Embalming is an ancient art. Famous individuals were embalmed for posterity. The most recent example of embalming a famous individual was Nikolai Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union. Food was not  embalmed. However,it was preserved, mainly through natural processes to ensure food supplies for late fall, winter,and the early spring season. Processes included drying food such as figs, dates, grapes as raisins, sliced and dried apples, pears, apricots, and plums as prunes. Meat was preserved through salting and smoking. The nutritional value of food was preserved. Grapes were also preserved in juice form, called vine. Olives were preserved as cold-pressed oil. They were kept in wooden or clay containers. It was a high art and ingenuity kept it simple.

Modern methods of preserving food are essentially embalming food. Truth be told it is embalming for profit. Huge profits. Industrial agriculture and the embalming of food is a huge industry in the US, it accounts for at least thiry percent of the gross domestic product. First, the nutrient value of the food is destroyed; second toxic chemicals which enhance the taste are added ;third, chemicals, (toxic again!), are added to extend the longevity of these products that are called “food”. These products are packaged in beautiful boxes, plastic containers, and plastic bags. Packages are labelled with claims like,”all natural”, “builds strong bones”,”naturally delicious” etc. I used to tell my patients when they bought a paper box of food to throw away the food and boil the box and eat the soup; it had more nutrients. I was being sarcastic but I made my point. Processed and embalmed food is dangerous to ones health. The profits are huge, but so are the side effects…

I used to tell my patients to eat fresh fruit, beans, greens, and garlic. Fresh water, fresh food, fresh  air are essntial for health. Let us look at the many side effects of embalmed food: Obesity. Close to fifty percent of Americans are obese,and seventeen percent are morbidly obese. Chronic fatigue. “Embalmed” food has no natural nutrients and provides very little energy. (The body also requires more energy to digest it which explains why you feel sluggish after consuming it.) Chronic illnesses such as diabetes, juvenile and late onset, hypertension, heart disease, cancers of all kinds,etc. The embalming food industry claims that they are concerned with keeping  food costs down. This is a hypocritical claim. This processing does not come cheap and is ultimately very expensive. Just look at our list of side effects. Life expectancy is also deacreasing. It is around seventy years for men, slightly higher for women. The fate of the US depends on fresh, healthy food. Embalmed food, despite huge profits, leads only to the grave. Time will tell.