Is there such a thing? There’s so much confusion around fat, carbs and proteins, how they are or aren’t prepared, where they did or did not come from, whether they store fat, build muscle, increase longevity, stabilize mood, increase libido etc…. this list, as you can imagine, goes on forever.
Unfortunately we’ve been mislead. There is no perfect food or diet.
However, there are imperfect foods that are perfect for your physiology! Just because a food is considered “good” or “bad” by or for someone else doesn’t mean that is applicable in any way to you. We’ve seen this play out time and time again. Your friend looses twenty pounds on raw foods and you seem to gain weight.
Of course we can make blanket statements that by sticking to real, unadulterated foods will increase your chances of a foods nutritional value actually being utilized by your body, but it pretty much ends there. Plenty of otherwise “healthy” foods have the potential to wreak havoc. Let’s take a look at some of these healthy foods and the potential bad that comes with them.
EGGS – We’ve heard much of the old dogma surrounding them (eat only the whites, avoid the cholesterol and fat at all costs) I’ve even written about them a few times in the past attempting to shed light on the situation. But even if you have the most perfect, pasture raised egg on the healthiest diet possible you still run the risk of potentially gut irritating proteins, like Lysozyme.
SPINACH – One of the many health food kings. Packed with vitamins and minerals in amounts sure to meet your daily value, but did you know they also contain potentially harmful oxalates? Plants need their protection from predators too so many have create these unique components that can wreak havoc on those enjoying them. Oxalate is an organic compound that many have attempted to link to the formation of kidney stones, although no real association has yet been identified.
CRUCIFEROUS VEGGIES - Better known as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and other nightshades that pair so well with dips and spreads and are chock full of nutrients. Did you know they also have a dark side, acting as goitrogenic inhibitors of thyroid function. We obviously don’t want to inhibit the very mechanism that controls our metabolism. Hint: cooking rids of most goitrogens in food.
BACON – Yes, it’s on here and I consider it a healthy food. I consume a local source that is fed a natural pasture diet giving it a very natural fatty acid ratio. Unfortunately the bulk of the bacon out there is quite the opposite. Most swine is raised on a commercial diet loaded with genetically modified soy and corn. You may be asking why this is so detrimental? We are what we eat, and animals that are not on their natural diet develop disease, sickness and an unnatural ratio of inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids, which in turn causes inflammation within us upon eating.
NUTS AND SEEDS – A quick easy snack on the go, right? But what about phytic acid? This anti nutrient blocks the absorption of all the good stuff, vitamins and minerals. Thankfully a quick soak can help remedy most of this.
FERMENTED DAIRY – Yogurt, kefir and cheese. All have been around for centuries and all loaded with beneficial bacteria that we so desperately need. If only they weren’t also loaded with lactose and casein, that many can’t tolerate.
I could honestly keep going, but I think you get the point. There is no perfect food and depending on where you are in your journey all or none of these may or may not work for you.
There’s no reason in worrying yourself into paralysis upon what’s best. By learning what foods are most ideal for you the chances of consuming imperfect foods goes way down.
What are your thoughts? Do you worry about food perfection?
This post was adapted from http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
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