What Is Food?

Posted by Brian - 07/31/08 at 10:07:01 am

There is a commercial on television right now for a body fat reduction pill, the name of which I can’t recall, where the spokeswoman talks about what the company claims as the leading causes of body fat.  They list them in the following order:

• Having Kids
• Stress At Work
• Lack of Exercise
• Poor Diet

Obviously, the marketing team for this product realizes that the average American doesn’t want to blame their health problems on themselves and their poor, Western diet, and so “poor diet” is listed last in hopes that the viewer will be too busy blaming their kids and job as they reach for the phone to order to devote any attention to the real issue.

Now, I have faith that any person of average intelligence knows that to achieve their health and nutrition goals, they have to maintain a proper diet, but I’m still amazed at the things people will put in their bodies in the name of healthy eating.

Let’s take a look at what is and isn’t food, and a few “rules of thumb” that you can use for your next trip to the grocery store.

Real Food is…

…grown and then picked.  It is (preferably) hunted and killed.  It is full of vitamins, minerals, some protein and carbohydrates and…wait for it…fats.  Yes, fats!  Real food is not light (or lite), fat-free, reduced this, that, or the other.  It is exactly how nature intended.  It is not processed, or created in labs.  It does not contain such things as: food coloring, aspartame, phosphoric acid, or potassium benzoate.  And, no, that is not a random list, but half of the ingredients in a Diet Coke⁽¹⁾, the others being carbonated water, citric acid, caffeine, and natural flavors (more on “natural flavors” in a future post).

Oh, by the way, did you know that the potassium benzoate in your Diet Coke is the same substance that is used in fireworks to make them whistle when ignited?⁽²⁾ Yummy!

Real Food is not…

…packaged in colorful boxes (the best is in no box at all).  It is not “sponsored” by cartoon characters or endorsed by athletes.  Yes, this includes the happy little sunshine with his two scoops of raisins and whomever they put on Wheaties these days.  If you can’t tell, I haven’t been down a cereal aisle in quite some time. Why?  There are many reasons outside the scope of this post, but suffice to say one reason is because cereal lives in the abyss that is the center of the grocery store.  Which brings us to the fact that…

Real Food doesn’t live in the abyss

You may have heard the adage that if you stick to the perimeter of the grocery store and avoid the center aisles, you’ll be fine.  This statement makes a lot of sense.  Just think of all the things on the perimeter of the store: fruits, vegetables, meats.

Now, of course, there are some exceptions to this rule.  The most glaring of which is that Kroger (and I assume other chains as well) has their bakery on the perimeter, just outside of the fruits and vegetables section, in most of their stores.  But there are other, less obvious, exceptions as well.  Several items in my pantry or refrigerator right now that have come from the abyss are: olive oil, nuts, El Pato tomato sauce, a large variety of spices, and almond butter.

Note: The almond butter I have is actually from Rainbow Blossom, but many grocery stores that stock this item do so in the abyss (just make sure you don’t buy the brands loaded with sugars and extra oils).

Food often does not have ingredients labels

If they have to tell you what’s in it, chances are you shouldn’t be eating it (especially when you can’t even pronounce what’s in it).

The only exceptions are, well, mostly those items I mentioned above (nuts, El Pato, almond butter, etc), and in every one of those instances, not only can I pronounce each ingredient, but I actually know what each ingredient is.  It’s hard to go wrong when the ingredients are almonds, cashews, tomatoes, and the like.

Additional items that may qualify as an exception are some beef, poultry, pork, and dairy products.

And have you ever noticed how it’s the foods on the perimeter of the store, outside of the abyss, that have the fewest labels and ingredients, while the ones inside have the most?  Funny how that works, huh?

Pay Attention

There are countless, quality sites floating around the ‘net discussing real food and great ways to prepare it.  You may be surprised by the number of simple, quality meals you can make with real food and a few spices.

There are also some good tidbits floating around in your own backyard.  For instance, check out Andy’s Gyminee post called “Don’t Eat Foods that Can’t Rot“, a review of Michael Pollan’s book “In Defense of Food: An Eaters Manifesto” as well as Susan’s “Eating Organic on a Budget“.  Andy and Susan (as well as Mr. Pollan) appear to be more crusaders, championing the cause of real food.

And next time you’re at the grocery store, think about what you’re putting in your cart.  Look at the ingredients.  Do you know what each one is?  If not, put it back.

What?  Oh?  Most of the items in your cart don’t have an ingredients label?!?  Then you’re already on the right track!

Citations:

(1) - Wikipedia: Diet Coke

(2) - Wikipedia: Potassium Benzoate

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