“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”- Hippocrates (460-375 BC) Where has this generation of Americans been? On GRAS!) Our journey to health

 

Where has this generation of Americans been? On GRAS!

What? 

Let’s have a little word and acronym play first(stick with us here—your body will thank you)

 Hippocrates, commonly regarded as the father of medicine, is attributed to have said that more than 2000 years ago. Are we re-learning in 2025 AD?

If you were going to be a doctor, you would have to take the Hippocratic Oath, which has as its hallmark “do no harm.”

The word “hypocrite” also has Greek roots which translate to one who speaks from under a mask, or an actor, or a bullshitter, or worse. Another translation pegs it as "the sin of pretending to virtue or goodness,"

Fast forward to today--and then there is GRAS- “Generally Regarded As Safe” which law gave food companies  the power to use ingredients whose safety they did not have to consult the FDA about. Since 1997 companies, m(who qualify under the definition of hypocrites, or worse) have been free to add ingredients without supervision or scrutiny.

The result? America’s in a health crisis from the unsupervised addition of ingredients resulting in “ultraprocessed food.” Who are the pretenders that have poisoned (or attempted to) you and me?  Easy to find out. Go to your supermarket and start reading labels. You will find companies that sold trust to Americans without giving a crap about the health consequences if it produced margin for shareholders.

A recent post on LinkedIn by Jamey Senardi states about GRAS:

“Consumers are likely consuming more than the allotted amount of chemicals every day, without even realizing it. Many of these chemicals are found in processed foods, additives, and preservatives that can have harmful side effects, including:

- Hormone disruption

- Increased cancer risks

- Allergies

- Neurological problems

One major concern is that these chemicals can accumulate in your body over time, leading to chronic health issues. For example, artificial sweeteners, preservatives like **BHA/BHT**, and food dyes are all GRAS but have been linked to cancer and other diseases in animal studies.” (link)

And what about those oils they convinced you were not only safe but would provide unsaturated fat and protect your cholesterol? Another post on LinkedIn reveals the sad truth that may be associated with the meteoric rise of Type 2 diabetes and Obesity in the US:

“Animal studies are more consistent, showing that 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, along with marked rises in linoleic acid oxidation products. Diets based on 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭-𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬. 

Linoleic acid itself is not inherently harmful, but 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐬... often already oxidized and 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞-𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, creates conditions that promote insulin resistance. 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐫.” (link)

So here comes Secretary Kennedy telling us that we are being poisoned, to avoid ultraprocessed food and eat Real Food. If the US laziness and complacency don’t cause folks not to heed his warning, health can be improved.

Back to Hippocrates “let food be thy medicine;” It IS and can be. Let’s look at an example: Sauerkraut. Not just what you put on your Nathan’s. It is much more. See the Cleveland Clinic summary of the health benefits of Sauerkraut:

Wait- Sauerkraut does all that? Yes. Instead of adding to the inflammatory scourge that causes cancer among other diseases, little old sauerkraut can fight for your health. There are many, many more like it. You can lead a healthier life by eating better; you don’t have to marinate in drugs.

So what does this have to do with Lotus & Michael? 

We have been on this page all along. Our lifestyle gave rise to our business and continues to lead us to products that not only will do no harm but will help to preserve the earth, our health and give proper respect to Nature.

What does that have to do with food? Aren’t you a clothing company?

Yes. But there’s more. Our lives are devoid of processed foods and, where possible, we create our own. For example, we make our own sauerkraut and kimchi in traditional crocks; vegetables we plant support not only our menu, but our health in different ways—for example, not only is loofah a healthy and delicious food, but the water collected from its vines provides youthful care for our skin.

As part of our offering, we share lots of these recipes on our Youtube channel for free. You can easily duplicate these at home. There are more than 70 videos, many of which are about food, which will give you an insight into how we live and what we cherish. Of course, you can also reach out to us with questions and requests.

Become a customer and show your resonance with our lifestyle. We started with natural linen and cotton garments, evolved to plant dyes, and added Lotus’ art to visually share our vision.

Soon we will add other products that emanate from our lifestyle. Bookmark our page, become a supporter, as our long-term goal is to be your go-to site for natural and healthy living.

Great thanks to Secretary Kennedy for having the courage and honesty to use his position in order to show us the error of our ways, and also how we are naively being poisoned for profit. Any of those companies that claim innocence are like a kid who still denies what he did after being caught red-handed—only these are not kids.

And to those who have come out of the woodwork in the last couple of months, I ask where the f**k were you when Americans were getting poisoned in the mind and on the aisles?

For us, Lotus & Michael, we were eating real food all along. So we are just thrilled and grateful to not be the weirdos any more. Mm `

For those of you who are taking pills and injections, stop now and adopt a healthy diet and lifestyle. As Secretary Kennedy says, Eat Real Food. It can be your sustenance and your medicine. 

You won’t regret it.