It’s no secret: America has a weight problem. Let's be honest though, a lot of countries have issues with obesity. When you think about how most people live, it is no surprise that a bulk of the population has a few more pounds then they should, but what really bugs me is the type of nutrition that is imposed on us as a counterbalance to this epidemic. We live in an age of organic vegetables, sugar free sugar, and vitamin water,but have these new products really made any impact on America's current health state? I think you know the answer already.
What really sucks about ever trying to eat healthy is how expensive it is to do so, that is if you don’t have a fairly generous budget for food, you will not be able to buy fresh vegetables and the leanest cuts of meat. Thankfully though, fresh and high quality is not necessary for a decent life, after all, we have come from days when we were not guaranteed a meal every day, yet alone one with all of the daily recommended amounts of vitamins and minerals. There have also been studies that have shown that people on a calorie restricted diet tended to live longer, as it sort of pushed the body to be ultra efficient in its absorption of nutrients.
People have all sorts of different body types and although certain foods are definitely more harmful than others, in the end, it’s what you do that will determine the extent of your health. If red meat was honestly as bad as most vegans proclaimed it to be, people would be dying in droves. I am not advocating extremes in any kind of diet, as I have always thought the best diet is one that doesn’t go to extremes but one that entertains many food choices and a variety of portions to boot. You are expected to eat many small meals in a day and this is the most efficient way for your body to metabolize food, but as a lot of you know personally, with work and school and parenthood,there is often times just no time to entertain some of these healthier eating habits. If all you get to eat is breakfast, then don’t be afraid to have some bacon and sausage, or even a donut for breakfast is better than nothing at all.
I have read so many articles proclaiming the horrors of sugar and processed foods. They tell me I should avoid whole milk and white bread and white rice, yes folks, white rice. This is the kind of shit that really gets my bowels in a frenzy, in an age where we have chicken sandwiches with pieces of chicken as the bun, you are going to tell me that even white rice isn’t healthy enough? Fuck you. I like white rice and as far as I know, it’s quite popular in Asian countries and they seem to be a healthy bunch as far as I know. People also walk a lot more in other countries too, so that accounts for some of the weight difference.
So let’s talk about the heart, because that is the main reason people get onto the health kick. Cholesterol is a real danger and I’m not advocating you all eat fried chicken every day because it will clog your arteries up eventually, but if you had a balanced diet and spread your choices around, chances are you wouldn’t be over doing it on one particular nutritional no no. You can’t eat McDonalds every day and expect to feel good, but if you have it a couple times a week, it will more than likely not be the cause of your death. While fast food certainly has a ridiculous amount of sodium, so does everything else, but guess what? We’ve been eating this stuff forever and it’s not as deadly as one would think, but it’s our attitude towards it and the marketing of it that have started to change how it negatively impacts our health.
Again, it’s down to business. Food is pleasure, people like to feel good and people want to make money off of that and it’s a damn profitable business. Eating is one of our most primal desires and the pleasure of eating itself is much akin to the pleasure of sex to the brain. So really, good nutrition becomes more a matter of control then just eliminating anything that actually tastes good. I can admit to being in fairly decent shape, but I work out regularly and my job is very physical too, so I can sometimes eat more calories then somebody who sits at a desk all day. I have times when I eat garbage and then I have times I eat healthy. Sometimes I crave a spinach salad with tomatoes and peppers and sometimes I’m ordering a large cheese pizza, the fact is, I try to see food as a means to something, that is eat some stuff simply for the pleasure of it and some stuff because I know it will benefit me nutritionally. For instance, after a workout, you won’t find me eating a candy bar or anything like that, I want real food, but if I’m out drinking with some friends, I’m going to order a juicy burger or wings to compliment my already pleasurable evening.
People need to stop demonizing food and making people feel horrible for having cravings and guilty pleasures. You really can have your cake and eat it too and it can be a cake with real sugar and not Splenda. Enjoy your Starbucks mochachino or whatever the hell that shit is called once in a blue moon, but a regular cup of coffee a few days a week won’t kill you either, it has done well by people for centuries now. I guess what I really wanted to say with all this is that you don’t need to live by any extremes to be a healthy person and even if you have a few extra pounds that does not make you unhealthy. If you really think more about it, all the people that are easily prone to gaining weight would have been the only people that survived in the early days of man because when food was scarce, they still had fuel to draw upon, whereas someone extremely thin would succumb to famine and exhaustion more readily. As with everything in life, balance is paramount. There is no reason to go vegan your whole life, but a couple days a week would be great; there is also no reason to stop eating red meat, but you don’t need steak for dinner every night; no reason to quit drinking soda either, but if you are able to pay for gas at the end of the week with the money you got from recycling the cans of soda you drank from the start of the week, then perhaps it’s time to adopt another beverage of choice.
Carbohydrates have become the new enemy in this day and age and if you read around, you will find lots of people telling you to avoid them like the plague. In case you don’t know, there are simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates, the simple break down quickly for faster energy, the latter more slowly for prolonged energy. Now while avoiding excess sugar is certainly going to allow you to avoid the dreaded sugar crash, avoiding complex carbohydrates can leave you feeling exhausted and without energy. Most people would be better off eating the complex carbs to give themselves energy to work out and be more active, instead of simply trying to starve the body of nutrients in order to lose weights. Now, if you are seriously over-weight, some of this may not apply to you because your issue is beyond mere bad nutrition and involves a lack of control or using food as a means to fill in some void.
We should never feel that there is only one way or one type of diet that will guarantee us good health, because as individuals we all process things differently and have different demands on our body. I think it’s important that we evaluate our own health needs and determine what and truly we should be eating. I know many people, just as I’m sure you all do, that are in great shape, have a ton of energy and no health issues to speak of and these people are not drinking diet sodas, sugar free cookies, and carbohydrate free pasta. Variety truly is the spice of life, so be sure to include that in your attitude towards food and stop taking cues from people who do nothing but worry about what they put into their bodies. Our species has been through a lot of shit to get to where we are today, so if you want to eat some ice cream people, enjoy!
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