Good, Better, Best- Navigating Through Nutrition

I am not a nutritionist or a health professional, and there are so many diets out there it makes my head spin. Each one seems to be claiming to be the diet that is best for the human body, builds the most muscle, or burns the most fat. Can it really be that difficult to figure out?

If you are eating with a purpose, what you eat depends very much on your goals and desires. A runner's diet is probably going to be 70% carbohydrates and a body builder's 50% protein. There is the vegetarian crew who say humans weren't created to eat meat and the paleo crew who say meat is a part of our primal nature. Vegetarians can be strong and healthy, meat eaters can be strong and healthy and so it goes on.

 What all reasonable diets have in common is portion control. You might be eating the healthiest food available, but if you are eating too much, your body becomes overtaxed, and it shows.

  If you're going to get in on this debate, you've got to be sure you know what a calorie actually is. The dictionary says,"a quantity of food capable of producing such an amount of energy." OK, so calories are basically energy. But as you may have heard calories are not created equal. Which means you shouldn't forget about them, but you should be focusing on nutrients, what actually feeds your body. 

 I think most health professionals would agree that Americans need to greatly reduce their consumption of diary and meat, not to mention processed sugars and chemically laden foods. I would agree. Lets not forget the record high rate of heart disease and obesity. Its very important to know, when you are trying to serve healthy food, what are the caloric and nutritional needs of the members of your family. For example, does Dad have a manual job? Is Mom pregnant or nursing? Is anyone trying to lose fat or build muscle? Do your kids play sports? What are the energy needs and how do you supply them in a healthy way?

All of this is useful but if you are like me, on a budget with a big family to feed, buying and serving healthy food can be a serious challenge. No matter where you are at, eating a plant-based diet is a must for good health. For me this pyramid works, but I would add in some whole grains for energy and fun.  

 We all do the best we can under the circumstances. We are not trying to lose fat or gain muscle in our house at the moment, so we are very much in the middle of the road. A good diet for us would be whole grain breads, plenty of non-organic produce, oats, whole grain rice, low fat non-organic diary (not fat free), one or two meals of chicken per week, a night of turkey, a night of eggs, and a dinner with fish in it. A good diet does not include any fast-food or prepackaged meals. I've been known to go through a drive through a few times a year, or buy frozen meatballs for a party, and I love soda now and then. But we don't make a habit of these foods. It takes more work in the kitchen and more planning and looking ahead to make a good diet work for a family. A good place to start is to figure out what you don't need to be eating and clean out your kitchen cabinets. 

 If there were a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's closer than a hundred miles from my house and my food budget were much bigger I would eat a much healthier diet. I'd buy organic produce, high quality meats, and organic diary, eggs, and fish. I'd mostly shop the perimeter of the store, and go nuts with foods which are as close to their natural state as possible. I'd still stick to clean staples of beans, chicken, potatoes, rice and green veggies, but the food itself would be delivering so many more nutrients to my family. If your budget would allow a few organic items, I'd shoot for organic animal products. If you have specific fitness or weight loss goals, its important that you find out what nutrients you should be consuming.  

But I'm keeping my eye on the prize. What is best for your health and mine is to grow our own food. I just said that. We should take control of what food is available to us and gain a higher level of independence. Most people are very far away from being able to do that, myself included. But I'm not letting the hugeness of it stop me from planning, dreaming, and working for what is best. Until I get to my own small farm, I can buy local produce in season and learn to be patient. Buying produce in season brings the best possible nutrients to your table. The only way for us to be content with this more natural way of eating is to ditch our love affair with variety and convenience. No, you probably won't be eating pineapple and avocados in December or ever, unless you live in the tropics. But when you taste apples in Virginia in the Autumn, you will forget all about pineapples, believe me. Whenever we give nature a chance she blows our socks off. 

Predictably a good diet is average, a better and healthier diet requires more money and convenience, and the best diet is the most difficult to achieve and the most rewarding. We don't have to wait until everything is just right to have a part of what is best. We can do a little. We can plant herbs in pots if we don't have garden space or plant tomatoes in the backyard.  

One size does not fit all. But their are some key principles when it comes to nutrition that can apply to everyone. Adhere to the serving size standard, eat a plant based diet, know how much energy you actually need for your lifestyle, and minimize your consumption of fast foods from the grocery store or from the restaurant. Don't get discouraged when the status quo is not ideal. Be thankful for the food on your table and keep working for what is best.