So this is mostly going to be knowledge that is thrown in your face since you were 10 years old. But only in a vague way and it was only given the priority position of ‘something to distract for for an hour while you process what proper nouns are’. Not the priority position in learning, you might be thinking. The advertisements on television are no better because they either show you one fruit or vegetable, or even the image of it next to the supplement you can ‘replace’ it with. You may be told to eat certain meats but only in a loose way and not how often or in what quantities. The scary thing is the food pyramid we all know and adhere to wasn’t made by people who truly knew what they were saying AND it’s outdated to boot!

The new food plan. Image from http://cricketsdance.com/sugar/?page_id=81

So let’s have a chat about food.

Please remember that the information here is intentionally vague as I am not qualified enough to say too much. I have included many links to places that can detail things for you. I would also suggest everyone watch “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” for a better idea of what I am talking about. This is all personal advice and should not be taken over the advice of a professional.

Firstly don’t give me crap about the flavors and textures. Companies have spent a lot of time brainwashing our taste buds to respond to the strong sugar and salt flavours through overuse and chemicals like monosodium glutamate (MSG). Fruit and vegetables are subtle in favour. Your body misses them and craves these, but it doesn’t realise because you’re brainwashed and when you recognise a craving (you get hungry) you satisfy it with the processed foods, not the natural (chips and candy over nuts and fruits). Scary.

They say to eat macrofoods. Whole foods. These are food in their natural state that have not been broken down, so even a banana, not a banana muffin. Yes the nutrients stay in foods as they are processed into our ‘snack foods’ but nutrients are so lost and hidden in this process that it is harder for our body to gain anything that remains. Also some of the nutrients are extinguished in the process of heating or chemically broken down when mixed with other chemicals. That is why you people keep telling you apple over apple tart. salad over salad sandwich. Yep even fruit salad over fruit smoothie.

They say eat a variety of types of fruits and vegetables: growing on bushes, trees, palms, creepers and below the ground. Pinks, purples, yellows, orange, greens because the nutrients that cause these pigments are different. Eat the rainbow. Also those that grow within husks and shells will develop and require different nutrients to those that are leafy (the leaf keeps the plant alive), or grow under ground (where different nutrients tend to hang out).

When you get the low fat milk options you are getting the lower nutrient options. The nutrients are in the cream they ‘skim’ off in ‘skim milk’. The fat they remove isn’t bad fat either, well not always. You need to be smart, to a point, and ensure the milk has passed through chemical process of pasteurisation that kills off the bacteria in the milk and surface creams, but otherwise it is a good place for nutrients.

Oh and the sugars and fats in naturally occurring foods (avocados, nuts, fruits, fatty fish)? That is good fat. Yes, you need to be smart about eating it (don’t eat an avocado for morning tea, a cup of nuts for afternoon tea and then a giant bowl of fruit and yoghurt for dessert every night) but don’t avoid this stuff either. Smart yeah?

These days everyone harps on about cutting out carbohydrates, sugar, or my personal abhorred trend is gluten. If you believe you have or are at risk of an allergy or intolerance to a food group then you need to seek help. It cannot be self-diagnosed, diagnosed by anyone other than a qualified medical practitioner and without this testing the complete elimination of it from your diet may be the best way to ensure you will have more trouble with it later on. The only real way to work with intolerances, allergies or foods that upset your body is with consultations form a nutritionist and your general practitioner. It takes a lot of time and money and, yes, you may need to collect your poo for a few days but if it stops you vomiting it’s worth it right?

My point here in this big rant of nothing actually specific is that there is a reason why, when people talk about being sick, they also talk about this miracle diet they are on and how it works for them. Because, let’s be honest, how many of us don’t take a stroll down the chocolate aisle EVERY time we shop yet only stop at the essential crates ion the veggie section?