I recently received a disturbing email about the dangers of using plastic in the microwave. There is a direct link between using plastic wrap over foods while heating them to cancer. There is also a link between freeze water bottles for consumption later. Both processes release toxins into the food and water. This is depressing enough in itself, but I have recently come across information about the benefits of raw food. You might be wondering how I could find something that is considered beneficial as depressing. The information about raw food is promising but it also makes you take as step back and consider how dangerous an average American diet really is. I am not necessarily a proponent of raw food; I am merely sorting through the information. When I was pregnant with my daughter I did not go near the microwave. I can’t say that I really believed that anything bad was going to happen. I just had that little feeling that told me to keep my distance. In this sense, I am aware of possible dangers but I’m not sure if I believe in them. But why take a chance?

I also washed my fresh fruit and vegetables thoroughly even before all of the hype about pesticides and other miscellaneous poisons floating around. It just seemed like a good idea because fruits and vegetables are often intermingled with dirt. I don’t like dirt and I dislike the idea of eating dirt even more so I washed them and continue to do so. Here’s where the depression kicks in. I am not working very hard to make sure that my food is safe. One of the ways that I do this is by cooking it thoroughly. The proponents of raw food suggest that cooking is detrimental to the molecular structure of the fruits and vegetables, or some such thing that I can’t seem to wrap my brain around. The theory behind raw food is that the vitamins and minerals take a turn for the worse while cooking. We all know that we lose some of the vitamins and minerals as we cook. I originally thought that raw food would suggest that we don’t want to cook all of the nutrition out into the air or into the water. However, raw food theory suggests that we actually mutate the vitamins and minerals into some kind of molecular creature that attacks our systems. Even the healthiest foods can contain harmful substances. This is depressing. Until they figure this whole thing out, I think I’ll dip into a pint of ice cream. At least I’m perfectly aware that it’s bad for me.