Peasant Communities Survived On This Simple and Nutritious Food For Centuries
Peasant food, while simple and frugal, has been around for centuries – in every culture around the world. Using fresh roots, herbs, and foods available to them, households would whip up a soup the family could feast on for days. Soups such as pot-au-feu, minestrone, cawl, and Acquacotta would give the family sustenance during hard times. But why is this simple meal so nutritious?
The Health Benefits of Soup
During the winter months, one of the things we neglect is taking in an adequate amount of fluids. This is understandable, as cold doesn’t make you feel thirsty the way hot weather does. Nevertheless, the fluid dynamics and balance requirements are the same, and sometimes more: we expend more energy in the winter trying to stay warm. Guess what? We still need about a gallon of water per person, per day.
That being said, let’s discuss some facts of digestion. Shunting is the term where, when you’re digesting, all of the blood in your periphery (arms, legs, and such) shunts inward to your thoracic cavity…where you’re actively digesting your food. The term “food coma,” is a humorous description of lack of mental alertness while your body digests the meal.
Then again, we make it hard on ourselves. The best time to eat a large, sit-down meal is for dinner when you’re able to be home and to digest your food and then turn in for the night. During the day? You’re running around and active…then you turn into a “stone” after that huge meal of chimichangas or gigantic beef brisket sandwich and fries. Then you don’t understand why you feel as if you’ve been hit head-on by a train.
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