So in the spirit of the Body portion of our Triad of Virtue. I speak a little about diet.
If someone were to ask me, “If I want to be healthy, how should I eat?” this is how I would tell them to get started:
I would start by cutting out all refined carbohydrates, simple sugars in other words. This might be a lot easier to do, except that we are surrounded by them, particularly in the U.S. The standard American diet (SAD) is loaded with processed sugars. Pick up any food product and if you see either high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or corn syrup on the label, put it back. Foods that you will be returning to the shelf include things like ketchup, many salad dressings, canned fruit, frozen pizzas, boxed cereals, many yogurt products, and granola bars. Of course, any sweetened soft drink is out…loaded with HFCS! Just about anything not on the outside wall of the grocery store should probably stay there.
What else has simple sugars? How about all bread products! I mean all bread products: pasta, tortillas, buns, rolls, croissants, biscuits, corn bread, donuts, muffins. This includes the whole grain varieties. Whole grain anything is a farce. Stop eating anything made with wheat or corn flour, it was not meant to be eaten by us. For goodness sakes, stop eating bagels! They give you no nutritional bang for the calorie buck, and on top of it they will cause an insulin spike which will make you hungry again very, very soon. If you are living in squalid conditions with very little food, then wheat and corn are cheap sources of energy and will keep you from starving. Otherwise, you have no reason to eat these. Corn and wheat are basically sugar, and they come with a cost of causing inflammation as well. On top of all of this, most of these products are made with “refined” flour. This means that the stuff (you know, the fiber stuff) that might have had a little chance at being good for you (but unfortunately is really not) has been taken out; only the part that raises your blood sugar with zero nutritional value is left. If you live in conditions where food is readily available, then there is really no nutritional reason for you to eat these foods. None!
No, no, no!
It goes without saying that cookies, cakes, ice cream, candy, and other such dessert foods are a no-no as well. Everyone wants an occasional treat, but you did ask me (see first line of post).
The SAD is causing a type 2 diabetes and an obesity epidemic…period. In the U.S., it is about how much people are eating…they are eating too much, but they are eating too much because WHAT they are eating is making them eat too much. The sugar/HFCS loaded diet Americans have been duped into is causing premature illness and death. This diet puts you in a death spiral of hunger with little nutritional benefit: eat sugar, insuiln spikes, get hungry after the crash, so you eat more sugar (this includes all simple carbs), insulin spikes, get hungry after the crash, eat more and more. All the while, your body stores all the extra as fat. All of this eating tragedy was started when the “low fat” guidance started becoming popular. Unfortunately, it’s not the fat, it’s the sugar. It is making your body store excessive fat, and it is not making you less hungry. Cut sugar out of your diet.
No, no, no!
You’ve been told that low fat is the way to go. Don’t fall for it! The first thing you need to avoid is refined carbohydrates. If you can, stop eating them altogether.
Of course, don’t take my word for it (here are my credentials). Search for yourself.