10 Food Lies We've Been Fed
In the 1970’s, as a child, one of my favorite rituals was eating a bowl of sugary cereal (either Kellogg’s or General Mills brand) with milk while watching Saturday morning cartoons. Cereal and milk was my primary breakfast foods during my entire childhood. In fact, I don’t really remember ever eating anything else for breakfast. Today, as adults we have bagels, muffins, danishes and donuts, which is really just the same thing – lots of sugar and zero nutrition. Add in sandwich bread/buns for lunch and pasta or rice with dinner and we can easily see that our bodies run on grain and/or sugar all day long.
After forty-something years the result is insulin resistance which leads to weight gain, muscle loss and disease. Just about everyone who is overweight is insulin resistant. Addicted to carbs, my body had forgotten how to utilize fat for fuel. If I didn’t eat carbs, it would go after muscle mass. When I looked in the mirror a few months shy of my 50th birthday, I saw someone I didn’t recognize. Who was this fat, dumpy, middle-age woman looking back at me? I was 5’6” and weighed 207 lbs. My BMI was 33.4 and my health was slowly deteriorating.
In March 2017, I embarked on a journey of health and weight loss. I read several books including The Paleo Diet and Wheat Belly. In a former life I was vegan and had already read all those books, including The China Study and Anti-Cancer. After a decade trying to find the best nutritional plan for me I’ve discovered that much of the conventional wisdom about food is a lie. Today, I am fit and trim and other than walking my dog and lifting hand weights, do very little exercise. I’ve learned that we each have to educate ourselves and can’t count on the messages that have been fed to us for the past 50 years. Here is a list of lies we hear every day.
Lie #1: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
No, it’s not. As long as you are eating nutritious, whole foods regularly, your body loves a 12-18 hour fast. A short fast gives your body a chance to catch up on healing damaged tissue caused by high blood sugar and forces your body to use fat for fuel. One caveat, if you are not eating enough whole foods and you fast, your body will use muscle for fuel, which is the opposite of what you are trying to accomplish, so don’t do that. Whole foods are defined as non-processed foods that exist in nature (steak, chicken, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds). If you are not hungry in the morning, don’t eat until you are.
Lie #2: Fat is bad.
On the contrary, fat curbs your appetite and prevents over eating. Carbs cause your blood sugar to go up and down all day long which makes you hungry all day long. I love my fatty foods. Go ahead and eat the marbled ribeye steak. Pour on the olive oil. Cook with real butter and/or coconut oils. I use heavy whipping cream in my coffee each morning. This fills me up and I don’t miss the sugar at all. When your body becomes “fat adapted” and regularly uses it for fuel, your body’s hormones return to normal, your sex drives comes back and your energy level goes through the roof. Your mental health, moods and outlook on life also get better. You feel like you are on top of the world.
Lie #3: Follow the USDA MyPlate recommendations (formerly the food pyramid) for optimal health.
These recommendations are ridiculous and amount to malpractice in my mind. Just about all the research that went into them was funded by big food manufacturers who want you to buy more soy and grain based products.
Lie #4: Whole grains are healthy.
I’ve learned there’s no such thing as healthy whole grains. It’s a lie perfected by high paid marketers of the country’s largest food processors who want to stimulate your appetite so you will buy more of their product. Grains - which include rice and quinoa - are not necessary for a healthy diet and in fact they are an appetite stimulant and increase blood sugar. High blood sugar (which leads to inflammation) is the root of all chronic disease (arthritis, heart disease, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, cancer). MyPlate recommends I eat 5 ounces of grains a day which is ridiculous. This is the equivalent to 5 slices of bread. I’d be huge if I ate that much bread per day. Eliminate grains and you protect yourself from these diseases while also losing weight.
Lie #5: Women need to eat 1,600 – 2,000 per day.
Because I was following that logic, I was fat. Based on my experience of losing 50 pounds, my body is optimized at 1,000 – 1,200 calories per day. When I need to lose fat, I drop my calories to 800 for a few days. Men should be around 1,800 calories per day on average. However, at these lower calorie levels, it’s critical that every calorie have value and provide nutrition. Grains and processed foods do not provide value. If you are eating enough protein and fat, you won’t be hungry.
Lie #6: Salt is bad.
We need salt to live. However, if you eat a lot of processed and ready-to-eat foods, which are loaded with salt, you should not add salt to anything. However, if you are eating whole foods, natural diet, you must add salt both for flavor and as an essential mineral for survival.
Lie #7: You need to exercise to get your high school figure back.
Another lie. Yes, I know this tip is not a food tip, but it’s worth mentioning here. Your body will naturally add muscle and burn fat by following a whole foods based diet and by avoiding processed carbs and sugar. In fact, for those of us with office jobs, the Paleo or Ketogenic diet is ideal.
Lie #8: Get enough fiber.
It’s true we need fiber, however, we shouldn’t be getting it from grains because whole grains stimulate your appetite and will make you eat too much. If you are eating nuts, fruits and vegetables daily, you will get enough fiber.
Lie #9: Milk does the body good.
Ingesting a cow’s breast milk is not natural. That’s why so many people are lactose intolerant. Humans don’t need milk after infancy. Some people drink it for the vitamin D, but there are better ways to get vitamin D, namely through sun and vegetables. The casein protein found in milk is like a glue and hard for the human body to digest. Reduce dairy consumption and you can probably also reduce the need for fiber supplements. Help your bowels move easily by avoiding or minimizing diary. That being said, I do use heavy whipping cream in my coffee and eat a little cheese here and there. PS, eggs are not dairy products.
Lie #10: Avoid the sun.
Sunlight has enormous health benefits and is tied to nutrition, so I include this tip. Sunlight provides vitamin D – more than you could ever get from milk or supplements - which are necessary for strong bones, plus it makes you happy. The key is to avoid sunburn which is inflammation of the skin. Remember, it’s inflammation that causes cancer. I try to get just enough sun to get a little tan. Lay outside for 15 to 20 minutes on each side, once a week, and you will look and feel great!
After forty-something years the result is insulin resistance which leads to weight gain, muscle loss and disease. Just about everyone who is overweight is insulin resistant. Addicted to carbs, my body had forgotten how to utilize fat for fuel. If I didn’t eat carbs, it would go after muscle mass. When I looked in the mirror a few months shy of my 50th birthday, I saw someone I didn’t recognize. Who was this fat, dumpy, middle-age woman looking back at me? I was 5’6” and weighed 207 lbs. My BMI was 33.4 and my health was slowly deteriorating.
In March 2017, I embarked on a journey of health and weight loss. I read several books including The Paleo Diet and Wheat Belly. In a former life I was vegan and had already read all those books, including The China Study and Anti-Cancer. After a decade trying to find the best nutritional plan for me I’ve discovered that much of the conventional wisdom about food is a lie. Today, I am fit and trim and other than walking my dog and lifting hand weights, do very little exercise. I’ve learned that we each have to educate ourselves and can’t count on the messages that have been fed to us for the past 50 years. Here is a list of lies we hear every day.
Lie #1: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
No, it’s not. As long as you are eating nutritious, whole foods regularly, your body loves a 12-18 hour fast. A short fast gives your body a chance to catch up on healing damaged tissue caused by high blood sugar and forces your body to use fat for fuel. One caveat, if you are not eating enough whole foods and you fast, your body will use muscle for fuel, which is the opposite of what you are trying to accomplish, so don’t do that. Whole foods are defined as non-processed foods that exist in nature (steak, chicken, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds). If you are not hungry in the morning, don’t eat until you are.
Lie #2: Fat is bad.
On the contrary, fat curbs your appetite and prevents over eating. Carbs cause your blood sugar to go up and down all day long which makes you hungry all day long. I love my fatty foods. Go ahead and eat the marbled ribeye steak. Pour on the olive oil. Cook with real butter and/or coconut oils. I use heavy whipping cream in my coffee each morning. This fills me up and I don’t miss the sugar at all. When your body becomes “fat adapted” and regularly uses it for fuel, your body’s hormones return to normal, your sex drives comes back and your energy level goes through the roof. Your mental health, moods and outlook on life also get better. You feel like you are on top of the world.
Lie #3: Follow the USDA MyPlate recommendations (formerly the food pyramid) for optimal health.
These recommendations are ridiculous and amount to malpractice in my mind. Just about all the research that went into them was funded by big food manufacturers who want you to buy more soy and grain based products.
Lie #4: Whole grains are healthy.
I’ve learned there’s no such thing as healthy whole grains. It’s a lie perfected by high paid marketers of the country’s largest food processors who want to stimulate your appetite so you will buy more of their product. Grains - which include rice and quinoa - are not necessary for a healthy diet and in fact they are an appetite stimulant and increase blood sugar. High blood sugar (which leads to inflammation) is the root of all chronic disease (arthritis, heart disease, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, cancer). MyPlate recommends I eat 5 ounces of grains a day which is ridiculous. This is the equivalent to 5 slices of bread. I’d be huge if I ate that much bread per day. Eliminate grains and you protect yourself from these diseases while also losing weight.
Lie #5: Women need to eat 1,600 – 2,000 per day.
Because I was following that logic, I was fat. Based on my experience of losing 50 pounds, my body is optimized at 1,000 – 1,200 calories per day. When I need to lose fat, I drop my calories to 800 for a few days. Men should be around 1,800 calories per day on average. However, at these lower calorie levels, it’s critical that every calorie have value and provide nutrition. Grains and processed foods do not provide value. If you are eating enough protein and fat, you won’t be hungry.
Lie #6: Salt is bad.
We need salt to live. However, if you eat a lot of processed and ready-to-eat foods, which are loaded with salt, you should not add salt to anything. However, if you are eating whole foods, natural diet, you must add salt both for flavor and as an essential mineral for survival.
Lie #7: You need to exercise to get your high school figure back.
Another lie. Yes, I know this tip is not a food tip, but it’s worth mentioning here. Your body will naturally add muscle and burn fat by following a whole foods based diet and by avoiding processed carbs and sugar. In fact, for those of us with office jobs, the Paleo or Ketogenic diet is ideal.
Lie #8: Get enough fiber.
It’s true we need fiber, however, we shouldn’t be getting it from grains because whole grains stimulate your appetite and will make you eat too much. If you are eating nuts, fruits and vegetables daily, you will get enough fiber.
Lie #9: Milk does the body good.
Ingesting a cow’s breast milk is not natural. That’s why so many people are lactose intolerant. Humans don’t need milk after infancy. Some people drink it for the vitamin D, but there are better ways to get vitamin D, namely through sun and vegetables. The casein protein found in milk is like a glue and hard for the human body to digest. Reduce dairy consumption and you can probably also reduce the need for fiber supplements. Help your bowels move easily by avoiding or minimizing diary. That being said, I do use heavy whipping cream in my coffee and eat a little cheese here and there. PS, eggs are not dairy products.
Lie #10: Avoid the sun.
Sunlight has enormous health benefits and is tied to nutrition, so I include this tip. Sunlight provides vitamin D – more than you could ever get from milk or supplements - which are necessary for strong bones, plus it makes you happy. The key is to avoid sunburn which is inflammation of the skin. Remember, it’s inflammation that causes cancer. I try to get just enough sun to get a little tan. Lay outside for 15 to 20 minutes on each side, once a week, and you will look and feel great!
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