Two Universal Rules

If you have been reading 1MN for awhile, you probably know I don’t advocate for one diet over another. The best diet is the healthy one you can and will follow consistently.

That being said, there are two universal rules that everyone in the nutrition world agrees upon. (Credit again goes to Michael Pollan in his great book "Food Rules")

Here they are...

#1 - Populations who eat the typical Western diet (Standard American Diet), filled with “lots of processed foods and meat, lots of added fat and sugar, lots of refined grains, lots of everything except vegetables, fruits and whole grains,” have high occurrences of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

#2 - Populations who do not eat the Western diet, don’t suffer from those chronic diseases.

Sort of crazy.

You have populations like the Inuit in Greenland living mainly on seal blubber, super high fat, who don’t suffer from the same diseases we do.

AND

You have populations like the Central American Indians living on mainly maize and beans, super high carb, who don’t suffer from the same diseases we do.

AND

You have populations like the Masai in Africa who eat mainly cattle meat, blood, and milk, super high protein, who don’t suffer from the same diseases we do.

What do they have in common?

They don’t eat the Western Diet.

Pollan says, “People who get off the Western diet see dramatic improvements in their health. We have good research to suggest that the effects of the Western diet can be rolled back, relatively quickly.”

So if we live in America, or any other culture in which the Western Diet is the prevailing diet, what do we do?

Well, we have to work a little harder to eat a diet that is not going to lead to the health issues we want to stay away from.

So, at the risk of sounding like a broken record...we need to eliminate or drastically reduce:

1. Vegetable Oils (found in processed foods)

2. Sugars

3. Refined Flours

Simple, but not easy.

So today, let’s find foods that work for us...

Foods that are not in the Western Diet, and breathe easy knowing we are pressing all the right buttons for a long and healthy life...one-minute at a time.

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If you are new to the blog, I want to encourage you to go back and check out my previous posts, as they serve as the foundation for what we talk about each week.

In addition, if you, or anyone you know would like to take your nutrition to the next level, please contact me about my coaching services.

Here's to the best version of you!