My little obsession

Ok, I'll be the first to admit, I'm obsessed with food. Of course I love to eat food that tastes good, but I've always been curious about how it affects the quality our lives. (Hmmm, I wonder where I get that? Mom? Are you reading this?...) I've read numerous books on "how and what to eat". Each one claims that after following their advice, you will acheive optimum health or lose weight or look younger or turn into a supermodel. They all say something different, yet they all claim to be correct. High carbs, low fat, low protein; high protein, high fat, low carbs, fat free; vegetarian; vegan; raw; gluten free, dairy free, soy free, corn free and, of course, sugar free. They say, don't eat white food or conventional meat, don't eat food cooked above 180 degrees or don't eat food in a box, can or frozen. Some say don't eat chocolate, or drink wine or coffee and others say a little every day is good for you. The skinny bitch girls think everyone should be a vegan and Michael Pollan reiterates that we should just eat food (but not too much and mostly plants). Dr. Mercola says NO grains! And Sally Fallon says eat all the animal fat you want from grass-fed healthy animals, yet Dr. Perricone says "lean meats" are the only way to go. Donna Gates promotes food combining. In other words, you should never mix protein and starches! Well, you can forget about eating your homegrown, organic potatoes along side your local, grass-fed, organic steak ever again!



So what the hell do we eat? Are we down to white rice? Gosh no--way too refined and void of nutrients. Ok, brown rice? Well, I guess if you want to end up with diabetes. How about fruits and vegetables? Uh, hello where's the protein? So what do we eat? And is there one answer for everyone? Ok, now that I've written down that question, doesn't it seem retorical? Of course there is not one answer for everyone! Then how do these people claim that their diets are the right way to go? And boy would I love to have a no-strings-attached ice cream cone once in a while. Yet, virtually every health guru agrees: white flour, white sugar, white rice, refined and processed foods are simply bad for you and pasturized dairy ain't great either.


Aha! that's where I need to start. OK everybody, this much we know: Don't eat white and/or processed foods!


So what is it that we DO eat?