Today Gwen over at Sky & Surf had a great article from a heart surgeon about how eating foods low in cholesterol & low in saturated fats has NOT reversed the tidal wave of people getting heart disease. It was a really great article and something I have believed for a long time now. It basically said to go back to how your grandparents ate. When your grandparents were growing up they didn't have any of this pre-packaged, processed food. They made their biscuits from scratch. They cooked with animal lard. They ate meat, veggies and fruit and baked their own bread. And more than likely they had dessert EVERY night. But guess who has a higher incidence of heart disease? Them or us? You bet your bottom dollar it's us.
If it comes from nature, either in plant form or animal form, it's fare game (pun intended). This is how our grandparents were raised and how people lived before there was refrigeration and foods that could "live" on shelves for 10 years!! I mean seriously, if something has a shelf life of over one year, can that really be good for you? (Not counting canned goods of course, not that canned veggies are the best, but they're better than nothing.) That's why I love finding new recipes that allow me to make dinners from real food. There's nothing worse than making my family a dinner from a box (not that I haven't done it a billion times for times sake). I KNOW that stuff is so bad for all of us. Of course then this leads me down the path of not having time, which leads me down the other path of why it's better for women to stay home, BUT that isn't a topic for this blog, so I will stop there. My point is, the closer we can make our food to how it NATURALLY came, the better. Our bodies were made to consume all things from nature, it KNOWS how to do that. It's made to process those things because that's all we had in the beginning. Our bodies aren't made to process all of this pre-packed, processed stuff!
So my take away message for myself is to go back to what I was doing at the beginning of the year. Look for more recipes that I can make at home that use fresh, natural ingredients. I KNOW that is what's best for me and for my precious family. And they deserve the best, and yes I do too.
Hope everyone is having a great week!!
Well, kinda yes and no, Candi. Yes, of course, we need to get rid of all of the processed foods. But the thing is, the inflammation is caused by carbs. Even whole wheat/grain products are carbs that our bodies change to sugar, same as table sugar. Our increase in diabetes, heart disease, and obesity is caused by excess carbs, whole grains included. We have to get rid of the grains to get rid/lower the inflammation. Stop worrying about cholesterol and start worrying about inflammation.
ReplyDeleteBut yes, fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts, and seeds (and dairy, if you aren't lactose intolerant) are VITAL. That is what should make the majority of our meals/foods...nothing in a box, plastic bag, or in a can. Shop the perimeters of your market, or better yet, shop organic.
Glad you enjoyed the article. Something similar planned for tomorrow! Thanks for the link!
We will agree to disagree about sugar & wheat/grain. I say if it ain't broke don't fix it & it wasn't broke for 1000's of years until processing was brought into the game :)
ReplyDeleteHi Candi! I'm happy for you that you are considering adding more healthy natural foods to your diet.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that any doctor thinks that animal lard is a healthy thing. I understand that any fat that is solid at room temperature is to be severely limited.
Noodles are processed, flour is processed, sugar is processed. Those are all things that you can't pick up off the farm, and require a factory stop to do a lot of conversion. I used to agree with your viewpoint, but when I really limited sugars/grains, my weight started dropping immediately. Limiting refined carbs is the only way I could be size 10 right now. And it stops cravings too.
:-) Marion
Again we will happily agree to disagree. Doctors make educated guesses based on the knowledge they have at the time and what works for one person may not work for another person. I think that all things (minus processed crap, not bread and noodles of which there are perfectly acceptable healthy versions of, but actual crap) are good to enjoy in moderation. I am happy that you've found what works for you in order to get you to those last few pounds! One day I'll get there :)
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