Getting your food locally grown only works in certain conditions
By suspenseful
@suspenseful (40193)
Canada
February 19, 2011 2:57pm CST
I got this book that is telling me how to not get diabetes or if one has it or is on the way to get it, how to reverse it. Now so far, it has worked perfectly. I lost more weight and have more energy, but there is one thing that the author suggests, he is a doctor by the way. That is to buy locally grown food.
That set me to thinking. I live in Manitoba and we have a high rate of strokes, diabetes, weight gain, etc. One reason is that we are that is is that we ate food grown locally. Sure in the Spring and summer we can get lettuce and salad stuff, and in the late summer and early fall, we can get tomatoes, cabbages, carrots, and those food grown locally, that is if we have a long enough season. But in the winter, we have to rely on food designed for long storage like potatoes, carrots, turnips, and cabbages. Unless we do what I do and buy food in the grocers that now comes from Chile or Mexico.
You see buying food locally only works if you have a long growing season. If not you have to depend on imported food.
Your opinions please?
3 people like this
13 responses
@RebeccaScarlett (2532)
• Canada
20 Feb 11
This is very true. Unless there are some local greenhouses that can grow food year round?
By the way, what is this book? It sounds like something I need to get a copy of!
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
21 Feb 11
It is called "The 30 Days Diabetes Cure" and you can get it from Jim Healthy Publications" I belong to one of those health food sites, and they gave me the link. The website is www.30daydiabetescure.com. It does work. I am loosing weight and I am not as tired as I used to be. In fact, I just need a 20 minute nap in the pm. whereas before not even half an hour would do.
And if diabetes runs in your family or you have it already or might have it, it helps. Of course much of the writing deals with those who got that way through bad habits, but I guess with these diabetes books they assume that you got diabetes or pre diabetes because you pigged out and look like a blimp, but I have one friend who has fatter then me and she does not have it, and I have a couple of friends who are not, and their doctors have already warned them that their sugar is high.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
22 Feb 11
I can blame genetics and age and the fact that I did have a baby I gave up for adoption so I never got to bre*st feed her and thus did not lose that extra fat, plus the operation I had because of feminine issues. I never ate that much junk food unless it was at parties and celebrations, but that was enough. And the trouble is that I got very tired. I am not one who goes into vigorous exercise, but I did hear that for pre diabetics and the diabetics that short spurts of running fast works better then walking steady all the time. I do have to watch that I do not get depressed or let something bother me, because that is when I tend to eat the wrong food. And I have been trying to lose weight around my stomach. Seems I can lose it everywhere else.
@RebeccaScarlett (2532)
• Canada
22 Feb 11
Thanks for the info. I think I can blame genetics, bad habits, and circumstances about equally. Usually, my love of exercise compensates for my not-so-good eating habits (6 weeks after a c section I was rollerblading 50km a week and had lost pregnancy weight plus 16 pounds) but 3 months after my daughter was born my c section scar came open and I was forbidden from exercising for almost 5 months. I tried to eat less, and healthier, to compensate, but hey: junk food tastes great and I was stressed and depressed from not being able to go back to work (you can't teach swimming lessons or lifeguard with a hole in your stomach) and my blood sugar got all out of whack.
Now that I can exercise again, I'm eager to start living healthier and get my sugar levels under control before I end up fully diabetic.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
21 Feb 11
The trouble is that we all need good nutritious food to compensate for what we had to eat when we were young and even then in some cases it is too late. I am going to try to grow some of my food in containers, but then I would have to buy the containers, seeds, and the dirt to put them in. So wonder even when the food is expensive, whether it be cheaper. And I would have to go to the grocers anyway. I have not compared food prices from winter to summer, but I did notice that butter was more expensive and much of the canned goods had gone up ten cents or so and that was from last week.
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
21 Feb 11
WEll Ya cant get it freash in te winter time or local and here in the desert nothing is grown local so yup its reall y hard in the places we live to get locally grown veggies.
I have no idea where ours comrfrom I always thought Cal. or florida some from TExas
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
5 Mar 11
That works. They also suggested I use a grapefruit knife to get the coconut meat out. Well that is something else to buy. Will have to get the other things later on and that screw driver does work. But next time I will be careful to make sure not to drop it on the grocery store floor.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
22 Feb 11
We get is from Chile and the other parts it is from Texas, Mexico, and California. We are getting coconuts from Mexico nowm but they seem rather young. I was thinking of geting one since I would rather grate my own then have those packages or scoop out extremely fine coconut from the bins. But it is the putting a hole in it, and making sure I can break the shell apart that I have a hard time with.
@zeloguy (4911)
• United States
19 Feb 11
It has to depend on what you are eating... obviously if you are growing local foods that you would not eat if bought from a store (too much sugar/starch/fat/etc...) then you are not going to eat it even if you picked it from your backyard.
With more and more places selling organic produce, it is becoming easier to not only buy foods from elsewhere but to buy food from elsewhere that is also good for you at the same time.
Great Question
Thanks.
Zelo
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
21 Feb 11
I know that we can get organic berries up here, and of course carrots, celery, and green onions. Sometimes we can get organic cantelope in the summer but it depends where you go. I know when I went shopping at Safeways they were good, here at our Superstore, they were rather crappy. And with all the pesticides you have to wash the food and sometimes peel it.
There goes much of the goodness. I do have an apple tree in my backyard, but I would also like a little vegetable garden, mainly in containers so I can just go out the house and pick some salad.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
20 Feb 11
In our Superstore, the only organic year round in produce are carrots, celery, and green onions. They are not that much more expensive that the regular. I am hoping that they put brocoli on that list. There's another store that sells more and in the summer they will sell organic cantelope. I can get free run eggs so no problem there, but beef is a bit of a problem as the only beef that is organic grass fed is Angus beef. And the other store is farther away. They are getting better but not there yet.
1 person likes this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
19 Feb 11
I totally agree suspenseful. Though my growing season is slightly longer than yours, in the middle of winter if I want fresh anything it is not local and it is very expensive.. I thrive and love fresh fruits and vegetables and love to grow what I can, but my season is only from June to Sept..
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
20 Feb 11
We cannot even depend on June. Sometimes we get a frost or even snow. The fresh food is expensive, but not as much as it is down there since we do not have anyone stopping oil wells. I am going to try container gardens when it gets warm. I hope that works as it would be easier just picking the lettuce and salad stuff instead of buying a whole let and having to thorw much away even though I do love salads.
1 person likes this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
20 Feb 11
Yes, I knew your growing season is even less than mine. I was making a point that like now, in Feb, there is nothing growing...
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
21 Feb 11
I hate to see what happens if things get worse. Outside it looks like January and if it is when it was very cold when we moved to Winnipeg, it might not be that our growing season would be shorter then ever. It is sure different from when I use to live in Vancouver. But then it was so damp that the food rotted unless you were like me and loved salads. It does not look very promising when the food prices are going up and the growing season is shorter.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
5 Mar 11
Oh the added sugar, the fruitcose, glucose, corn syrup, the antibiotics, etc. You have no idea what they put in the stuff. And it has been that way since the end of the 2nd World War. It's a miracle I am still alive.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160815)
• United States
19 Feb 11
If you want fresh food, yes, you have to have it imported. Otherwise, it needs to be canned or frozen. You can eat local food that is canned or frozen.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
20 Feb 11
Actually he was talking about going to a market and picking up food fresh. And with a short growing season, there would not be enough food to freexe or can. What happens here is that by the time late October arrives, there is no local vegetables or produce left because it has all gone. So we have to import it from the States, and then when it gets this time of year, we are looking ito produce from either Mexico or Chile especially Chile because their growing season is opposite then ours.
And canned food is not that good, especially if you are trying to cut down on sugar and in some cases, salt.
@BunGirl (2638)
• United States
19 Feb 11
I completely agree! It's very easy for people who live in those areas where fresh produce is grown year-round to say we should do this. But what about the rest of the world where it's not even possible? When you think about it, there's really only a small percentage of the world for whom this is even an option any more.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
20 Feb 11
It is easy if you live in California or Florida to say "buy locally," but if you live in the Canadian Prairies, or even in North Dakota, Montana, Mimnrots, or the northern states, you cannot do that. I wish they would consider that it is not just Californians and Floridans that buy those health books. And other parts of the world have wet and dry season, but they do have longer growing seasons. Then there is Siberia and the former Soviet Union, they do not get it very warm in the winter.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
20 Feb 11
I have not heard about that study but it makes sense. Luckily we have a long growing season here and I grow my own vegetables. I try to avoid eating too much potatoes and other high carbohydrate foods but I plan to grow some potatoes this year. The only thing we need from other places is citrus fruits.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
22 Feb 11
I cannot eat that many potatoes. I eat a lot of sweet potatoes as they are good. I have to avoid eating single carbs like candies and drinks. The latter is hard because even if it says 100 percent fruit juice, they contain added sugar and it is not just cane sugar it is the corn syrup kind. The trouble is when someone gives advise, they do not understand the situation. For instance, the ones that wrote the book suggests that we have to get out and walk, and then suggest going out to the park, etc. but that does not work when there is snow and ice outside especially if they want you to walk at a brisk pace.
What works in California or Florida does not work in Manitoba in the winter. We do walk in the Malls but either we have to drive there and of course pay for the gas or the bus fare or we have to walk through the snow. And in the Malls you have to watch that you do not bump into people.
@gitfiddleplayer (10362)
• United States
19 Feb 11
I agree, if you can buy locally do so but not all places allow for a year round season of produce. When it does get colder and produce has to be shipped in from other countries the price goes up, along with demand. If you can grow your own and store some of it then that would be ideal but that's hard to do also. I guess the best advice is to enjoy locally grown food for as long as the season holds out and plan for other ways during the time you can't buy locally.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
20 Feb 11
If I ate locally all year round, I would be in the same condition that made many of the people here die in their 50s and 60s of strokes etc. and diabetes. And I do not have a garden. I am planning to do some container garden in the summer.
@LilPixelle (828)
• United States
19 Feb 11
There are foods such as kale that have longer growing seasons... and if you keep your home a consistent temperature, you could most likely grow some foods to at the very least supplement yourself through the winter. Hydroponics would help for that :3 (bare in mind what kinds of vegetables you are growing in what normal temps. Some veggies won't last if you keep your house at 55 degrees F but will survive at 65 degrees (I recommend growing the colder varieties of veggies over turning the thermostat up.)
Bare in mind... I don't actually do that... I WANT to... but I don't yet...
Also, you could always can or freeze veggies from when they were in season... just another thought.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
20 Feb 11
I know all that and I love kale. Of course, I have a little sense of taste so it is all right for me. But when you can vegetables or freeze them, they are no long fresh. What the doctor was talking about is buy food in season and eat it fresh or lightly cooked or steamed. And it costs a bit to have a hydrophonic garden and a lot of electricity as well. It is just that here in the North, we cannot go and have the food that those in the States can locally grown all year round. And we do have food that grow in cold weather but I doubt that they will grow under five feet of snow. Not even kale. So when you go into your grocery store this time of year, you will not see any food that is locally grown except for apples, some carrots, turnpis and carrots who are of course have been stored.
And I did not ask "How van I grow some food at this time of year?" It is just that someone saying that I can only eat locally grown food is ridiculous especially siince he expects to go to a farmers market when the farmers here are in their houses or heating up their barns.
@joygracia (1325)
• Philippines
20 Feb 11
Its a really nice when your cautious with your diet and priotize its importance. I think you have done a great job with your healthy diet since you were able to maintain a healthy way of life. It is inevitable though that your have be plaint with the resources you have at your place at a certain weather but the way you keep track and follow a healthy diet, is one big asset that you have and could provide for yourself. Keep it up!
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
22 Feb 11
That book I got helps. And the web site has so many recipes. I am also good at adapting. The trouble is that even though I have a few things in my pantry that are not good, I hate throwing things away. I am going to try to start a container garden next year. I hope it does not snow into June, but I am afraid that the weather is getting colder not warmer.
@changjiangzhibin89 (16777)
• China
20 Feb 11
You meant to say that getting your food locally grown could prevent you from getting diabetes.If so,this point is open to question.All the food locally grown are not safety.Of late years,the genetically modified vegetables come into vogue,I guess It is much the same where you live in .In addition,at present in the vegetables supply,each supplies what the other needs,It is difficult for you to know where the vegetables are from.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
21 Feb 11
I think he is into support your local economy, but with me it is get the food that is the best. WE do have organic food, and I try to get that. But just because it is grown locally does not mean it is good. I know they use a lot of pesticides when they grow food here, so if I get it locally I have to really wash the vegetables. Oh yes and we have to pay for our water as well.