Obviously I started this blog post yesterday, but we had an extremely crazy day at work so the five seconds I took to write the first paragraph is about the only break I had! We had a second event last night, and I ate mostly gluten free. I had quite a few stuffed mushrooms, which I realized half way through may have had breadcrumbs in them. I felt no ill side effects if they did, but considering I have had little benefits from the diet thus far, I wouldn't expect to have side effects from a tiny amount of wheat.
By the end of the night last night I felt like I may have been coming down with a cold, so I went home chugged a huge glass of fresh orange juice and went straight to bed. I felt pretty bad this morning, thought getting up would help....and now, by the end of the day, it is definitely worse. I think I officially have a cold. A stuffy nose, scratchy/sore throat, stuffy ears, congestion and achey cold. Sigh. Alas.
Late last week I finally finished Wheat Belly, and I picked up Michael Pollan's Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. This was a much, much faster read than Wheat Belly - I actually read it in one night. I have read Michael Pollan's work before, specifically The Omnivore's Dilemma. I find his insight on the intersection of society, culture, and food to be extremely interesting. I also kind of love his nickname from a 2006 New York Times book review, "liberal foodie intellectual."
After immersing myself for the past twenty days or so (I started reading the books before I started the diet) in gluten-free propaganda - it was good to step back outside that box a bit. Pollan does not necessarily buy into any diet or fad. In fact, he points out quickly in his book how new the science of nutrition is - and how little we know about what is good or bad. His belief is wrapped up in a simple statement that first appeared in In Defense of Food: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." This next book, Food Rules lists 64 general food rules that are based on this idea. This states the essentials in an easy-to-digest format (pun intended), that is easy to flip through again and again.
He feels there are two basic facts within what we know about food and health. First, that eating a diet consisting of processed foods and meats, high in fat and sugar and a lot of refined grains is a problem. And second, that traditional diets (whether a traditional Inuit diet, French diet, Spanish diet...) do not seem to have the health problems that we as Westerners, with our processed foods, have. Additionally, nutrition science does not seem focused on these facts. However, you can find these facts inside the current literature out there on nutrition. In fact, I would argue that a lot of the literature written to be consumed by the public on nutrition (meaning literature outside of medical journals and studies) does focus on these rules - but in a variety of ways. Wheat Belly focuses on how different the wheat of fifty years ago was from the wheat of today - and in that way we have strayed from our traditional diet. Or the literature on Paleo calls for a return to a very traditional diet of meat and vegetables. However, all these so-called diets do focus on what to remove. Or on telling people what to eat. Or focusing too much on science, and not enough on tradition.
This is where Food Rules comes in. This book is different from most. It contains sixty-four simple rules, focused on eating healthy and happy. Each page is a different rule, and some, but not all rules, are accompanied by a short explanation (two paragraphs at most). If you are thinking of starting any sort of journey in which you change the way you eat for the better - I would encourage you to pick up this book. It is short, to the point, and a great place to start. I certainly will not list all the rules, you have to buy Michael Pollan's book for that, but I will tell you just a couple that really stuck with me - to whet your appetite...
One of my favorites was "Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food." In trying to get to a more whole-foods based diet - this is an easy mantra to think of each time I pick up something to put in my mouth.
Another that I have really been trying to incorporate into our diet is "Eat animals that have themsevles eaten well." (The next rule is about buying a freezer...). I have been trying to focus on buying meats that were raised and processed locally, from nearby farms - whether it be from the Farmer's Market or Butcher. And although Mr. X would say I am crazy, I swear there is a difference in the quality and taste of the meat. I've actually been toying with bringing up the idea of a freezer with him. Something small we could put in the garage, but would allow me to buy larger quantities of meat, when I find a good deal on local items.
Although there are many more rules that quickly jumped out at me, I do not want to ruin his book - so I will only mention two more that are things I need to incorporate in my (and our) life. The first is "Stop eating before you're full." I know I am very guilty of doing the opposite, and then feeling over-stuffed and uncomfortable. I need to learn to listen to my body and slow down, so I can just eat to the point of no longer being hungry, instead of being full. And second: "Do all your eating at a table." I believe this is an important component of not eating until you are full and being able to listen to your body - is eating at a table. We are very guilty of eating in front of the TV almost all nights lately, and we should really make more of an effort to sit at the table. Not just because it is overall healthier for our bodies, but also for our relationship and family.
Again, I would recommend Food Rules as a quick and easy way to make yourself think about they ways you interact with food, the ways you eat, and they ways our culture makes you think about your relationship with food. If you enjoy it - then you can go on to read other books on the same subject...but this is an easy first one.
So here I am - day #17. I am going to continue gluten free for thirty days, but at this point I don't think I will continue to be gluten free once I reach my goal. There really have been no notable benefits. Although it will be interesting once I do have gluten after the thirty days, if there will be adverse effects. At this point that is the only thing that will make me reconsider. And hopefully this cold doesn't get any worse....all I want when I have a cold like this is soup and saltine crackers...and that obviously is not on the menu!
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