What I Thought I Knew About Food

I thought I ate moderately healthy.  I try to follow the food pyramid guidelines when preparing food for my family.  I try to buy minimally processed foods and try to stick with fresh fruits and veggies.

I recently heard a guest speaker who spoke on nutrition.  It turns out she had a lot to say. The guest speaker who I heard speak had an "ND" and a "MSN" on her business card.  It turns out that she was a Naturopathic Doctor, she had a Master of Science in Nursing, and was board certified in Integrative Medicine. Integrative medicine combines traditional medicine with more holistic approaches to medicine.  Practicitioners believe in treating the whole person and not just the disease.  The speaker had a lot to say and she had an audience of moms who were listening in rapt attention.


What I did know:

•  Eat a variety of colorful veggies (red, green, yellow, and orange)
• Avoid processed foods or buy minimally processed foods
• Steer clear of GMO foods
• Take a multivitamin
  

What I didn't know:

• You crave foods you may be allergic to (Does this explain my constant craving for potato chips?)
  
• To help determine if you have a food allergy, take your pulse before you eat and then after you eat (if it is 12 beats more per minute than before you ate then it is possible you have a food allergy)
• Don't cook with olive oil due to free radicals when cooking above a certain temperature
  
• The human body doesn't need milk after weaning
• Don't eat pork because there are parasites that are still present even after it is cooked (Ick!)
  
• Don't use microwaves because it changes the food at a molecular level
• Eat fruit by itself
  
• Don't eat after 4 o'clock
• The "whites" such as flour, sugar, etc. can prevent nutrients from being absorbed by your body when eating
• Only use real butter and coconut oil to cook food (I love butter so this sounds good to me!)
• 50% of each meal should be veggies (including breakfast)
• Do yoga-helps lymphatic circulation 
  

The woman who spoke had perfectly good reasons to back up these do's and don'ts.  I couldn't remember all of them.  Many of the moms in the room, including myself, had guilty and incredulous looks. 

In reality most of us could not follow these suggestions simply due to time restrictions, finding other more natural products, and the cost involved.  I know there are a lot of things my daughter does not eat (sometimes the list seems longer than the foods she will actually eat).  A lot of the things the speaker mentioned were also completely opposite of what we are told by the NSDA and traditional medicine.  It is hard to know what to believe when you are given such contradictory information.  Yet, it is food for thought.

In our family, moderation is still the name of the game.  

As one of the moms pointed out, she didn't mention chocolate or wine...they're okay...RIGHT?

What do you think?