I find it really hard to make a decision on where I stand in relationship to what's healthy to eat and what's not. On one hand I beleive we need to reduce our meat intake and other animalistic food sources, I also belive that too many carbs, especially wheat based ones are really quite bad for you as well.
Soooo. I mean, it's really hard to live on a diet based on vegetables and fruit. That's not healthy either.
My new philosophy around food is therefore:
Eat intuitively - eat when I'm hungry, stop when I'm satisfied. Not stuffed. Trust my body and follow it's cues.
Reduce animalistic food sources, but no elimination. Choose carefully and don't buy meat from other origins than Sweden. Same goes for dairy products. Buy organic whenever possible.
Don't be scared of fat - as long as they are from natural sources. Margarine, rape-seed oil and sun-flower oil are all fats that are sold to us as healthy, but when you look at the production line it is difficult to justify margarine as being healthier than butter. Something that has been washed with hydric acid, coloured, and flavoured seems to me a bit (alot) unhealthier than butter. Then again - cold pressed coconut oil and olive oil are fats that have been proven to have real health gains in our bodies. Good amount of natural fats are essential. Don't shy them!
Reduce wheat based foods such as cakes, pasta, biscuits, bread. When I do eat bread, always opt for carefully prepared bread, such as sourdough - preferably home baked. Gluten is inflammatory to the system and should be consumed in much smaller quantities than we do in our western world.
Continuing on the carefully prepared food - same goes for beans and other legumes. This is because grains and beans contain phytic acid that is supposed to protect the seed from sprouting in inhabitable places and from being eaten by animals. That should be reason enough to not eat them without proper preparation! The phytic acid stops our bodies from being able to absorb the minerals from our food. It also affects digestion negatively.
Proper preparation is thus through fermentation (such as sourdough) and sprouting. It will help the body to benefit from the grains and legumes without struggling to absorb the nutrients and digest the food.
Avoid as many additives as possible. I truly believe that additives are hurtful to our health. There are additives in almost everything we consume nowadays. If not additives, there is pesticids. I always try to buy organic fruit and vegetables. Organic bananas have no trace of pesticids compared to "normal" bananas, which contain around 4 different types of pesticides. Same principal goes with coffee. And grapes. Geez, grapes are truly bad. Don't ever buy non-organic grapes, raisins or wine. Unless you want a coctail of poison, that is. Pesticides are substances that are poisonous. Why eat them, seriously?
I am convinced that it is all these poisonous and unnatural substances in our food that is causing us to become ill. They are legal because "they are under the level of what's been proven to cause damage", but do we know for sure what the long term effect of constant exposure of low levels of poison in our food is?
I'm sure you've heard of the term "the coctail effect". I believe there is a lot of reason to take this seriously. All the different additives that are found in our food are not natural and considering our bodies are natural biological organisms, I wouldn't expect them to handle unnatural substances very well. Just like our planet is being littered by plastic, oil and other harmful rubbish, our bodies suffer the same fate.
We feed ourselves with shit. And most of us don't even know it.
I don't like to rant and preach, and this post is turning into a damn rant. I'm not perfect. I buy non-organic stuff. I have eaten and drunk non-organic grapes and wine recently. But I try. I try to eliminate poison from my food. It's choice. I want to eliminate the risk of my future children suffering from Adhd/diabetes/allergies etc - cause I belive these illnesses are due to the poor quality of the food we eat. This is not scientific. It is not proven. To be honest - there is alot to be said about the scientific research of diet and disease. I can only make my own conclusions from what I have read and seen and experienced.
I want to feed my body a colourful, organic, natural, diverse and fair diet. Less sugar, less processed, less gluten, less trans-fats and more clean food.
But I will also eat a cake every now and then. I will have a drink if I want to. I will eat sweets if I feel like it. That is a choice I make, as long as I am aware of the effects it has on my body.
My mental health suffers when I try to restrict myself. Therefore it is of most importance to listen to my body. If I am satisfied/full - don't eat. My body is very capable of telling me when it has had enough. It is also capable of telling me when I need more fuel. I don't need to eat at 12 just because it's lunch if I'm not hungry. But if I am - then eat!! Eat eat! Trust my guts :)
I don't know if you've cared to read all of this, but if you have, remember that all of this are my own thoughts about food and what's healthy. I have no links to sources, basically because I have read so much, both on the internet and in books, and I think it is better for everyone to find information and read for themselves to form an opinion. The above text is my conclusion of what most articles, books and dieticians advocate. Clean, natural foods. A healthy balance between fats, proteins and carbs.
And of course the freedom to choose. But be sure you know what it is that you choose!
