The Natural Path: Healthy Benefits of Eating Local

by Dr. Kristen Bovee – 

Having practiced on the Peninsula for over 15 years, changes to our community have been significant. Even the way we eat has been changing. Soy milk and probiotics were difficult to find in a local grocery, and organic foods were thought a waste of money. Today, organic foods have taken off and are present in most grocery stores, soy milk is only one option as a milk alternative, and choices for probiotics can be overwhelming. There have also been great strides in the consciousness of where we source our foods. We have seen a rise in the “slow food movement” (a grass roots organization founded in Italy) and in 2007, The 100-Mile Diet was published by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon. This began the trend of local eating. A plethora of local markets have grown to great sizes both here on the Peninsula and all over the Island. The Sidney Street market, where you can purchase freshly picked fruits and vegetables as well as food prepared by local farms, is into its 17th year.

Eating local has taken hold and is thriving in our community. We are blessed with an area of the Island that has much of its land still rural, and farmers are selling to people who want the freshest food they can find. We have the privilege of local organic farms such as Kildara and Haliburton offering foods both in major grocery chains and providing weekly food baskets for pickup. Local blueberry farms such as Oakwind and Ruby Red Farms offer delicious, organic fruit that can be ordered direct from the farms to be enjoyed fresh or frozen all year long. Some have built restaurants around using the farmed fresh foods (The Roost Vineyard Bistro, Farm Bakery & Winery), while others have farm stores to purchase their just-picked produce (the Fickle Fig Farm Market). Snowdon House Gourmet & Gifts is a special farm, B & B and event centre where you can purchase unique foods (such as the signature Douglas fir vinegar) and learn how to cook using local ingredients.

An important aspect of the growing local/slow food movement is not only do we support our local community and economy by consuming the foods hard working farmers provide to us; they also have important health benefits. These foods are higher in nutrient value and have better taste. It spends less time in travel to your plate, therefore it has fewer nutrient losses and less spoilage. It has higher beneficial bacteria naturally occurring on the food, which is the way we should be inoculating our gut with healthy flora. There is higher enzymatic activity in fresh fruits and vegetables that aids in the digestion and absorption of the food in the intestinal tract. The antioxidant activity of locally grown foods is significantly higher, as these molecules break down and oxidize quickly, losing their ability to protect our cells from damage. Eating fresh local foods can support healthy weight by replacing processed foods with whole foods. We consume meals that are lower in sugar and harmful fats and higher in nutrients that support metabolism.

Consuming local is not a new idea; this is how we traditionally ate foods before industrialization took over food production. Supporting local farms keeps jobs plentiful, keeps our dollars in our economy, lowers our carbon footprint and ultimately keeps our communities and individuals healthy and thriving.

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