Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Food Rules

Adkins~GAPS~Low Carb~High Carb~Eat for your Type~South Beach~Mediterranean~Cabbage Soup~Grapefruit~Weight Watchers~Vegan~Vegetarian~Gluten Free~High Protein~Low Fat~Raw Food~21 Day~3 Day~3 Hour~The Zone~Alkaline~Medifast~Jenny Craig~Mayo Clinic~Baby Food~Belly Fat Cure~Flat Belly~Gene Smart~Fruit Flush~Hallelujah~Hormone~High School Reunion~Instinct~Volumetrics~PersonalityType~Perricone~The Spectrum~You, On a Diet

By the way, I left out a bunch... and I didn't make any up, I swear.  You can go to Web MD, just like I did, and get a long (but not exhaustive, I'm sure) list of the diets that are out there for your eating pleasure.... or most probably, dis-pleasure as the case may be.

Now I know that this whole issue is a sacred cow for many people.  I, myself, have a disease that forces me to exclude certain foods from my diet.  I don't eat that way because it's popular or currently *in*.  I eat that way to stay alive.  I don't get the luxury of following a trend when it comes to the way I eat.  I also don't discuss my disease or my eating habits frequently.  I don't like to associate myself with the stuff I don't eat.  I don't like to associate myself with a disease, either.  I say this, because I inevitably do have to share my dietary restrictions with others as I enjoy eating with friends and family.  And some people that don't know me, perhaps, think I am being fashionable with my food choices.  Sometimes this assumption causes me to experience a very large, internal eye roll, that I'm fairly certain would cause my eye balls to stick at the back of my head, were it possible for me to actually roll my eyes back that far.

But enough about me, I just say all that to say, I understand the food becoming a sacred cow thing.
Here's the thing, though,  I do think we can make gathering, preparing and eating our food a real drag.  And I don't think it should or *needs* to be that way.... even in the face of disease.

This is where I am going to give a big shout out for the best take on food I have ever read (and I have read, oh-so-many takes on food).  Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, is the best common-sense source of food science you will find only second to your grandma (or great-grandma depending on when grandma was born).  Here's a hint:  It's NOT a diet, or program to follow.

Go check it out.  You'll be glad you did, I promise!  And now I leave you with Pollan's food motto:

Eat Food..... Not Too Much ...... Mostly Plants.

3 comments:

  1. Moderation is key (in everything, don't you think?!). You are right, Pollan's book is a great place for beginners to start!

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  2. It's tough, isn't it? To be grateful and undemanding and accommodating when there are things you just can't eat? When I was a vegetarian, I would eat any meat that someone prepared for me, out of respect for them. But with food intolerances, you just CAN'T eat foods that will make you sick. So it's a hard thing to navigate.

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  3. Yes, Betsy.... moderation. I do so like the common sense of moderation, when it's possible. :)

    And Tonia,
    Yeah intolerances are NO fun.... it makes moderation, like Betsy talked about impossible... you have to be extreme in those instances. I do so dislike extremes!

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