Getting Through Israel's Independence Day Safely

Or: what prehistoric humans have to do with Israel's Independence Day

This article explores the link between prehistoric diets and our health. Whether you have Crohn's, colitis, or obesity, and certainly if you have been through cancer, it will help you prepare better for Independence Day.

Tips and the weekly recipe for a different kind of barbecue await at the end, to make this year's Independence Day healthier!

In two days, thousands of Israeli families will leave home loaded with baskets and charcoal, meat and pita bread. We will see them settling on patches of green at every street corner, even traffic islands, and of course in every park. Others will stay in their yards and invite family and friends. It is a repeat of the Passover Seder, except this time with plenty of leavened food. Instead of the long, laid-out Seder table, reclining chairs and smoking grills will be surrounded by all of Israel, spouses and children included.

The whole country: flags, grills, and... suffering

It could all be happy and pleasant, if only we did not feel so bad afterward! Eating and drinking, talking and fanning the coals, and finally... finally comes the bloated, full stomach, pressure on the diaphragm, and difficulty breathing. We sit in a reclining chair and try to loosen our waistband. Burping and pain begin to bother us, the toilets are far away and smelly... and the familiar lines follow: "I ate so much... I'm stuffed. There goes the diet. I haven't even recovered from the matzah, and now this... Tomorrow, I'm fasting."

Others pay for the pleasure with real health problems: diarrhea, gas, and abdominal pain. Sometimes they even need to return to stronger medication. The worst possible outcome is a bowel obstruction.

So what can we do??

There is the 'Polish solution,' the familiar self-sacrificing stereotype in Israeli humor: skip the outing and stay home, alone in the dark. Or go, but eat nothing. Not much fun either. To choose the solution that suits you best, let us first understand the root of the problem.

Why do we love the barbecue ritual, grilling meat over charcoal, so much? Whom do we somewhat resemble as we stand sweating in undershirts, cardboard in hand, fanning roasting animal parts?

One root can be traced to humanity's earliest origins: prehistoric humans.
Note: I know some people dispute the existence of prehistoric humans and believe we were created in God's image, directly into the days of Adam and Eve. But my remit is to discuss the scientific side of the human body, and that is what I do. So... what harm could it do? Let us imagine!

Barbecue as a legacy of prehistoric hunting

Let us imagine an ordinary day in the life of the prehistoric family, early Homo sapiens.

The year is 69,000 BCE. On a pleasant, clear morning, without soot from cars or factories to haze the air, the women and small children leave tribe X's cave for the forest, carrying leather sacks to gather fruit, roots, mushrooms, nuts, and seeds. Some say insects were also a common snack then; kosher laws did not yet exist. The elders remain in the cave to tend the fire. The men, meanwhile, prepare for their shared activity: hunting. They were responsible for this and developed many techniques for hunting small and larger animals. In "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind," Yuval Noah Harari describes some techniques, such as open hunting or sophisticated traps into which entire herds were driven. After a successful hunt, men brought the animals to the cave, skinned them, and divided them into smaller portions. As humans developed, some meat was smoked and preserved for less successful hunting periods. Other portions were roasted and eaten immediately by the whole tribe. On less successful hunting days, they would head to the nearby river and catch a few fish for a shared meal. The main food supply came from the women's forest gathering, which was also the principal source of vitamins and minerals essential for building a strong immune system. A strong immune system ensured survival and the next generation.

Let us compare our ancestors' diet with our own:

We must remember that our health and genetics were shaped then, during the tens of thousands of years we lived as hunter-gatherers. The changes during the subsequent ten thousand years of agricultural society, and certainly the last two hundred years of industrial society, did not greatly alter our genetic structure. That is why I like learning from our prehistoric grandfather:

• Most food consisted of naturally gathered fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, eaten without processing and therefore retaining most of their nutritional content
• Physical movement was inseparable from daily life: walking in the forest or running after hunted animals
• Meat was part of prehistoric people's diet, though probably far less frequent than in ours
• The modern diet contains far too much animal protein every day: dairy products, eggs, fish, beef, or chicken are eaten daily, while our prehistoric ancestors ate meat once every few days or weeks. Eggs were obtained occasionally by raiding a bird's nest, and they had no idea milk could be consumed after breastfeeding ended. Imagine Mr. Prehistoric milking a wild cow... Milk from other animals entered the human diet only in the last 10,000 years, with the agricultural revolution.
• The animals our ancestors ate were extremely varied. Most importantly, they lived in the wild, ate natural forage, and lived freely until death. This contrasts with today's sheep, goats, poultry, and cattle, which suffer disease, eat unnatural genetically engineered feed, and receive drugs such as antibiotics and growth hormones that remain in the meat reaching our plates.
• Most importantly, consider the type of meat products. Have you ever wondered about the contents of the hot dogs you happily skewer and serve your children? Have you seen the collection of beaks, claws, tails, and fat ground into the paste used to make them? Asked where the appealing color and uniform texture come from? Why they cook so quickly and easily? Enormous amounts of chemicals are added to sausages and processed meats to achieve their smell, taste, texture, consistency, and convenient preparation and serving. Meat now makes up less than 50% of a hot dog. Similar questions can be asked about other processed products, such as hamburgers or kebabs...

Now let us recover from our journey through time and try to get through the coming holiday as healthily as possible.

My tips for the healthiest possible Independence Day

1. If you eat meat, I recommend buying meat that is fresh, rather than frozen, preferably from a butcher or an established business under veterinary oversight and inspection
2. Choose whole, unprocessed cuts of meat or poultry, such as chicken thighs, steak, or turkey portions. If you can afford chicken raised without antibiotics, it is recommended.
3. If you decide on hamburgers or kebabs, make them yourself from meat ground in front of you or ground at home. That way you can add seasonings without unnecessary additives.
4. If previous experiences of grilled meat left you with heaviness and abdominal discomfort, try a barbecue with fish. Fresh fish portions are strongly preferable to frozen ones containing water and many chemicals. Recommended fish include salmon, gray mullet, and sea bass, which are richer in omega-3. Carp and Nile perch are less recommended.
5. If you do not want meat or fish, an excellent option is a barbecue that is vegetarian , with vegetables, tofu, seitan, and corn. The recipe is below!
6. Grilling over charcoal is not a particularly healthy cooking method because free radicals form in the food, substances that promote inflammation and can even cause cancer. At the same time, it is a clean preparation method that kills bacteria and fungi. So it is all a matter of quantity and frequency. An electric or gas grill is recommended.
7. Drinks : Since we have welcomed prehistoric humans today, it is reasonable to assume they did not drink cola or sweetened carbonated drinks. We too should therefore drink water or natural juice, the kind sold refrigerated. Note that very cold drinks can cause food to pass quickly through the stomach and lead to bloating and gas from poorer digestion. Drink only a little with meals, slowly, holding the water in your mouth. If you can drink before eating, take only small sips with the meal, and resume drinking about an hour afterward, you will help your digestion.
8. Most importantly, do not forget to chew thoroughly and listen to your stomach! If you are full, you do not have to continue. Prepare storage containers in advance and take uneaten skewers home. They can certainly be refrigerated and reheated the next day.

Have a happy, healthy holiday!

Vegetarian skewer recipe

Ingredients:

1 large zucchini

1 medium sweet potato

2 cherry tomatoes

1 white onion

2 button mushrooms

3 fresh garlic cloves (not from China, but natural, from the market)

One-third of an eggplant

Half a package of dark seitan, if you eat gluten

Half a package of tofu

Optional, if you eat cruciferous vegetables:

3 small broccoli heads

3 cauliflower heads

A little olive oil and coarse salt,

turmeric and sweet paprika

Method, according to Shoshi Steinovitz:

Cut all the ingredients into cubes. Put them in a bowl with the tofu. Add the seasonings and 1/4 cup water. You can add a little garlic powder and paprika.

Mix thoroughly with your hands.

The salt and mixing will draw out some tasty vegetable juices and season the tofu.

Thread onto skewers in the desired order, then sprinkle with a little salt and seasoning.

Grill for a few minutes on each side.

After grilling, drizzle with a little olive oil or even sesame oil.

Variation:

Make a sauce from natural soy sauce, olive oil, and sesame oil, and dip the vegetables before eating or brush them lightly. Before grilling, rub the grill with half an onion for a little onion flavor too.

It is best not to grill with the olive oil, to prevent oxidation.

Enjoy!

This is general news information and is not a substitute for personal advice from a doctor or dietitian.