The past month or so, I've been learning a great deal about nutrition. Trey and I are slowly working on changing what we eat, and I am working even more slowly on changing how it is prepared. I have a lot more learning and research to do, and it will be years before our diet and food spending habits look substantially different from what they did two months ago. Trey has already told me that he feels healthier from the little changes that we have made. All I can say for myself is that I have had a healthy pregnancy, which must be connected somehow to diet, and that since we've made a few changes in our diet, my acne has cleared up. The scars are even healing, which used to be a terribly slow process even when I wasn't breaking out.
A lot of what I have learned makes sense to my somewhat logical brain. For instance, most people know that there are fat-soluble and water soluble vitamins. I shouldn't be surprised to learn, then, that my body needs fats in order to utilize the fat-soluble vitamins. Low-fat is not a healthy option. Also, 1/2 of a cell's membrane is made of saturated fat. Half? Of every single cell in my body? Why, then, would I try to strip saturated fats from my diet? I want healthy cells!
The real bad fats are the hydrogenated ones, but thankfully most people know that these days. Other things we are avoiding are petroleum-based preservatives, fragrances, and dyes, and I am trying to get away from vegetable oils (other than olive oil), which are processed at such high temperatures that the fats are damaged, oxidized, so that they then cause damage in the body.
There is a sampling of what I have been absorbing recently. I'll post some links to the blogs I'm reading sometime. I haven't finished reading it, but Nina Planck's book Real Food has some very interesting and helpful information on nutrition and how our bodies process foods. Trey and I are, meanwhile, enjoying nitrite-free bacon (oh, and I keep all those good drippings to cook with), lots of eggs, butter, and whole milk. And, you may be surprised, we're not getting fat.
6 comments:
Hm . . . I like this! Dad
This is confusing and very interesting. Tell us more!
Teehee! I knew you would like it, Dad! :)
I thought the same thing at first, too, Lyd. Apparently a lot of the problem comes in the way the low-fat and "healthy" foods are processed. For example, 2% and skim milk have powdered milk added to them to make them thicker, but the process of powdering the milk creates those nasty free radicals that wreak havoc in our bodies. I think you and your mom were the first to tell me, too, that the food pyramid we base most of our eating habits on was developed from a political rather than true nutritional bent.
I will keep posting as I learn more. I realized last night while talking to Trey that I need clearer definitions to a lot of my terms.
OK, Walmart doesn't have bacon w/o nitrites! Where might one find this kind of BACON? Dad
Yeah, I had a hard time finding it. Our grocery sells a Hormel brand that has no nitrates or nitrites added (they also have a pepperoni that is w/o added nitrates). The other brand is Central Market, which is local, I think. Beware! They are a good bit more expensive.
It's Hormel Natural Choice (I checked). You could ask if they might order some for you, which they should be willing to do if one of their suppliers carries it.
Have you been reading Sally Fallon? I've been reading Nourishing Traditions and so many things are making sense! It seems like a much more sensible way to eat and live (for a long time, not just a season). It's a relief to know that the right fats are okay. Foods lacking in fats are just so unsatisfying and leave me wanting . We've been eating whole fat yogurt and it's so much better--I actually like yogurt!
Tuan is on board with this book which is great and we are taking baby steps as time, life and budget allow. Camp food is certainly discouraging, but my goal for us and the kids is to make the best choice available at the time (and fight the urge to fall into a legalistic adherence to whatever Sally says). Keep updating when the baby allows!
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