Healthy Food Pyramid
By Lynn, webmaster of A Natural Food Diet | Natural Food Articles
I am not a nutritionist, and after listening to In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto (or paperback) by Michael Pollan, nor am I fond of nutritionism. Natural, wholesome foods don't have to be broken down into their nutrient parts before I'll know if I'm eating "right" or "healthy." The truth is, eating a wide variety of natural, organic, whole foods will supply your body with everything it needs to work at its peak efficiency. Only the most exacting lifestyle would lend itself to the necessity of a more specific and determined arrangement of foods and nutrients. By that, I'm talking about professional athletes and others who regularly push their bodies to extremes to get every possible advantage from it. So, below, you have my own personal healthy food pyramid.
As you can see, what I've discovered from extensive research about natural food diets tells me that the majority, if not all, of my diet should consist of natural, organic and whole foods. Sometimes it's not realistic to expect to be able to eat only organic, or natural, so there's just a bit of wiggle room for slightly processed foods. That said, anything heavily processed should be avoided, even if it means going without entirely. I would rather go hungry if my only options contained trans fats or multi-syllable, unpronouncable ingredients.
I admit my "healthy food pyramid" is a little simple, but it fits with the philosophy that a good diet of natural foods and organic produce doesn't have to be a regimented thing. You can eat a variety of foods, in a variety of ways, at a variety of times. If, however, you compare it to the USDA Food Pyramid, you'll notice the serious difference between the two approaches.
My approach says you should try to avoid thinking of food as nutrients. As for the USDA Food Pyramid, it tries to tell you what to eat each day, how much of certain foods to eat each day, and yet it doesn't tell you what to avoid. Let's be blunt. No matter what the food industry tries to tell you, there are bad foods out there, and some foods do not have a place in our diets. "Anything's okay in moderation," they say. I don't believe it and neither should you.
So what is real food? Let me tell you. Real food is...
Related resources
- Organic Food Online
- Guide to locating organic food online for home delivery
- Processed Food Chemicals
- Guide to the chemicals used in processed foods to preserve, ripen, or improve the taste and texture of food products
Related articles
- Real Food Is...
- Guide to choosing and eating real food
- Natural Food Diet
- Why your diet should contain natural foods
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan is only one of the many books I've read or listened to about eating natural food. The book discuss most of the principles I've incorporated into my lifestyle and of which I talk about on A Natural Food Diet. This book is a must read for anyone who worries about what the culture of nutritionism and the food industry's special interest groups are doing to our food supply.
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