In the meantime, I wanted to share an article that came out today in the LA Times that warns consumers of the marketing ploy food companies are now employing to have consumers purchase "Smart Choices" labeled foods.
Many of my patients come in confused as to what pertains a healthy diet. What with the conflicting information and marketing ploys out there to get consumers to purchase healthy foods - including this "Smart Choice" labels, no wonder! What I always tell my patients is to eat foods that come from the earth and that has been barely processed. But don't all foods come from the earth at one point? they ask. Sure, but from eating a tomato or an apple or a lean cut of meat, compared to eating Froot Loops, Twinkies, and fast food burgers, which one do you think has the lesser amount of work done on the food? Which one requires just washing, cutting and eating (or in the case of meats, cooked, then eaten)? The first three foods. The latter three foods came from a natural food source, sure, but then they were processed using all kinds of chemicals, additives, flavorings, colorings and god knows what else, to be sold to the consumer. It's a far cry from what it originally looked like when it came from the earth. Eat foods your grandmother would recognize, instead. And unless you have a digestive disease like Celiac disease or diabetes, I always like to tell my patients to eat anything - but everything in moderation. Focus on a variety of vegetables, but meats are good for the body, fish keeps the blood smooth and flowing, and carbohydrates of the complex kind (like whole wheat, quinoa, amaranth, etc.) provide the burst of energy we need. The rest - alcohol, caffeine, sugar/desserts, dairy - those are fine as long as it's occasional. I tell my patients, If you've been eating a really good, clean, healthy diet, reward yourself one night with a gorgeous red wine or a sumptuous chocolate cake! Eating shouldn't be about punishment, calorie-counting, or starvation. Eating is nourishment for the body and soul, and we want to eat foods that promote longevity, vitality and stamina.
So to use Michael Polan's mantra, Eat Food, Mostly Plants, Not Too Much.
If you are interested in improving your dietary habits and/or wanting to see how well your organs and body systems are functioning, I provide nutrition counseling and assessment at Iyashi Wellness. In addition to filling out a questionnaire, during the assessment, I take my patients through several quick tests to evaluate what nutrients their organs and body systems may be lacking. Based on this assessment, I prescribe whole-food based nutritional supplements from Standard Process. Because Standard Process' supplements are high quality, whole-food based using mostly organic ingredients, the body is able to better absorb the supplements nourish the body as opposed to the synthetically created supplements that are commonly available in the market. Please contact me if you are interested in a consultation or nutrition assessment at info@iyashiwellness.com or 424.248.5576
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