We continue on with more falsehoods we've been believing for far too long when it comes to our health and well being. Here are your next two points: 5. The Perfect Diet Exists
I hate to break it you, but there is no "holy grail" way of eating. I used to spend hours upon hours of my days researching the "perfect" way to eat. What foods I was allowed to have, what foods were on my "naughty list", what carbs did to the body, how much protein I should consume... I measured everything down to the oz. and every calorie of food was accounted for, even my chewing gum.
My goal was to find the absolute perfect diet. A diet where I wouldn't crave sugar or caffeine, where I would have the energy and stamina of a teenager, where I would have the most optimal digestion and never have stomach pain, or bloating, where my skin would be clear all the time, my sleep would be the perfect 8 hours and I would always feel rested, and where my weight would just naturally float down to what I envisioned to be the perfect size and shape. This was my mission, and I chose to accept it.
What I found out was very different then what I thought I would though. I never found the perfect diet because the perfect diet doesn't exist. No matter what I tweaked or changed, or how many carbs I cut out, no matter how much dairy, gluten, eggs, nuts, soy, you name it, that I didn't consume, I still experienced fatigue, bloating, digestive complaints, restless sleep, and weight that would initially come off but go right back on again. I used to think that "If I was just more Paleo, or if I just didn't eat that piece of bread, or have those extra almonds" that I would finally achieve nutritional enlightenment, but what I found out was there is no absolute in the way we eat.
We get really down on ourselves when we can't follow a specific plan that we think will change our world forever. "Why can't I just stay on this stupid plan, why is it so hard to not have milk on my cereal instead of almond milk"? These diets seem simple enough, and basic to say the least, so why are they so unsustainable? The answer:
Change
The one constant we have in life is change. We are continuously evolving everyday. Our age changes, our moods change, our interests change, our minds change, so why don't we allow the way we eat to change? Well you can be certain that you have changed the way you eat, and will continue to change the way yo eat. I'm fairly certain you don't drink milk from your mothers breast anymore, nor do you eat baby food...unless you're on the "baby food diet" ;)
Our diet changes when we are sick, when we are training for an event, as we age, it's dependent on our geographic location, the season... Our diets where never meant to stay stuck on one program. Staying on a specific meal plan for the rest of your life means you are resisting the need for your spirit, soul and body to evolve. You are defying your own biology when you dig your heels down and call yourself "Paleo, Low Carb, Vegan, Vegetarian", etc. Do I think any of these strategies are wrong or bad in any way, no, on the contrary I think they are all fantastic, but what if those diets weren't meant to be taken so literally. What if we are actually supposed to take components of each, experiment, have fun, and incorporate each system in accordance to where we are at in life and then move on when it's time to move on?
I encourage you to experiment with different methods of eating but not to go into extremity. Extremity in anything never works out well because we put a plug on change. We deafen to where life is calling us and where we need to accept change. Where to stay and where to move are all hindered when we go into extremes. There is no perfect diet, there is only the best way for you to eat on any given day, and that's going to be subjective to your environment and how you respond to that environment.
6. Organic Means Healthy
I am an advocate of eating sustainably and humainly raised foods. I believe in eating foods that aren't genetically modified, processed and refined, or manufactured for mass consumption. That being said, just because a food product says it's organic doesn't mean that it's necessarily healthy for you.
For example, look at Tostitos chips. They are made with hydrogenated fats and are a refined carbohydrate. They aren't the healthiest option to say the least. Now they have come out with chips that are "baked" and ones that are "wholegrain". This may make the chips seem healthier but they are still the same food. The same goes for organic labels on packaged foods. You can buy a package of cookies but organic sugar is still sugar, organic wheat flour is still wheat flour, they all have the same effects in the body.
Yes, the standard for organic is higher than its counterpart, but it's important to really read the ingredient labels on those foods and take into consideration the amount of processing that's gone into each product. People make the mistake of going into a natural food or health food store and thinking everything is fair game, everything must be good for them because it says organic. This just isn't so.
When choosing fresh produce, nuts, eggs, meat, and diary, I believe organic or locally raised food is definitely 100% the best possible option because of the nutrient value and the way the food was produced. Anything that is pesticide free, herbicide free, sustainably raised, or raw is going to have a much higher nutrient value because of the soil that those vegetables or fruits were grown in, the lack of herbicides and pesticide which strip foods of their value exponentially, and the lack of hormones given to the animals I am choosing to consume, who aren't from feed lot farms feeding on high amounts of corn that goes undigested thus fermenting in their guts. This is why I choose organic or local for these food products.
Anything that is produced for mass consumption, organic or not, is not my first choice. Again, packaged cookies or chips are still cookies and chips. Don't be deceived into believing that everything that says organic means healthy or good for you.