Health and wellness, naturally, that’s what I aim for. One of the most important impacts on your health is from what you eat. What you put in will impact the quality of what comes out: how you feel, how much energy you have, how clearly you can think…
Eating healthy shouldn’t be a burden. Eating poorly isn’t a “treat”.
So I’m not a genius, I haven’t said anything amazing, but then why do so many people get it so wrong? I think we can break it down to a few key areas:
1. The “Experts” are sometimes wrong
2. The Government DOESN’T regulate in your interests
3. What we think of as “healthy & homemade” is probably still GMO and highly processed
4. There’s a difference between diet and lifestyle
5. Some basics for good gut health everyone should follow (incl bone broth recipe)
So let’s have a look.
1. Can the Experts get it wrong?
In Australia we are still denying much of the mounting research that says what we’ve been told for the last 40+ years was wrong. I don’t like to argue with the trained “experts” but we need to keep abreast of what the research is actually telling us. Don’t take my word for it, you can research all the information for yourself.
I recommend some reading of David Gillespie or Christine Cronau – they’ll make it pretty straight forward not only about how the body works to process energy and what we’ve been doing wrong, but offer easy suggestions how to correct it. I love it when people make it easy to solve the problem, instead of just being experts about what everyone is doing wrong.
In a nutshell:
- Fat does not make you fat, sugar does (specifically fructose).
- Cholesterol does not give you heart disease, poly-unsaturated fats do.
- Sugar is more addictive and toxic than just about any other substance, and it’s added to EVERYTHING
- The food pyramid is mostly inaccurate* – grains are highly inflammatory to most digestive systems and generally are best avoided or selectively minimised as much as possible.
- Organic butter and coconut oils are GOOD FOR YOU and full of essential vitamins and minerals that are fat-soluble (so you’re going to have trouble getting them from anything else, unless it’s another healthy fat source – olive oil is fine).
- Vegetable oils and margarine are nothing more than synthetically produced or GMO toxic rubbish.
The research is there. There is also research demonstrating that you can lose weight quickly and easily on a high-fat, low-sugar diet.
2. How does the government inform its decisions?
Don’t for a second think the government sufficiently regulates what goes in your food. In Australia we are still using food additives that have been banned in most first world nations, or at least must carry health warnings. We happily add poison to our drinking water despite the rest of the first world removing it (yep, fluoride) and use toxins to flavour and colour our chips and beverages.
Not only this, but the few chemicals that maybe have been tested, they were tested in isolation, not in the combinations they are consumed. Chemicals are added to our foods and eaten in combination – we have no idea what the chemistry of this cocktail does within the chemistry of our bodies.
Get yourself a copy of the book The Chemical Maze and use it as your guide to all those little numbers on the food packaging. I once heard a great rule of thumb – if there are more than 5 ingredients on the packet, put it back – it’s too processed.
One more point before I move on – all the little numbers on the packaging aren’t the complete list of what’s in your food. There are rules about flavours not being disclosed because they are trade secrets and if there is less than 0.1% of an ingredient or it was an ingredient that was already present in another ingredient it doesn’t need to be listed – honestly, all the rules and loopholes would do your head in, just know that they are there…
3. You can’t even trust good old “Homemade”..??
Good homecooked spagetti bolognese, meat pie, hot chips…I don’t feed my kids ANY of these foods. Firstly, I limit red meat, particularly beef and I try to buy organic grass-fed whenever I do because I don’t need my kids overdosing on hormones and polyunsaturated fats from all the grains those animals have been fed. Cattle just isn’t good for the environment, no matter how they are raised. (Check out the book Ethical Eating)
Secondly I don’t feed my kids grains, but particularly highly process GMO wheat which is so far removed from how nature intended it it’s difficult for any digestive system to process, even if you aren’t gluten intolerant.
I saw an episode of QI where David Mitchell laughed at Alan Davies for making the remark we shouldn’t be eating bread and milk – the staples of the western diet right? It really does seem ridiculous. But it’s not a joke.
I’m not going to tell you not to eat bread, but be selective. The white processed stuff is not only mostly indigestible GMO wheat, it also often contains a really nasty preservative (258) and soy.
I’m not going to tell you not to drink milk, but you have to realise the highly processed, pasteurised, homogenised stuff you get super cheap from coles is full of hormones, puss and antibiotics from the cows that are artificially made to overproduce milk their whole adult lives (hormones) to the point they get infections (puss and antibiotics). I even spoke to a woman who previously worked in the industry and she said they once dropped the concentrated cleaning fluid into the milk…and sold it anyway!
Raw milk has copped a lot of flack and I’m not going to tell you to drink it, but that’s certainly what I’d choose if I had a penchant for dairy. Or at least organic. Mostly I use organic activated almond milk and avoid the whole mess. Seriously, we are supposed to wean between 2.5-5+ years of age. From that point there is NO REASON to consume milk. (No, the Calcium thing is a myth.) The Chinese think we’re weird and to be honest, it is weird the way we pressure mums to wean from human milk only to feed them milk from a cow. Defies my understanding.
So my point? My point is we’ve lost touch with a natural diet. A good “homecooked” meal is still something that needs some understanding when we are choosing what we eat and what we feed our children.
4. Don’t diet, it’s a lifestyle
I made the title of this post “Paleo in moderation” and that’s what I do with my kids. We aren’t perfect but we make a healthy lifestyle with good rich nourishing food. We will never “diet”. Calorie counting is pointless – the less calories you have the less energy you have to function until your body has to start making choices. I used to be constantly cold, because my body had to choose and staying warm wasn’t one thing it had the energy for. Now I eat loads of healthy fats and unless I’m really run down, I am never cold. I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in 4 years thanks to my beloved children and I swear the good fats are keeping me going.
Food is a source of energy and nourishment…or it should be. If you want to have energy and nourishment as an outcome, make sure you’re putting it in your mouth. Eating healthy shouldn’t be a burden. Eating poorly isn’t a “treat”. The good thing for all of us is that it is getting so darn easy to find amazing tasty recipes. I google “paleo xx” and find the most awesome delicious ideas that my kids just inhale.
5. Things to always include
OK, finally to my last point. There are some things I think everyone should include in their nourishing family diet. Organic butter and coconut milk I’m sure are obvious by now. In addition I’d suggest bone broth – this is a really mineral-dense nutritious addition to any recipe and really great for improving gut health. I seriously add it to everything with a sauce.
To make bone broth: Throw some organic chicken wings in your slow cooker, cover with plenty of filtered water and a Tbsp apple cider vinegar. Season if you prefer. Boil min 6 hrs. Aliquot and freeze the liquid broth. (I use a silicon muffin tray so I have perfect portion sizes for adding to any dinner menu!)
Apple cider vinegar is also great for cleaning your fruit and veg from pesticides – just a tsp in some filtered water and wash your fruit & veg before storing in the fridge.
Fermented foods and/or a good probiotic are essential, just be mindful young children (under age 3) have a different gut flora to an adult and might need something more specific for them. But why is gut health so vital anyway? Well, the flora in your gut helps you digest your food, it is your front-line defence against disease. 80% of your immune system is in your gut and it is all the bacteria in your gut that does the work for you – healthy gut flora is critical for good health. Dysfunctional gut flora has been linked with autism, schizophrenia, depression, Crohn’s, allergies, asthma… yep, it is THAT important.
The other biggie? Lots of vegtables is also an important part of healthy eating, especially all your supergreens. Have you seen all the research lately of all the diseases that can be avoided with just a good regular dose of fibre? Can’t get the kids to eat them? What about a smoothie? My kids love smoothies and you can hide all sorts of healthy ingredients in there! Here’s my standard:
almond milk
avocado
banana + berries or mango
cinnamon (good for immune system)
coconut oil
scoop supergreens or some beetroot/spinach leaves
maca powder
chia seeds +/or nuts
So many possibilities and soooo yum!
A good multivitamin is something to consider – I have found a fantastic range of natural health products for adults and children, including vitamins and probiotics. Vitamins aren’t all equal – you need something that makes the vitamins bioavailable (accessible) to your body. If you want to know where I get mine (and how to get them at wholesale prices) be sure to get in touch.
I’m not sure how the basic necessity for life became so darn complicated, but I’ve found small adjustments over time has resulted in a big change in the way we eat and the level of energy and health in my home. Start with small steps you can manage – small steps will create big change in time.
*The food pyramid has just been updated (June 2015) – it is vastly improved, however there’s no mention of fermented foods and grains are still fairly prominent. A big step in the right direction – let’s keep it moving that way!