre-pandemic, the average American ate about 70 percent of meals outside the home, and about 20 percent of those in the car.1. Then came Covid and life changed radically, beginning a prolonged period of every…single…meal…being prepared and eaten at home. Although all this cooking has been time-consuming and challenging, there is a silver lining.
What You Eat Many of today’s health issues - such as obesity, coronary heart disease, hypertension and type 2 diabetes - are a consequence of our diet. Indeed, the typical western diet has a more deleterious effect on health than does the aging process.2 However, by preparing our own food we have the opportunity to take charge of our health and well-being. People who eat at home have been found to eat a more nutrient-rich diet.3 Cooking allows us to choose wholesome ingredients and prepare them in healthy ways. Relinquishing these choices to others on a regular basis leaves your health up to chance.
10 Spring 2021
www.edibleorangecounty.com
