The
state of Louisiana has always lacked healthy food in the food they cook. The
current adult obesity rate in the state of Louisiana is 33.1%. Given this
soaring adult obesity rate, Louisiana is ranked 6th for adult
obesity rates. The traditional diet of Cajun food clearly has had an effect on
the health of the state of Louisiana. Although Cajun food is made with a lot of
saturated fat and oil, research has shown that the foods main component,
capsaicin, which is most apparent in spicy food, brings several health benefits
to the table. Capsaicin has the tendency to promote sweating, open up the
sinuses, and encourages the body to cough up mucus. The hot temperature of
spicy foods also promotes the opening of the bronchial tubes. Although the
majority of Cajun food tends to be loaded with unhealthy ingredients, there are
Cajun style dishes that are healthy. One such dish is the Blackened Salmon
Sandwich. This dish is made up of blackened salmon, avocado spread, cool tomato
slices, mayonnaise and red onion. As you can see from the ingredients in the
above Cajun dish, not all Cajun cuisine is unhealthy. There is a switch in
American diet going on as I type this blog. More and more people are buying
fast food instead of eating home-cooked meals similar to Cajun country food. I
have to admit that I myself partake in this movement. In the novel “Like Water
For Chocolate”, food plays a huge role in physical and mental health. It is
stated in the book a couple times that certain foods such as soup always tends
to heal an illness. Along with physical health, food heals mental health in the
novel. For example when Chencha came over to Doctor Thomas’ house and gave Tita
food which healed her mentally. I totally agree with the general idea that certain
food can heal the human body not only mentally but physically.
"The State of Obesity" Trust for America's Health and Robert Wood Foundation. 2014.
"Eating Well Recipes" Meredith Corporation. 2015
"What Are the Health Benefits of Spicy Foods" Mary McMahon. 15 April, 2015.
I also agree that food can heal your body not only physically, but mentally. When I have am empty stomach, I can feel pretty sluggish and in a bad mood. Eating just gives me a sense of comfort and brings me joy.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that spicy foods are good for your health. I thought they would be bad for you since some foods are so hot they hurt your mouth and sometimes cause heart burn. Maybe the spicy dishes can help lower the obesity rate in Louisiana. I do agree with you that foods can affect you both mentally and physically especially since you used a very good example from the book.
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