The Modern North American Diet and Health

I’ve challenged myself over the last handful of years to find ways to break my attachment with traditional recipes. To stop trying to replicate the flavours of my childhood.

The perfect balance of lime, sugar, and fish sauce is the heart of so many Vietnamese dishes.

These days I am more inclined to adapt these dishes with ingredients I can find locally and evolving them as the seasons shift. The dishes might not be the same, but become their own special thing.

This is reflective of many of the struggles I see with our modern diet. We want things whenever we want them. Flavours that are out of season, or from the other side of the world, or from another time.

This does the health of our body, mind, and environment an incredible injustice.

Our bodies are intelligent, adaptive and in tune with nature. The more we can align with our environment, the more positive impact can be made, and it is reciprocal. This is holistic medicine.

If we eat seasonally and locally, our foods will be healthful, our carbon footprint less, connection to our farmers more intimate, and grows our local economy.

A great example is wood sorrel, (Oxalis stricta), an edible wild plant that thrives in Canada. Seen as a weed by most, can be grown intentionally in the garden for culinary use.

“Oxalis” means “sour”, named for its oxalic acid content that gives it its citrus flavour.

I use it as a garnish for dishes like bun, Vietnamese vermicelli bowls, to bring that tart, sour flavour I love.

Dr. Cristina
Naturopathic Doctor