Fragile?

A box labeled fragile gives a certain impression that the contents need careful handling. A set of fine china or crystal are usually considered fragile and the utmost care is taken not to break items like these. I have some of my grandmother’s china that is close to 100 years old and still looks new even though it is fragile because it was handled with care.

Are we like that china? Are our bodies fragile? The answer is both yes and no. Yes we as human beings as we age learn that life is fragile and will come to an end at some point. Most of us will have to deal with one form of disease or another which may ultimately cause our demise. On the other hand does this mean that every single thing we put in our mouths will cause harm, no.

In many ways we are pretty resilient. Many in the health establishment seem to ignore this fact. Some of those would insist that certain forms of sugar will cause harm to the body. Yet the facts tell another story. It is commonly reported that high fructose corn sugar is more harmful to us that cane sugar. Yet is the body so sensitive to sweets that it will reject one in favor of another? Will one cause harm while the other heals? No and the truth is that no matter what form of sugar is eaten it is all used in the body the same way. In the end sugar is energy no matter if it comes from a cane or from corn. We are not that fragile.

Likewise fat and cholesterol are the same way. Fat is a necessary part of our diet yet it has been told for decades that saturated fats from animal based foods are directly linked to heart disease. After almost 100 years of hearing that mantra the truth is being revealed. Many who consume high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol have no associated heart disease. For example Dr Malcom Kendrick demonstrates in his 2007 book The Great Cholesterol Con that Switzerland has the highest cholesterol levels in the world and the lowest incidence of heart disease. Conclusion: we are not that fragile.

The truth is that we all face an end at some point. On the path to that point we are bound to develop one or more diseases. Most of these diseases cannot be thwarted by eating a certain way or avoiding certain foods. Why is this? The answer is because the physical bodies we have are pretty good at using what we eat to support life. Of course too much of anything can have negative consequences. The point is that eating a burger and fries now and again will probably not do much harm and eating foods with corn syrup won’t either. At least it hasn’t happened to me yet.