While talking with patients about how to improve the nutritional value of their meals, we used to talk about real food that had not been processed, refined, stripped, polished, fortified, enriched or otherwise modified. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, grains, fish, eggs, dairy products, and meats. And that’s about it.
Here are some guidelines: The first is not to eat anything you have to be told is food. If you have to be told it’s food, it isn’t. Like “processed American cheese food.” Talk about truth in advertising. Some products at the supermarket have names that have nothing whatsoever to do with food. Like Miracle Whip®. Or Cool Whip®. These are not foods either, and that’s why I’m not buying.
Ask yourself why there is food starch in cottage cheese. The answer is that it’s an inexpensive way to make cottage cheese seem richer, which is especially useful if the cottage cheese is made from low-fat milk. You will also find food starch in Cheerios, long touted as a healthy breakfast. It even has a reputation as ideal for babies. Food starch is not food.
So what’s my beef? First on the ingredient list is whole oats. “Whole” comes from the same root as “hale,” “heal,” and “health.” So far, so good. Then food starch, and then modified food starch. Though common sense tells you they are similar, the edibles manufacturing industry actually differentiates between the two. If they were not listed separately, there would be more food starch than whole oats, and it would have to be listed first. That would not be good for business. Ingredient number four is sugar. Three of the first four ingredients are stripped carbs.
Which words have been coopted by Big Ultra Processed to make manufactured products more appealing? There are a great many, but you can start by thinking about words like “fruity,” “buttery,” “creamy,” or “chocolaty.” When did we begin to skip peaches, berries, butter, and chocolate in favor of substitutes with little or no nutritional value, and which attempt to approximate, but never actually deliver, real flavor? It’s no accident that America’s favorite after-dinner pastime seems to be cruising the kitchen cabinets. That’s what happens when your body doesn’t get the nutrients it needs in the first place.
Another way to identify real food is to ask yourself if your great-grandparents [ancestors, see comment below] would have recognized your meal as food. Real food hasn’t changed much in the past few thousand years. Peanut butter? Yes, absolutely. But peanut butter crackers from the vending machine? I don’t think so. Milk? Of course. But coffee whiteners? Not a chance. I can think of only a few “convenience” foods that don’t make me cringe. Real food, like cheese sticks, or dried fruit, which is possibly the original on-the-go pocket food. Nuts are good, as long as they aren’t coated with candy or colors or “yogurt product.” Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are also nutritious.
What about artificial sweeteners? The research on these is not good. Individuals who drink lots of diet soda are at markedly increased risk of developing diabetes, just like those who drink lots of conventionally sweetened soda (pop). So I’ll have a glass of water, or unsweetened iced tea with a slice of lemon. Just like my own great-grandma used to do.
A better description of “great-grandparent” is needed. There are great-grandparents who were born in the 1960’s and are in their ’50’s. I’m thinking the reference to “great-grandparent” would be someone born in the ’20-’30’s. I enjoy reading your posts
Ha! Wait til you hear this… Years ago I cared for a woman in her 70s, a social worker, who was still working. You would never have guessed her age simply by looking at her. She taught me two things about that. She said, first of all, that you should never tell people how old your kids are. Just say “Oh, they’re out of the house now!” We would laugh about that because she was a great-grandmother! And, secondly, don’t tell people what you remember. It is incredibly sweet of you to think that my great-grandparents were born in the 1920s or 30s. In fact, they were all born in the 1880s! My parents were born in the 1930s, and my husband’s parents were born in the 1920s! All my children are “out of the house now.” I’ll save what I remember for another day. One last thing — I’ll start to call them “ancestors.” Thank you for a great insight!
Great comment, as usual! A real treat for Easter!
Thanks a lot, Dr Sukol!
Kind regards,
Elsa Soriano
Buenos Aires
You’re welcome, Elsa! Happy Easter and be well 🙂
Hello, Dr Sukol. All of the real food my mother and grandmother fed our family, when I was growing up (I’m 77 today), tasted and smelled heavenly. It was also full of animal fats, carbs, sugar (Grannie’s Cherry Pie) and other natural ingredients. I was far more physically active as a kid, than today’s
younger generation. But I still needed a quadruple heart bypass at 71. I have a host of other health issues today, that were not likely caused by the natural, organic food I was served. But the fact remains that a person can be the physically healthiest man or woman alive and still drop dead from a stroke, cancer, dementia or an aneurysm. Perhaps the secret to a happier life is to make daily food choices, that are tasty, not toxic and eaten in moderation.
I am certainly glad that you are here to tell us your story. It sounds like you’ve been through a lot. There is no single solution that will serve each and every individual in a beneficial way. What we understand is that certain choices increase the likelihood of good health, and others do the opposite. It’s somewhat of a gamble, I guess you could say. My goal is to help people learn to play in a way that reduces the chances that they will become seriously ill. There are no guarantees, but it does appear that we can improve our chances. Thank you for reading YHIOYP. Best wishes, Dr Sukol