Eating wild foods - the Nutritional Benefits of Eating Weeds

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Eating wild foods - the Nutritional Benefits of Eating Weeds
Introduction
Most of the people have grassed yards that they take care of, or have been in the wild and come across weeds. On the yards, it is common to find that there are other pesky plants that are not grass; they will annoy any one that is tending to the grass and those who come visiting and find other plants growing among the grass. In the wild, the story is quite different as most people will enjoy the scenery without a care of the plants they find most of the time (Ntshealth.com.au). In the two cases, those plants that one hates growing in the yards and enjoy seeing in the wild could be the one thing that one needs in their diet to boost their health status. These are plants that could provide the full range of antioxidants, proteins, fiber, vitamins and carbohydrates. They could have enough nutrients, surpassing the vegetables that one buys at the grocery stores. In the recent studies, there has been increasing interest in the study of weeds that could actually be consumed by human beings (ScienceDaily).
Most of the weeds that we know of are consumed by the animals and they are still healthy. At a primal level, humans are animals and it would be interesting to assess the sustainability of the weeds eating habits. Today, there are websites that are dedicated to helping those persons that do not have formal botany knowledge. At the same time, with the development of Smartphones in this era of technology, there are applications that are dedicated to the aspects of helping users identify the weeds that are edible. The bottom line in the development of this venture is the ability to identify the weeds positively. This minimizes the risk of taking plants that are poisonous in the name of food. These are resources that are developed by experienced botanists, who are experts in the area (Organicgardening.com). At the same time, it is crucial to note that all of the weeds that are harvested from the yard and in the wild have to be cleaned thoroughly to avoid complications from dirt and chemicals that may have come into contact with the leaves of the wild plants.
Thesis Statement
Animals have been eating the weeds for centuries now and have mastered the art, where some even understand the pharmacological significance of some of the weeds. Today, most of the foods that are consumed in the world come from agriculture. In the recent years, agriculture has suffered severe blows from climatic changes and the food resources have started showing signs of scarcity. There are millions of weeds species, which are found in the wild and in the back yards of most compounds. These are food resources that can be utilized in a large scale and at the domestic levels. As opposed to the fact that most people hate the weeds that they see and there is limited knowledge, closing this gap could mean that weeds become a reliable source of food for humans and animals alike. Furthermore, compared to the food plants that are common weeds have a special type of resilience to weather, pests and diseases.
Tracing Reasons Why People Start To Change Their Diet
Tracing Eating Habits and Health Patterns from the Beginning
A direct line can be drawn between the nutritional requirements of the modern man and the dietary interactions that the human ancestors have had with their environment going back to the start life and the origins of the earth. To fully appreciate the modifications that have taken place in light of the hominids, one would have to go back and come up through the 50 million years the humans have evolved, to the modern man (Babbitt et al.). The nutritional changes that have taken place over the years now play a very significant role in the dietary and health needs of the modern man. Man has evolved through hunting and gathering until he came to the age of agriculture. Most of the human cousins in the primate wild such as the bonobos, chimpanzees and the gorillas among other, still eat wild fruits, weed, fruits, stalks and gums. This is part of their diet which takes up close to 95% of all that they eat to stay healthy. The rest of the diet is made up of the small insects, animals and eggs of other species of animals and birds. With this kind of diet, this would also imply that most of the energy may have been derived from proteins.
This implication is due to the fact that most of the carbohydrates that were taken by these hominids in the past were simple carbohydrates (Eaton and Eaton). Much of the energy from the carbohydrates would have been derived from the fermentation process. At the same time, the fiber content of the foods that the earlier hominids ate would have been composed of higher fiber content, compared to the modern man diet. The vitamins as well would have been higher as well considering the level of vegetables that they ancient hominids ate. The fat content of the current generation is quite high, which by the ancient hominids standards would have been extremely high.
With time, the hominids shifted to tougher and more abrasive foods, such as the seeds and nuts. At the same time there was increased intake in the vegetable fats, where the humans could draw majority of their energy. It is also documented that at around 2.5 million years ago, there was significant change in the sizes of the molars, their change in shape of the molars and the incisors and all of them were accompanied with the changes in the cranial cavity and shape. These changes also mean that robustness of the cranium and the movement of the jaws within the evolved hominids had also been affected (Ntshealth.com.au). Essentially the new development of the cranium and the associate features helped the humans at the time to eat more foods that required tearing and less chewing. This would also imply that most of the diet that the humans at the time ate was composed of meat.
The Neolithic age saw the development of agriculture and animal husbandry by man. It is estimated that during this age the climatic changes forced some of the animals and plants to go extinct, leading to the development of the agricultural and animal husbandry practices, to help manage food resources. Agriculture mainly led to the development of cereals eating habits, where they came part of the humans’ staple foods (Eaton and Eaton). Due to the high population densities, nomadism became uncommon among the Mesolithic humans and they found it much easier to settle. In the Paleolithic period and the times that followed man used his knowledge to develop other dietary needs and foods, such as salt, alcohol and sugar among others.
Current eating habits that lead to health problems
Today, humans are well into the age of industrialization, agribusiness and technology. With these developments, so has their tastes and preference on dietary needs and healthy living. Most of the diseases that are killing people are related to lifestyle living, where they eat foods that little or no dietary significance. The fibers in the cereals are now reduced to insignificant levels through roller milling. Animal products intake has increased, with the reverse effects of high cholesterol accumulation in the body. The animals’ meats in the commercial circles have high fats and lipid content as they are fed with grains other than forage. This result in high energy intake and low output, in the end the bodies develop insulin resistance and the result is diabetes.
High blood pressure is associated with the high amount of electrolytes that are in the body. As humans are now the only free living species, they take in too much sodium that there is potassium in the blood. As such, humans develop complications that are related to hypertension as they age, due to the high blood pressure that has been building over the years of poor eating habits with reference to electrolytes (Organicgardening.com). Some of the most common sources of the sodium are the processed foods and food flavors that are present in almost all packed foods.
There is also a close relation between the cereal intake and the level of cancer in the population. Since the Neolithic ages, grain cereals have become the central part of the energy intake contributing from 40 to 90% of the total energy in the diet. Fruits and vegetable were the basic sources of energy before this age, but today, these dietary needs that have shoved aside. According to studies conducted World Cancer Research Fund & American Institute for Cancer Research in1997, cereals have no protective effect on cancer, while fruits and vegetables have the highest effects.
As highlighted earlier, humans have developed a tendency of taking too much energy while they only so little in their sedentary way of life. People are apparently too busy working that they have not enough time to exercise, which in other words would mean simply walking up and down (Eaton and Eaton). Most of the time people are either, on their cars to work or the bus, use the lift to the office, come back home and sit all evening behind the TV and the rest of the time they are sleeping. This leads to insulin resistance as the body has too much stored energy and very little insulin stimulation for the production of energy from the stored adipose fats. At the same time due to the high intake of high cholesterol fats from the meats, meat products and the grains, the body accumulates fats in the body. One the places that have fat accumulations are in the arteries. The coronary artery is one of the most sensitive as it leads to heart failure. The intake of energy foods, such as cereals, fats from the meat and meat products and the sedentary way of life that is marked with little if any exercise is the perfect recipe for fatal lifestyle diseases.
Interestingly, the cranial capacity among the humans has also dropped since the late Paleolithic periods. This can be attributed to the fact that, humans are eating less of the polyunsaturated fats that are responsible for brain growth. This phenomenon is with close reference to the low rates of synthesis of Docosahexaenoic Acid, which one of the omega-3 fatty acids.
The Trend in Eating Foods
Changing dietary and health practices
For some time, there has been an overwhelming amount of studies that have been conducted in light of the healthy eating habits and the benefits that are accrued. Some of the research material that has a lot of relevance relates to the aspects of eating whole grain cereals. This has led to a lot of campaigns about the health benefits and most of the people are choosing the whole grain products such as the breads and flours. At the same time the people have now grown wearier of developing heart diseases and are looking to reduce their meat intake, while at the same time increasing their vegetable and fruits intake. Ironically this sudden change, has been as a result of the number of deaths that are now associated with lifestyle diseases, such as cancer, hypertension and diabetes (Green).
The fast food companies that have been marketing the products to the unsuspecting clients are now in a tight fix to produce healthy foods. Today there more movements against the fast foods and the fact that they are causing obesity in children, than there was two or three decades ago. Several sections of the population have taken a step further and have completely vegetarian or partial. This has come at the realization of the fact that most of the foods that are sold in the foods stores and the fast foods store are riddled with eminent health complication a few years down the line. There are even organizations and groups that are recognized and are responsible for sensitizing the public to adopt the vegan way of life as opposed to the taking meat and meat products. This is a sure sign that most of the people now understand the importance of the vegetables and the fruits in their diet (Hunter).
At the same time, most of the populations have taken conscious steps to take some time of their busy schedules to exercise. Today some of the most developed job markets other than technology, relates to the diet and exercise therapists. More people in the population are seeking assistance from the professionals regarding their eating habits, health tips and the exercises to keep fit.
Humans turning to weeds for dietary needs and health benefits
As more research goes into the best practices of eating health foods and maintaining sustainable eating habits that are going to ensure a smooth old age, other interests have come up. Most people are now seeking the dietary needs that they cannot get from the grocery stores products from their back yard (Organicgardening.com). This has come from the realization that some of the weeds that dominate the front yards and the backyards do not have to be necessarily a nuisance. Some of the weeds that people interact with have immense nutritional values at some times higher ratios that the common vegetables from the garden ("Let's go on a Weed Walk").
The Necessity of Having Basic/Working Knowledge of Eating Weeds
Much like with any of the paradigm shifts, it is crucial to understand what one going from the base information of what is dropping. Not all of the weeds are edible, as some could have the equivalent effect of taking chemical poisons. Some of the weeds have some protection mechanisms, which help them to propagate for the ages they have been around. Some will have chemicals that why exposed to the body enzymes will form compounds that lead to death of cells or inhibition of certain processes. Some of the effects of the poisonous weeds will require the intervention of a doctor and proper medication as they can be fatal. However, there is also the other part of the good and nutritious weeds that can be eaten for nutritional values (Green).
“Before eating weeds, it is your responsibility to positively identify any plant material. Not all weeds are edible, and careless experimentation by eatin...