Milk is bad for you. Saturated fat is bad for you. Don't eat egg yolks. Don't eat fruit after 2pm. Goji berries are "super foods". You need to do a cleanse. When it comes to the world of nutrition, it can be a tricky overwhelming and contradicting place. When you hear all of these things, it's no wonder Americans are in the worst shape of their lives. No one knows what to believe, and when they do follow advice they've heard, a year later they are being told to do the opposite.
My personal take on nutrition and how I eat, is as whole and fresh as possible, while still enjoying treats in moderation. Lucky for me I'm not huge on sweets or bread and pasta, so this isn't hard for me, but for some it is. I've always told clients that they should try to eat as fresh, healthy and whole as possible, but that they need to have a balance in their life and find what works for them. I also know that every body is different, and every body won't respond the same to individual "diets" or ways of eating. No two people are alike, and that is why there is no diet that should be considered a "one size fits all". Some people do better eating more carbs, others don't. It comes down to your genetic makeup and what makes you feel your absolute best. Unfortunately, in order to figure that out, it will take some trial and error and seeing what foods you consume more or less that make you feel great. I believe that food is fuel, and I don't see food as a means of weight loss, but rather a source to get you to your optimal health.
I was recently told to read a book called "Death By Food Pyramid" by Denise Minger. The book puts a focus on the research behind the whole "saturated fat causes heart disease" theory, and teaches you that you need to critically think for yourself. Denise also goes into detail on how to read a piece of research material so that you can draw your own conclusions on research studies. The book can really open your eyes to make you start thinking for yourself, and not believing everything you read, just because there was a "study" done. It always bothers me when I see an article shared on social media, and how many people jump on board with agreeing with it or simply posting a "told ya so". Then when I look at the article, I'll notice it was a small study and other information that wasn't very conclusive.
At the end of the book, she talks about a study done about how the healthiest people throughout the world eat. What I took out of the conclusion, were that the healthiest people were eating the freshest resources they had, and weren't having processed breads and sugars in their diets, which make up most of the American diet today.
I think if you are someone who is truly interested being the healthiest they can be, this book is worth a read. You'll learn things about the evolution of the food pyramid, a look into different studies and their conclusions, a look at different popular diets and how they measure up, and most of all you'll read about the study done on the healthiest people in the world. Those populations don't suffer from many modern day diseases that Americans do.
If it's sparked your interest, read it and let me know what you thought!
