What I love most about one of my new favorite books In Defense of Food, is the simplicity in which it tackles one of the most complicated questions on wellness. What should I eat?
Michael Pollan doesn’t waste time in answering that question. In fact, it’s in the first 13 pages that he solves this problem. When I first read it I thought, “Wow, this couldn’t be easier.”
And when I say easier, I am not talking so much in the implementation of eating healthier but in understanding what actually is a very basic way of looking at what to eat. It’s actually so simple it gets lost.
Getting healthy and making changes and undoing so much of what we have been brainwashed to think is healthy and good (and easy) is not easy. But the concept of understanding what to eat is simple and logical. And having that understanding under your belt is a perfect foundation for getting on the road to wellness.
Eat real food.
Not sure what is real?
Real food is ingredients. We need to get back to the mindset of our grandparents and great grandparents and think about food in this way. It means we have to go against conventional “wisdom” and all the information given to us from food economists, and big-pharma-influenced executives that want nothing more than to make a buck. Keeping us eating their “food” makes them rich. And us sick.
Don’t get confused by the rhetoric, the many varying opinions on what will make you healthy. There isn’t just one thing. There isn’t one magic pill. But there is one simple concept that when fully understood and utilized can give you the real answer to your questions What should I eat? Will this make me well? How do I know?
Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants. (Michael Pollan)
Start here. Don’t complicate it any more than others already have. Let this simple answer force you to read labels, question a lot, [hopefully] cook more, and remind you of what you should eat, every time.
Just.eat.food.
Real food.
What are some of your biggest challenges with eating real food? Talk to me in the comments below!
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Real food is so good. After spending 5 days in the hospital, the difference is so apparent. Fruit for an example. Now you think that would be easy enough. “Mixed fruit” came in a small container with a cover. There were different colors in there but every piece tasted the same – and that taste was nothing – absolutely NO taste. I get scared thinking about it!
It is scary thinking about the food served in places that are supposed to help you get well. What they feed is definitely counter-intuitive. It’s the bigger system around nutrition that has to change and hopefully, one hospital at a time, if people speak up enough, small changes will be made. They really are living in the dark ages a bit with how they see nutrition and subsequently feed people. There is so much information to guide them in a better direction. Scary. And sad. Thanks for your comment!