Thoughts on health...

So, I follow and read lots of healthy eating blogs.  People who eat paleo, who are gluten-free, who are locavores.   I read healthy eating books,  The science of skinny, eating raw, Paleofantasy, Animal Vegetable Miracle...

And I take something away from all of these.   My philosophy was always to eat organic as much as possible...  fresh, local, was how I grew up.   I also grew up walking a lot.

I wish that I had saved wrappers from some of the sweets I grew up with though.  I suspect that we would look at an old packet of M&Ms and see fewer ingredients.  I suspect that, not only was the serving size of Coke smaller, that it was less sweet.   I strongly suspect that Nutella (aka sugar ambrosia) was less sweet as well.

It turns out that eating the coarser, less refined sugar was actually better for us.   The powdered milk? not so much.

We had more exercise built into our day, naturally.    Walking to school.   Even Sports (god help me) at school.

But one thing strikes me about most of these "healthy" lifestyles.  The vegan ones want you to eat lots of processed alternatives (Vegan Earth Balance, tofu shreds, various fake things).  Or if you are doing 'raw', you need a juicer, a blender, a dehydrator, yadda yadda.  And what is with the packaged 'raw' stuff at the grocery store?     Most of them want you to cut out entire food groups, or replace them with highly processed food.   Where's the healthy in that?  Or they want you to add in bought products like whey protein, which, guess what? They just happen to sell.  

*sigh*

Or else you get to spend all day chopping and pureeing and blending and being a good little housewife.   People keep telling me about the joys of kale smoothie.  umm no, just no.   Have kale in a soup or a salad like a normal person.

Balance.  BALANCE.   I suspect the reason most people who aren't celiac lose weight when they go gluten-free is that they eat too much bread.   They have toast or cereal in the morning, a sandwich at lunch, rolls and maybe cake with dinner...   or pasta.    I would advise most people to just go whole grain instead.   Whole wheat pasta.   Go organic.  Add some other grains in...

I read an interesting book called "Paleofantasy" which argues that we were also evolving in the caveman days, and that we really can't draw a lot of conclusions based on an idealized concept of cavemen.

I do think we have destroyed our food supply.   We have so many GMOs in our food now.   Pesticides, herbicides, anti-mold agents.  And they don't just wash off.   Otherwise they would wash off in the rain...

We used to be a country that had four food groups, and could have the occasional donut, cookie, etc.  It was a nice treat.   As someone who is gluten-free, all the cookies are in multi-packs, as are the donuts.   Everything seems to have become higher in processed fats...processed sugars.

I do think different things work for different people.  I am not a high-protein person.   Never have been.  But some people do well on higher protein.    Some people do well with carbs for breakfast.  I'm not much of a breakfast person....  and carbs for breakfast make me sleepy.   I've found that I need carbs at dinner, if I eat high-protein at dinner I don't sleep well.   Mark Bittman is vegan before 6, which works for him.  

You have to find what works, what helps you function coherently.    I tend to think more in terms of the four food groups, and eating "whole".    Trying to get something from each food group (grains, dairy, meat, veggies/fruit).  We didn't have a weight problem when we were on the four food groups.  

You just really have to figure out your own way...  take a little from this, a little from that.  Read with a cupful of salt.   If books only use one or two studies.. or they all use the same studies, then there is a flaw.  That does not mean that it won't work for you.... but just be aware.