The produce aisle: God’s apothecary

By Wendell Fowler

My entire life would have been complete without overhearing a burly, manly man remark, “I hate veggies so much that I’d eat boogers before I’d eat spinach.”

Are you struggling to embrace a healthy diet because you “turnip” your nose at produce? Nearly three out of four Americans aren’t meeting the five-a-day of fruits and vegetables, a mere two-and-a-half cups. Unless you’re an aficionado of late-life morbidity, a shift in your culinary paradigm is essential to blossom and return to wholeness. Gardening, playing golf, wrestling with the grandkids, power shopping, housework, lugging out the trash or engaging in family walks requires a willing, energetic body. After 16 years of catering for NBA private charters I noticed remarkable changes in the athletes’ diet. Today’s players are sensitive that what they place into their overpaid body and what they eat profoundly affects their health, performance and paycheck. We observed teams who constantly ate poor diets had losing records. They didn’t think vegetables were sissy food.

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