The prescription for good daily nutrition is fairly simple: choose healthy foods from the basic Food Guide Pyramid*. This prescription assumes you are a healthy adult, within your desired weight, and get some regular exercise. It also assumes you’re drinking plenty of liquids during the day—tea and water the preferred libations—about six to eight glasses/day.
I like the Pyramid for two reasons. One, it promotes the six major food groups and recommended number of daily servings from each group. I think there’s a valid reason for the major food groups, so unless you have a food allergy, don’t delete one. (Don’t you just love those fad diets that tell you NEVER to eat bread and NO fruit after 2 p.m.?) Two, it explains what a “serving” is, i.e., 1-1/2 ounces of natural cheese or one cup of “raw leafy vegetables.”
My only issue with the Pyramid is its lack of differentiating between whole foods and processed foods. For example, the Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Group lists that a 2-ounce piece of processed cheese counts as one serving. And not all bread, cereal, rice and pasta are created equal (the largest food group that allows us 6 to 11 servings/day.) Please note that there are refined grains and then there are whole grains. Sorry, but do we really think that a sandwich consisting of two slices of “Wonder” bread with two ounces of “Velveeta” is healthy? Okay, there is some nutritional value, and if that’s all someone can afford, then so be it.
Before I go further, I want to tell you that I am not a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist. I have, however, been interested and studied the benefits of natural /whole foods for more than 25 years. This came about by accident: When I was working in health care communications I was asked to write “nutrition” scripts for a weekly radio program. Interviewing dietitians, reading food labels, and reading articles, journals, food books, whatever I could find, allowed me to gain useful information that I might not otherwise have pursued, and I wrote some fairly decent radio scripts on what people should be eating and why.
So when my husband, David, was diagnosed with cancer, and his physician put him on a moderate vegetarian diet (part of the treatment protocol), as meats and some other foods were far too acidifying for his system, I felt I was already one step ahead of the game. But I soon realized I still had a lot to learn.
We were told to eat as much raw and fresh foods as possible (nuts, fruits and veggies), and preferably organic. There was no limit to the types and amounts of fruits and vegetables we could eat daily, similar to the Pyramid that calls for up to nine servings of combined fruits and veggies. Breads, cereals, rice (all 100% whole grain, of course) were also high on the list. As an aside, and what I mentioned earlier about my one “issue” with the Pyramid: For any grain product, here’s a simple rule of thumb: AVOID ANYTHING THAT’S WHITE. The processing of these grains depletes most of their original nutrients, rendering them nutritionally void.
For David’s health issues, sugar also was OUT, as was red meat, poultry, alcohol and cheese (note: molasses and REAL maple syrup were okay). But fish, eggs, yogurt, some oils such as olive and sesame, were IN. Although the Pyramid suggests fats, oils and sweets be eaten sparingly, what I think this really means is to avoid fried foods and limit foods with added sugars. Pretty sure we shouldn’t be eating anything with nitrates either.
As David’s health improved, however, we slowly started adding some of his favorite foods back into the mix, or should I say “sneaking” them back into the mix—but only sporadically. He now occasionally has a slice of organic chicken, grass-fed beef, and loves a little natural cheese on crackers with no hydrogenated oils. We continue to eat mostly vegetables, fruits, beans, eggs, yogurt, sprouted breads and whole wheat grains.
Rx for good nutrition? Check out the * Food Guide Pyramid and enjoy whole foods.