A couple of thoughts on diets

I know I have touched on this topic before a number of times but I have been thinking it all through lately and thought I would recap my thoughts….. for myself as much as anything. There really is a wealth of information out there on food and healthy diets, and it can all be pretty confusing when you first start looking into it all.

There is all the old and outdated, and in my opinion completely wrong, advice from the 1970’s, that low-fat and is best including eating processed mono-unsaturated margarine and canola or vegetable oils instead of the lard and butter that people were used to. There is a lot of new studies to prove that this is wrong and yet I was reading a label on a brand of margarine the other day and as a marketing ploy they still use the catch line “A healthy source of mono-unsaturated fats”. This to me just proves how far we have to go yet before it is generally accepted knowledge just how bad these processed “low-fat” options are. Add onto the low-fat advice the “you need to carb load to stay feeling full” advice and well lets just say it boggles my mind.

Moving on, we now have all the “sugar is the new demon” buzz, which while I totally agree with, I have a sneaky suspicion about a couple of things. One: it will get taken too far and people will stop eating healthy and natural things like fruit and honey because they are “full of sugar”. And two: the food corporations will jump on the new trend and twist it up, just like they did with “low-fat” and start producing so called “reduced sugar” options that are still just processed crap packed fully of other chemical crap and labelled as “a great school lunch filler!” Anyway that’s just my thoughts on that, but don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe our modern diet involves WAY to much refined sugar.
So we have the “I quit sugars” and the “I went gluten-free” and the “I live the paleo life-style” and the “I gave up dairy and only drink fermented horses milk from the heart of Mongolia”……. 🙂 the list goes on! But which is RIGHT????? All of these have great points, but they kinda all think they are the only way. What I have really come to think is there is not just one pathway to health and vitality. The key is finding something that feels right for you and is sustainable. After all it is what we do everyday that really makes the differenence to our health. So if it feels right, you feel great, full of energy, are sleeping well, not bloated, have clear skin etc then it is probably a good option for you.

This is why I like to hear and read all sorts of opinions and sides of the great healthy diet debate. Here is a list of a few of the people who I have read books of, or been to hear, or watched videos of on Youtube etc. All of them have some great points that may work for you, even if you just take one or two points and mix it with advice from somewhere else.

• Jason Shon Bennett – a health researcher and author who focuses on fasting and a plant based whole foods diet.
• Dr Libby –  we all know Dr Libby, holistic nutrition specialist with loads of great books to choose from. I have only read one so far but I am going to her upcoming night seminar in a couple of weeks and I intend to read more.
• Fully Raw Kristina – YouTube videos from Kristina are always inspiring (and a bit of a laugh) to eat more fresh food. She has a triple major specializing in health science, raw food and fasting and focuses on a raw food diet.
• The Daily Raw –  I enjoy getting posts on Facebook from the daily raw on interesting vegan ideas
• Joe Cross –  from the Fat Sick and Nearly Dead films. These were well worth a watch for a take on juice fasting and cleansing to cure illnesses and lose weight.
• That Sugar Film – of course, because everyone is watching it and it really is super interesting
• Nigel Latta, “Is sugar the New Fat” –  another compelling documentary
• David Gillespie – He features in the sugar film and has written books of his own. I have read “Big Fat Lies”, which was interesting and he has a kind of funny sarcastic way of writing which is amusing
• Sally Fallon –  Co-founder of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author of “Nourishing Traditions”. She is a great believer in ancient diets, fermented foods, eating real fat and offal. How interesting does that sound 😉 My current favorite
• Ben Warren – Nutrition and Holistic Health expert, founder of BePure and a kiwi :-). I went to an evening of his a few months back and found it really interesting. He believes in a balanced whole-foods approach while supplementing nutrients that are lacking in NZ soils. He also has some interesting things to say on eating based on your ethnic origins.
• And just because it was a funny and inspiring read…. “French Woman Don’t Get Fat” and “French Woman For All Seasons” by Mireille Guiliano. These are fun books but I found they really made me think about eating good food for enjoyment and in moderation, and actually slowing down and noticing what I eat rather than just stuffing in whatever is on hand. Make your food healthy and tasty with the freshest ingredients and you will feel more satisfied with less….. and I truly believe it.

Those are just some of the people who have inspired and taught me over the last few months. I am sure there are more too but there is only so much this brain can store.

I guess the main point I want to get across is with this whole post is this, don’t be swayed by one persons well meaning point of view when it comes to YOUR food and YOUR lifestyle. As long as you are eating food in a moderate and balanced way, which is as close to its natural from as possible, and hasn’t been processed through three factories, a line of chipmunks and then shipped across the world to sit on a shelf, then you are probably on the right track. It is a trial and error journey for all of us, take control of your health, don’t make excuses and begin to realize how amazing you can feel.

EAT FOR HEALTH – NOT FOR FASHION