There is so much confusion with the enormous amount of food information out there. We hear the words low fat, lean, diet, enriched, processed, natural, organic, allergy free all associated with food. On top of that we work long hours and have no time to eat well so we take easy options such as take out or microwave foods. Food product manufactures drive our food industry rather than nutrition research based on what a healthy human body is required to eat or what we use to eat pre industrialisation of food.

Eating well is simple if you begin with how you value food.

FOOD IS as vital as clean air, water, movement, sunlight, rest, sleep and rich nutritious soil for food to grown in by healthy farming methods.

FOOD IS for nourishment to provide building blocks to heal and repair your body (transition) and to keep you alive and functioning.

1) Eat what we are designed to eat – Primal food or Hunter & Gatherer (Predominantly whole fats & proteins from healthy pastured animals,  fish that is line caught & seafood). Science can back this up as can historical evidence. We are addicted to carbohydrates particularly grains (wheat, corn, rice etc). They are made available to us in absolute abundance because of mono crop industrial farming which is often genetically modified as well. We make most of our snack & convenient food out of them e.g. cereal, cakes, biscuits & bread. Carbohydrates are addictive because they are essentially sugar. I recommend eat organically grown vegetables as your main carbohydrate source. We are also addicted to processed vegetable oils as we cook in them and find in our food products. For inspiration & education read this material & be constantly discerning:  Primal Body Primal Mind (a very well referenced book but I don’t agree with using supplements as a transition. I use herbal medicine and find it very effective). Weston A Price (our most important nutritional pioneer) and a wonderful book for Vegetarians, The Vegetarian Myth. Note: this is not a carnivore diet as we are omnivores.

2) Eat what is grown or reared naturally in nature from rich nutritious soil. Eat seasonally, eat locally (to the best of your ability).

3) Prepare food well by following ancestral & cultural food preparation traditions. The lost art of food preparation has occurred because we live in a fast paced society with convenience as a preference. Preparing food well preserves food, increases nutritional density and is better digested.

4) Repair Digestive Function & Support your Liver if you do not have a Gall bladder. Eating a whole foods diet after eating processed food or eating little meat & fats will initially feel uncomfortable on your system and you may need some herbal support. Weeding out some bad bugs & cultivating healthy good bugs is also important. Balancing pH is done by repairing digestive function. Cleansing Seasonally helps this process.

5) Experimentation with flavours, tastes, recipes, food styling etc follows these 4 vital principles.

6) At the end of the day it is SIMPLE WHOLE NATURAL FOODS.

Check out my “What I eat?” blog for photos and recipes

Comparing Current food Diets with a HUMAN DIET:

MODERN DIET:

• Does not consider the Source & Processing of Food
• Diet or food has very little impact on Health
• Its a diet offered for symptomatic treatment of ill health eg a lowering cholesterol diet
• Belief in food marketing by Food Giant Corporates
• Follow Government Dietary Outlines – Food Pyramid
• Based on Industrialized: Foods, Production, Technology & Chemicals to produce Food
• Diet supplemented with uppers & downers (natural or medicated supplements , foods, fluids or drugs) eg caffeine
• Processed Food
• Poorly Sourced Food
• Supermarket Food
• Fast Food
• Junk Food
• Cheap take out
• Convenient Food
• Ready to eat Food
• Supplemented or Medicated Food
• Packaged Food
• Lifeless Food

HEALTHFOOD DIET:

• New ideologies eg •Vegetarian or Vegan Diet  •Blood Type Diet •Weigth Loss Diet •Cholesterol Lowering Diet •Acid/Alkaline Diet •Allergy Free Diet •Other Specialised Diets •Fad Diets
• A diet created for a diseased state or imbalance
• Considers some source & processing of food
• Considers some underlying causes of ill health
• An individual following a this diet seeks many health pracitioners
• Tried many diets
• Juicing
• Tried everything & feel confused  & overwhelmed & disheartened
• Diet works for a while
• Diet needs Supplementation with Super Foods or Vitamins etc

HUMAN DIET: this is our goal..

• Considers the source & processing of food
• Considers ancestoral & cultural foods
• Considers the holistic Circle Of Life
• Considers the health of animals, plants, environment
• Understanding of human physiology and what we are designe to eat
• Understands the evolution of the human being
• Considers the underlying causes of ill health
• Fat & Protein (eggs, dairy, meat, organs, bones stocks) as primary human fuel sources from animals rasied as close as to how they would live in nature – grass fed, sunlight, fresh air and water. Some cooked some raw. Slow cooked. Low temp cooked. Seasonal vegetables. Some cooked and some raw. Small amounts of fruit. Small amounts of seeds (grains, beans, nuts, seeds – properly prepared)….

What I teach my clients:

• Clarify and simplify the different food groups and their impacts on your health.
• Factors such as farming/source, processing, storage, transportation and food preparation, which affect the quality of foods that you eat. About Organic and biodynamic local foods that have little or no processing.
• How to implement healthy food into your everyday lifestyle and where to shop.
• Review whether one diet fits all. Yes we are all human beings but we also have individual nutrition requirements, which are affected by your health status and lifestyle.
• Ancestoral foods – what we ate pre processing of foods and industrial farming methods.
• Food history – the politics, religious influences and the business of making money!
• Read food labels if food comes out of a packet, check ingredients, where the product was made, best before or expiry date and organic certification.
• If you are buying raw whole foods such as meats, dairy, fruit, vegetables, buts, grains and legumes, learn how to ask your retailer where your food has come from, who is the farmer and where is it farmed, when did it arrive in store, ask whether it is certified organic and by who.