Just start eating better!! Can you trust the health profession?

I don't know how it is with you but it seems most people get stuck on the whole healthy eating thing when it comes to good nutrition.
There is so much misinformation (is that even a word?) out there that it's no wonder people are confused. To make matters worse, even the health profession / industry can't seem to get it right. I just read this the other day in the recently released NZ Primary Care Handbook 2012 under a section called "The NZ cardioprotective dietary pattern".

They recommend
- veges 3-4 servings per day,
- fruit 3-4 servings per day,
- breads, cereals, grains at least 6 servings per day,
- low-fat or fat-free milk products 2-3 servings a day,
- chicken or lean meat 1-1.5 servings a day
- peas, beans, soy products 4-5 servings weekly
- fish, seafood 1-2 servings weekly
- eggs 3 weekly
- liquid oils, unsaturated margarines and spreads 3 or more servings a day (and they even say to have products made from sunflower, soya bean, olive, canola, linseed, safflower, or nuts and seeds OTHER THAN COCONUT! - could not believe that since coconut is probably one of the BEST foods we could have and has many health related benefits.
and on and on it went....

here is the link in case you just can't believe it either...

http://www.nzgg.org.nz/library_resources/92_primary_care_handbook

If that isn't a diet aimed at fattening you up then I don't know what is. If people were to follow this 'cardioprotective' diet here then we would see an increase in cardiovascular disease - and what do you know that is exactly what has been happening the last 40-50 years since this type of diet came out and was promoted. Maybe next time I will go through and highlight WHY and HOW this type of diet actually makes things worse!

It makes you wonder does anyone really know what "healthy eating" is? What are the "right foods" that we are supposed to be eating. What is healthy eating for cardiac sufferers and what is healthy eating for diabetics? Is there even a difference?

Is the 'food' that we see these days full of chemicals and stuff we can't even pronounce properly actually even food?

Many of my clients ask me what they should be eating. Who am I to say what they should be eating? All I know is that I'm still learning about what the best foods are for me - far be it from me to start prescribing diets for others.

However what I find really handy is for people to start actually writing down what they eat each day. Try it for a week and then go back and look over it. You can probably pick out what stuff should not really be in there and so try the next week cutting it out or eating less of that stuff. Changing food / diet is a part of lifestyle change. It happens gradually if you are persistent and keep working at it.

There are a few principles of nutrition that I know have worked for many - and those are usually the things that I recommend to people that ask me about nutrition. Basic as stuff like;

1. eat REAL food (that means miss all the aisles in the supermarket pretty much if you shop there)
2. avoid the foods that have labels full of chemicals you can't pronounce - they usually come in boxes, bags, tins, containers and are stored for ages on the shelf
3. grow as much of your own food as you can
4. buy and eat as many organic vegetables as you can
5. eat meat sparingly (and make sure it is as clean / grass fed meat as possible)
6. reduce your intake of processed foods (that means any food that goes through lots of refinement and processing before you can eat it)
7. eat when hunger ensues naturally

Try doing that for a few weeks or go for the 21 day challenge of eating ONLY REAL foods and see how you feel. Most people find it tough for the first week or two as their bodies adjust but if you can make it through you will be happy with the rewards! I'm not going to tell you what they are cause that will spoil the fun - only those willing to DO will discover... as is the case with everything else in life...