GETTING BACK TO BASICS

While it’s highly doubtful any of this information is new to any of our customers we like to re-examine some of the reasons we keep the Market open through the changing seasons and through thick and thin. Healthy food does matter!

How Does Food Impact Health?
The food we eat gives our bodies the “information” and materials they need to function properly. If we don’t get the right information, our metabolic processes suffer and our health declines.
If we get too much food, or food that gives our bodies the wrong instructions, we can become overweight, undernourished, and at risk for the development of diseases and conditions, such as arthritis, diabetes and heart disease.
In short, what we eat is central to our health.  Consider that in light of Webster’s definition of medicine: “The science and art dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease.”
Food acts as medicine—to maintain, prevent, and treat disease.

What does food do in our bodies?
The nutrients in food enable the cells in our bodies to perform their necessary functions. This quote from a popular textbook describes how the nutrients in food are essential for our physical functioning.
“Nutrients are the nourishing substances in food that are essential for the growth, development and maintenance of body functions. Essential meaning that if a nutrient is not present, aspects of function and therefore human health decline. When nutrient intake does not regularly meet the nutrient needs dictated by the cell activity, the metabolic processes slow down or even stop.”(1)
In other words, nutrients give our bodies instructions about how to function. In this sense, food can be seen as a source of “information” for the body. 
Thinking about food in this way gives us a view of nutrition that goes beyond calories or grams, good foods or bad foods. This view leads us to focus on foods we should include rather than foods to exclude.
Instead of viewing food as the enemy, we look to food as a way to create health and reduce disease by helping the body maintain function.

Next week we’ll look at Functional Medicine.
(1)- Perspectives in Nutrition, Wardlow and Insel.

MARKET CHITCHAT

This week we say goodbye to Sweet and Simple. Meredith has taken a job that will prevent her from baking delicious things for us anymore. We wish her all the best!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New Autumn Leaves and Gold Childhood Cancer Soaps from Bella Eden Farms This may be the last week juicy Japanese Persimmons are available

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

Our COVID protocol is still in place for everyone who wants curbside service.

I. Order Payment:
1. Voluntarily prepay by 6 pm Thursday if possible using this PAYPAL link. This eliminates passing paper currency back and forth or handling debit/credit cards on site. Your invoice will be marked PAID and pickup is fast and easy. In the event of undelivered items you will be issued a Market credit that will apply to your next order.
2. Debit/Credit – One of us will briefly step within 6 feet for you to put your card in the chip reader. We do our best to avoid touching your card or you touching the equipment which means we sign an “x” for your signature.
3. Cash and Checks – You may hand them to us. Exact change is preferred if using cash to prevent a lot of passing back and forth. If you choose curbside pickup you are welcome to put payment in your trunk/tailgate as that would eliminate the need to come near your window.

II. Order Delivery:
1. Curb Service: Please pull up next to the Market Shed. We will direct traffic a little bit if needed. Have your trunk/ hatchback open and we’ll load you up!
2. Walk Up Pickup: Please do not come inside. When we see you coming we’ll put your order near the entrance and step back for you to claim it. This system works really well for those of you wishing to get extra veggies that may be available.
3. Regardless of how you choose to accept your Market order please know that we make every effort to practice safe distancing and ask that you do the same.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!