How Diet Food Plans Rob You of Nutrition

Have you ever really looked at what you are told to eat on diet food plans?  A low-carb based diet plan has you eating a ridiculous amount of protein and fat.  Low calorie plans often restrict your options to tasteless, boring meals day after day.  Even the best diet plans struggle to balance nutrition and weight loss, because the food they assign people just isn’t healthful.  What is a person to do?

The Past Offers Clues
Think about how our ancestors ate, even just 100 years ago.  Whole grains, meats raised on the plains while eating grass, vegetables and fruits they grew without the use of chemicals and dairy products straight from the animal – unpasteurized and raw.  Processed foods had not yet been invented, and nearly no one was overweight.

Why are We Fat?
An increasing body of evidence points to the fact that the foods we eat are preprocessed and loaded with salt, unhealthy fats and sugar to entice us to overeat.  No matter what you put back into a food after it has been processed, your body doesn’t treat it the same way it does real, honest food.

Take grains, for example.  Whole grains have an outer layer that is filled with nutrients, fiber and healthy oils.  Those all spoil quickly.  As a result, manufacturers remove this outer layer and store the stripped grain or flour until they are ready.  Often the grain is sprayed with anti-fungal chemicals to prevent it from becoming contaminated.  Later, when it is time to sell the product, new nutrients are added, in chemical form.  Yes, that cereal is fortified – but with what?

Sugar is the Main Culprit
Sugar wreaks havoc on the body’s metabolism.  We are all aware of the fact that we should avoid simple sugars, since the insulin reaction they cause can create highs and lows in our energy.  What we don’t often realize is that sugar hides in many forms.  Even that whole wheat sandwich you are eating can cause a similar reaction.

When your body senses a surge in blood sugar, created by an influx of simple carbohydrates, for instance, it dumps insulin into the blood stream.  The insulin quickly removes the sugar and turns it into fat.  Of course, that causes the awful crash we are all familiar with.  In response, we eat more sugary foods.  Do you see the problem?

What can we do?
Your first goal should be to turn away from as many processed, sugar laden foods as you can.  It takes time, but start by turning your kitchen into an organic and healthy place to eat.  Search for organic produce, grass fed meats, raw milk products, whole organic eggs and poultry, wild caught fish and more.  Try a variety of whole grains such as quinoa, spelt, teff and brown rice – and always combine them with a source of healthy protein.   Get your calcium from dark, leafy vegetables, where it is more bio-available.

Finally, get the knowledge you need to redefine your relationship with what you are putting in your mouth.  This is a journey well worth making and it doesn’t require any diet food plans – just good common sense.