It sounds easy, right? But, it's increasingly harder as our grocery stores continue to fill up with edible-food-like-substances. We are continually drawn in by the "no trans fat margarine" and the "low fat, omega fortified cheese," but it's a pretty good rule of thumb that products with health claims on the packaging indicate that it's not real food. All of these food-like-creations just cause confusion about one of the most basic fundamentals of life: what to eat. (PS - No other animal needs professional help to decide what to eat!)
Between the nutritionists, food manufacturers, food marketers, and even journalists, there are a lot of people who have a lot to gain from the latest health craze (just think of all the buzz around carbs, trans fats, omega 3's, antioxidants). In fact, it's an industry that thrives not only on change, but also on consumer confusion.
Ironically, the professionalization of nutritionism didn't make us healthier, it made us significantly unhealthier and significantly fatter. In fact, 4 of the top 10 causes of death in the US are chronic diseases that are linked to diet: coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer. (These diseases remain rare in areas where people don't eat the way we do.)
Due to food industrialization, instead of fresh fruits & vegetables, westerners are consuming highly processed substances, refined grains, chemicals used to raise plants & animals (who are raised in huge monocultures), an abundance of cheap sugar & fat calories, and all on a base of 3 staple crops: corn, wheat, and soy.
Human populations have thrived on a variety of diets: high fat, low fat, high carb, all meat, all plant, so we know that the human animal can adapt to different diets, but the western diet is not one of them. Yet, instead of returning to the basics (real food), we continue to tinker with the processed stuff by lowering the fat, raising the fiber, adding omega-3's, removing saturated fats, etc, etc, etc.
In the 1960's, the height of food industrialization, it was nearly impossible to buy vegetable or meat without chemicals, but today we have a choice. And, this choice has real consequences to our health, to our environment, and to our animals. (It just so happens that the best ethical and environmental choices are also the best for our health.) The more eaters who vote with their fork for real food, the more commonplace it will become. So, eat food!
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Breakfast: Peaches & cream oatmeal
Lunch: Tomato soup, crackers, and sliced cucumber
Dinner: Veggie burger (from the frozen aisle) and salad
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