Food, glorious food!

29 April 2012 12:00AM

 

On Friday I was invited to join friends for dinner but was not prepared for what awaited me! It was a lovely evening with great company but I don’t think any of us knew what to expect when we were told it would be an, -‘all you can eat buffet.’ 
Every type of food imaginable was available from pizza, fish & chips, Chinese dishes, Italian, hot dogs and burgers, a traditional British Carvery Roast, to mention but a few. I chose wisely starting with the salad bar and I left space for one of the delicious puds – in my case sponge & custard – but I did wonder when I looked around at the combination of mixes on some of the heaped up plates leaving the buffet queue what it might be doing to ones’ stomach. Surely something must be working overtime! S-o-o-o, I decided to do a little research when I returned to the house. Here goes;-
Digestive enzymes are secreted in very specific amounts and at very specific times. Different food types require different digestive secretions. Carbohydrate foods require carbohydrate-splitting enzymes, whereas protein foods require protein splitting enzymes. Apparently carbohydrate foods and acid foods should not be eaten at the same meal. 
In cases where there is hyperacidity of the stomach there is great difficulty digesting starches. Fermentation and poisoning of the body occurs along with much discomfort. This is because the digestion of carbohydrates (starches and sugars) and of protein is so different, that when they are mixed in the stomach they interfere with the digestion of each other. An acid process (gastric digestion) and an alkaline process (salivary digestion) cannot be carried on at the same time in an ideal way in the stomach. Before long, they cannot proceed at all as the rising acidity of the stomach soon completely stops carbohydrate digestion. The highest efficiency in digestion demands that we eat in such a way as to offer the least hindrance to the work of digestion.

Interesting….S-o-o-o,
We should not eat a concentrated protein and a concentrated carbohydrate at the same meal. This means do not eat nuts, meat, eggs, cheese, or other protein foods at the same meal with bread, cereals, potatoes, sweet fruits and cakes. Sugar greatly inhibits the secretion of gastric juice and delays digestion if consumed in large quantities and ultimately depresses stomach activity.
Do not eat two concentrated proteins at the same meal. Avoid nuts and meat, or eggs and meat, cheese and nuts, cheese and eggs, meat and milk, or eggs and milk or nuts at milk at the same meal. Milk, if taken at all, is best taken alone. The reason for avoiding eating these combinations is because each protein requires a specific character and strength of digestive juice to be secreted. Eggs require different timing in stomach secretions than do either meat or milk.
Do not eat fats with proteins. This means do not use cream, butter, oil etc, with meat, eggs, cheese, nuts, etc. Fat depresses the action of the gastric glands by delaying the development of appetite juices and inhibiting the pouring out of the proper gastric juices for meats, nuts, eggs or other protein. Fats may lower the entire gastric tone more than fifty per cent.
Fruit is digested far more quickly than other foodstuffs and should actually be eaten before a meal and not after a meal, as one usually does and so the story goes on…… Where did I get all this weird and wonderful information? Well check out…internethealthlibrary.com.

Quite frankly I’m sure that all things are acceptable in moderation but, I was concerned at the end of the evening to see the mountain of food left and as the night drew to a close and the restaurant emptied I knew that Health & safety regulations would mean that all that food would be thrown away AND there are children starving in the world.

I wonder….. I thought…. Ergh! What can I say? Thanks for a lovely evening to my special friend who paid for us all to go to the, -‘all you can eat buffet.’

Love to friends everywhere and spare a thought for those hungry children. You can always send a donation to RCC International!

Anna

Italia

26 March 2011 12:00AM

What a perfect journey. Different, but perfect!

A good flight to Munich. Well looked after by the flight crew on Lufthansa and then a relaxing-no hassle-transfer to Air Dolomiti, bound for Bologna.

Waiting with baited breath. Yes, my luggage arrived. Transfers always spook me, ‘cos my luggage invariably seems to have a mind of its own, and go off in a different direction. I have simply lost count how many times I have arrived in Mexico City with no luggage, and consequently had to go off and buy more clothes.    

Shame! All the girls said.

Well that was a first. I had never been on a flight like Air Dolomiti before. Needless to say, I was well impressed. The smallest of planes, there was not even room for hand luggage, which was quickly confiscated and put into the hold.

The turquoise uniform worn by the 2 flight crew, was most endearing, and made me think, now is the time to change my favourite colour. It has been pink for far too long.

OK. Met by a pleasant guy from the hotel, not to mention a lovely warm breeze and sunshine. I was off to my home for the next few days, and checked it.

Lovely and peaceful, being Saturday afternoon and lunch time;  I soon abandoned luggage and was out to explore. I quickly discovered no one does pizza and coffee like the Italians do. The ice cream looked good, but that’s for another day. And looking at these prices, I most definitely wont be eating in the hotel. Drrr…it’s far too expensive for the likes of me.

It seems like they’re expecting a mad rush tomorrow, as everyone arrives for the book fair. Glad I decided to come earlier and avoid the crowds. Good thinking. Aye!

So what now? Well a relaxing night, with some brain storming of course for future books. Probably accompanied by a nice glass of red wine in the bar and then an early night. Tomorrow, more exploring in what looks to be a very beautiful and most interesting city. And then. Monday-to business!

The children’s book fair. Well that’s why I came afterall.

 

Anna