Why is living organic important to you?
I have to admit that I used to be a skeptic about the value of organic food, partly because it was hard for shoppers to find it and even more difficult to be confident that what was advertised as "organic" was the real thing. My first concern had been getting people to stop eating junk food and to eat more nutritious foods--organic or not. Reading Organic Manifesto gave me a new appreciation for how organic foods promote a healthy lifestyle and helped me better understand the importance of knowing where our food comes from. It has become clear to me that our DNA is designed to eat the way our hunter-gatherer ancestors did, consuming naturally organic foods rather than those that are highly processed or artificially produced. I really want to know what the cow, chicken, pig, or lamb that I eat ate, and how the produce I consume was grown. I believe that eating organic today comes closest to the way that we were meant to eat.
What was your favorite food growing up?
I am embarrassed to say it was Wheat Thins. I could easily consume an entire box while watching a sporting event on TV. Honestly, I have gotten over that addiction.
What's your go-to comfort food now?
Dark chocolate. I've always loved dark chocolate, and today, the medical literature is showing that it's looking healthier all the time. Several studies have found that eating dark chocolate in moderation can lower blood pressure (probably due to the beneficial effects of its polyphenols on blood vessel elasticity and blood flow) and reduce levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the body, a predictor of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
What's the one thing in your kitchen you just couldn't live without?
The refrigerator. I've never gotten out of my habit of coming home after work or after being out and opening the fridge to see what's in there. Fortunately, my wife makes sure our refrigerator is stocked with berries and other fruits, cut-up veggies, and plenty of other healthy snack options.
What magazine, website, book, album, or product are you most obsessed with right now?
I was a history major in college, and most of my recreational reading is in history and current affairs. I just finished Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt and highly recommend it. I've found that it provides the best explanation of our current economic situation. I'm a World War II buff, and my favorite book about that era, which I reread recently, is Franklin and Winston by Jon Meacham. It's a great description of their relationship and that period in history. Another recent favorite is Munich, 1938 by David Faber. When it comes to other obsessions, I love my iPad, of course, but my current favorite "toy" is the flight simulator app on my computer because I'd like to learn to fly.
What's the most important news story today that you think we all need to pay more attention to?
The rise of childhood obesity--not just in America, but around the world. We have the knowledge to completely reverse this trend, but we have to apply it. Clearly taking charge of this problem begins in the home, but we must also attack it on a community level. Schools, especially elementary schools, are the best place to begin to change poor eating habits. It is in schools that we can teach kids to appreciate and enjoy healthy food, which will make them feel better and perform better academically, while helping to prevent obesity and all its terrible health ramifications.
Where do you get your news?
Primarily from the Internet, where I read newspapers, blogs, and medical updates. My favorite paper is the Wall Street Journal and I enjoy pulling up New York Post headlines. As far as news websites go, I like Realclearpolitics.com because it provides a full spectrum of political ideas from left to right. For medical information, I am able to review the journals much more quickly and easily online, and the Internet has also facilitated much more effective communication with my cardiology colleagues and with our practice's research group, which is geographically diverse.
Zimmern’s appetite took him and his Travel Channel show through the U.S. for the seventh season of “Bizarre Foods,” which premieres in January.
“I think that what people are most curious about is the stuff that they don’t know is happening in their own backyard. … There’s no better place to start than in our own country that’s completely misunderstood. I think that an Italian porchetta sandwich is as absolutely American as the biryani cart,” he said, pointing to the famed NYC doler-outer of spicy Indian rice, “which is as absolutely as American as the souvlaki cart. That is what is great American food.”
But his biggest takeaway from filming: Americans need to slow down.
“For peace of mind and for comfort, it’s important to get back to that time when we were up with the sun, down with the sun,” he said. “Eating with the seasons. Spending more time with community and family. I think we’ve lost that.”
Meanwhile, one the fellow celebrity cooks Zimmern called out is moving in the other direction.
“Our jobs are to service the over-extended homemaker, this is what the show ‘Semi-Homemade’ is all about,” Food Network host Sandra Lee said in a statement to ABCNews.com.
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