Thursday, March 28, 2013

Food Thoughts

I just gave up on a weird argument that I was having with a nutritionist that I've followed for a couple of years.  As off kilter as our argument was, it got me thinking.  This is also why I like a good argument er discussion, it gets me thinking.

You'll have to bear with me since my brain is quite fogged today and I haven't worked through all of my arguments yet.

Her basic premise on food is that all food is good food.  There is no bad food.  While I understand that she is trying to divorce strict rules and denial from what should be the pleasurable undertaking of nourishing your body, all food is NOT created equal.  100 calories of Doritos does not equal 100 calories of grass fed steak.  While it won't kill you to eat Doritos once in a while, it is quite possible that a steady diet of them will at least cause problems if not kill you outright.

We are in the middle of a food war.  Food corporations are using science to make their food addictive much like the tobacco companies did with cigarettes   They add various chemicals and compounds to their food, not to make it healthier for us but so that we will crave more and buy more of their product.  Is it any wonder why people like me distrust any food that comes in a box with a full marketing campaign behind it?

I turned to Paleo because of my health.  It was a diet recommended by one of the well respected CFS/ME doctors, Dr. Myhill.   To me it makes sense to eat food that is as close to the way nature intended it as possible.  Stuff that hasn't been chemically manipulated in a lab.  It can be argued that cooking chemically manipulates the food but now we are getting a little nitpicky.  I don't want food that has been developed in a test tube for profit rather than the nutritional good of mankind.

Now don't get me wrong.  I'm NOT saying that all modern things are evil and that we have to live like we did in the age of cavemen.  What I am saying is that for the most part I will only eat food that has been raised and nurtured in the manner that is in accordance with nature.  Cows are ruminant animals which do best eating grasses not jelly beans and GMO corn.  The chemical profile of the meat from a conventionally raised cow and grass fed cow are significantly different.  And guess what, the grass fed cow's nutritional profile is better suited for human consumption.  So, even 100 calories of grass fed steak is NOT the equivalent of 100 calories of feedlot steak.

Yes, these statements are all backed by actual science studies but I'm too buggered to find them right now. I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave it to you to come up with the research.  Just be reassured it is out there.  Many many apologies to the science community from which I came.  You did teach me better than this.  I'm usually very good about citing sources but I'm just too messed up to do it right now.

I have found improvements in many of my symptoms from eating like this.  I have been cheating a lot lately and yes I've been paying a price for it in fogged thinking and joint pain.  There is a direct link between what I eat and how I feel.  I'm so sick that it is very obvious that there is a link.  The bit I don't get is why I keep cheating.  But this is the psychological side of nutrition not the physiologic side.

The Bulletproof Executive put out a great chart that I love that shows various foods on a scale of best to worst.  As much as I would love to go along with the illusion that all food is created equal it isn't.  It is a HUGE myth.  We can only eat so much food in a day.  I wish to make my calories have as many good nutrients in them as possible so I have a better chance of recovery and overall health.  Yes, I cheat.  I did tonight.  I had a steak bomb from a local subshop.  It was delicious but I know I will pay for it physically.  I'm not perfect but I'm trying.

http://www.bulletproofexec.com/the-complete-illustrated-one-page-bulletproof-diet/

addendum: I was booted from the nutritionist's Facebook page.  Sigh.  Can't even have a good argument these days without everyone getting into a snit.


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