Arts

‘I see you are eating the meat of a pig,’ an American sharing my table in the hotel eyed my delicious crispy bacon. ‘Disgusting animals, they eat worms and roots from the ground. They roll around in mud and their own excrement.’

‘You must be a vegetarian,’ I suggested as he was eating a bowl of gravel-like cereal.

‘Vegan,’ he said. ‘Cooked meats contain secondary amines, and they are carcinogenic.’

‘So that is not milk on your cereal but some vegetable juice that lacks calcium. You must be taking supplementary vitamins to stay healthy.’ I glanced under the table to see whether he was wearing leather shoes, but his feet were tucked under his chair. He was not used to being challenged by a committed omnivore. Perhaps I should pay attention to a healthier lifestyle.

Coffee comes in for most comments. In the popular press, it is shown to be harmful, cancer-causing, and to be avoided. The following week’s newspaper will hail coffee as the drink to improve your intellect and prevent dementia, not to mention physical prowess. [Read more…] about Healthy Living?