If you live in a prosperous country and have access to good food, there's never been a more exciting time to be alive and eating on Planet Earth. So many great ingredients, so many wonderful cooks sharing their knowledge, so many colors of Le Creuset to choose from! But equally, it's never been more confusing. Raw, vegan, gluten-free, goji-this and paleo-that, low-fat vs. full-fat: How do you navigate all the nutrition and health claims and separate the wisdom from the snake oil?
Personally, I've given up. I just can't stay on top of all the conflicting studies and advice and I don't know whom to trust. It seems like every time someone makes a nutrition or food-based health claim, another study is done that proves it wrong. Often, if you poke around deeply enough, you discover that the study was funded by the very industry that is being studied. Universities that are strapped for cash are accepting these kinds of donations, so even their reputations are suspect. I want to take care of my body and do the best for my health, but it's just impossible for me to wade through it all.
So these days I take the not-so-glamourous approach. I avoid much of the nutritional chatter (including many magazines) and follow three simple rules: eat as many unprocessed foods as possible, get as much exercise as possible, and try to enjoy my life. That's as close as I've been able to come to a magic formula for a healthy, happy life.
How about you? How do you manage the onslaught of health and nutrition claims? Is there a source you feel you can rely on?
Related: Healthy Skepticism: Marion Nestle Takes On Food Studies
(Image: Healthkicker)
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I agree..I don't think there have been any studies that found lots of veggies to be bad for you. So for me, I feel comfortable eating the diet I think will do the most good and least harm for me, animals and the planet (vegan).
I also agree, and would like to add that the degree of stress that all of the various food 'rules' can cause for people is far more detrimental to one's health than a dietary 'misstep' is.
Personally, after following a strict vegan diet for a little over a year, I found that the degree of anxiety I was experiencing about food choices was simply not worth it. The key is finding what works, not only to maintain a sound body, but also a sound mind.
If I come across an article on the subject of food I usually read it out of curiosity. I don't look for info on the subject intentially. I stay away from dieting of any kind. Well, I guess I am blessed with good genes otherwise I would have to consider a MEDICALLY conditionned diet. Otherwise, I follow the rules of my Grandparents who went through the five years of starvation during WWII and happily lived to their late 90th:moderation, nothing highly procecced, meals mostly cooked from scratch, tons of veggies, meat and poultry no more 3-4 times a week! Worked well for them and works for me!
I agree with your methods! I thought I was very healthy before I trained for Tough Mudder; but running in the woods, doing yoga and weight training 3X as much made me feel 10 years younger. I had no idea I could feel that good. Diet is crucial. It's truly not brain surgery. The primary obstacle for people is they don't want to eat those yucky vegetables. But find a way to make them yummy.
The big findings are important; seaweed and fish providing omega 3s and live yogurt helping your gut bacteria are massively helpful and I'd hang on to that information.
Just so you know, accepting donations is not a coup de grace for the credibility of a researcher. If a set of Biologists are discovering that cheetahs are being endangered by new logging roads, the WWF or Sierra Club may really want that study to be completed and may donate money to the researchers to ensure success. It really doesn't tell us enough to know if the study is thereby tainted. It may be, but it may not be also.
I like the advice coming from the author of the article. Our personal recommendation, and something we tell our readers, is to simply ignore the food experts and the media. Eating unprocessed foods, cooking from scratch meals, and avoiding restaurants and prepared foods is the food philosophy we try and live by each and very day.
As Michael Pollan said, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
Quit listening to "experts", turn off daytime tv, and stup buying food that comes in boxes with lists of dozens of ingredients. :)
I've gotten to the point, after 67 years, that I pretty much ignore all of it. I eat only when I'm hungry, I stop eating when I'm not hungry, I avoid fast food like the plague that it is. I enjoy cooking, so our food is fresh and prepared at home. After I retire (58 days to go!) I'll be able to spend more time in the garden, so more of our lettuces, tomatoes, asparagus, herbs, etc. will be home grown.
"The latest study" is generally going to prove to be crap. I've lived through the "eggs are nature's perfect food" articles through the "eggs should be avoided at all costs" articles, and now they're coming back around to "well, eggs won't kill you" articles. And chocolate won't make you healthy, and green tea won't save your life. Cripes...
People are getting crap info because they refuse to read the original study and instead read the media's interpretation of it, which 90% of the time is distorted or just plain wrong. Don't expect your science to make sense if you read it from a fluffy source. Journalists use absolutes. Those are never used in science!