***Picture is one of my birthday cakes my husband surprised me with. I'm not much of a traditional cake person.***
Not many things get me riled up, but when my husband came home this evening and mentioned his co-workers boyfriend is only eating red meat with salt on it and the fact that my husband gets asked all the time if he is on the Carnivore Diet - oh I worked myself up a little bit. I am so concerned for their health! I also had never heard of the Liver King until tonight. :/ Interestingly enough, recently, a Physicians Assistant mentioned that we (as the world community I imagine) have no idea how we are supposed to eat. We didn't chat about it since that was not the topic of our conversation, but I highly disagree. We absolutely DO know how we are supposed to eat.
For those of you who may not know, nutrition is a substantial background of mine. I even have professional training in multiple perspectives of nutrition: allopathic medicine, Chinese medicine, and Ayurveda. I have taught about food to all ages from young children to the elderly. Even if I didn't have this background, yes, we know how we should eat. People most often choose not to. There are a few things driving people and their eating habits when they are choosing to go on some popular diet:
Quick fix - People want results fast so they will try anything.
Social media - Addiction to social media has people believing absolutely anything.
Extremes - For some odd reason our society loves to choose extremes rather than find balance.
Misinformation - There is so much incorrect information that is easily accessible.
As humans we do know how we are supposed to eat. It is called food. Whole foods rather than edible substances. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, meats, fish, seafood, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, etc. that the individual cooks and prepares. It is not more expensive as many assume, but it does take more time than the heating up a frozen meal in the microwave. Frequently, the challenge is people knowing how to cook. This has been the number one barrier I have come across - the lack of knowledge of how to prepare a tasty meal. The diet that is true for every human is Whole Foods vs. Processed Foods, and no I'm not talking about Whole Foods Supermarket.
Beyond the food, whole food, component, every individual is a little different with what and how much they need and that's why seeing a specialist (not researching online yourself) is the way to go. Sorry vegans, it is not healthy for every body to be vegan. Sorry carnivores, not everyone needs meat. Any extreme is going to bring nothing but dysfunction in the body, and it's not just only eating meat. People were hospitalized for eating only kale for every meal when kale had it's focused shining moment. Nightshades can create inflammation for some, and not for others. Eating for our bodies is about balance and our individual body.
I love food chemistry and I can go on and on with the chemistry of food, food combinations, various processing, raw vs. cooked, etc. to further elaborate my point, but I'm not going to. Instead I'm going to leave you with these points:
Eat real food, whole food. The less processed food you eat the healthier your system will be.
Learn to cook and use herbs and spices appropriately so your food can taste amazing. Those herbs and spices are also nature's medicine.
Recent research in allopathic medicine confirms the ancient Ayurvedic texts of when you eat is actually more important than what.
Watch your portions - see a specialist regarding what is best for you.
Eat the color of the rainbow. Did you know that the color of fruits and vegetables comes from the antioxidant that is the most present? For example, you can get higher amounts of two different antioxidants by eating both purple and orange carrots. :)
Have plant foods (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans/legumes, nuts/seeds) make up at 1/2 if not 2/3 of your meal.
You should never have to count anything (protein, carb, fat, sugars, etc.). Sometimes it is necessary for certain medical conditions or certain athletes. This is also assuming you are eating 'whole' foods.
See a specialist. According to Ayurveda every person is unique. One tasty whole food may balance on person but bring imbalance to another.
Enjoy your food and feel good about what you are eating, regardless whether it is a whole food or one of those edible processed treats.
Happy eating!
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