The "Human Being Diet" Vs Reading Nutrition Labels

Nutrition is one of the most confusing andby-product is optimal body composition. It's a
contradictory components of the Health andrequirement for health; therefore, the body will
Wellness field. Opinions and advice regarding diets,use that food more efficiently.
food choices, cooking methods and supplements2. Choosing foods because they are labeled
are overwhelming. It's hard to know where togluten-free. Now this one is certainly more
turn or who to listen to.understandable, since gluten sensitivity is a serious
As a result, I continually witness people makinghealth concern. Actually, we're all gluten-sensitive
rather odd choices, all in the name of "nutrition".to some degree. Again, the challenge lies in how
It's unfortunate that food choices are consistentlywe act upon certain information and the choices
made based upon certain isolated components ofwe make as a result. One particular family I work
specific food. For example, whether a product iswith has two children with rather serious digestive
fat-free or low-fat, sugar-free, low in calories, lowissues and gluten-sensitivities. The parents shared
in carbohydrates, low in salt, or gluten-free arewith me that they regularly feed the kids 'foods'
some of the factors I see people solely baselike M&M's, Skittles, Tootsie rolls, cheese
their decisions upon.puffs, gluten-free cakes and cupcakes complete
Another segregated way of looking at nutritionwith icing and sprinkles, as well as an entire host
(as opposed to a holistic, whole food approach) isof toxic condiments and dips to "make them eat
to choose certain foods, or components of thosetheir healthy food"... all because it's gluten-free.
foods, based on one of its qualities thatIn these first two examples, I see the common
supposedly aids in some symptom or conditiontrend of people selectively reading labels, looking
we may be experiencing. For example, selectingonly for what it is they want to see. They
certain foods because they are supposed to becompletely fail to see the toxic load they're
anti-inflammatory in nature, or help to lowerconsuming because of their laser beam focus. You
cholesterol or blood pressure, or help you burncan't create health when you're choosing foods
fat.for a single ingredient and inadvertently poisoning
Although we certainly vary in our personalyourself in the process.
preferences of food choices, human beings share3. Choosing foods for a supposed health benefit
essentially the same genetic requirements forthey have. This approach is not as damaging as
nutrition. In order to express health, we all requirethe two previous ones. It's just based on an
a variety of fresh real foods, closest to theirinaccurate model of nutrition. One client I work
naturally occurring state, with the fewest toxinswith was diagnosed with an advanced arthritic
possible.condition several months ago. He still looks at
I like to call this the "Human Being Diet".nutrition through 'allopathic lenses', where individual
When we start basing our food choices onsupplements and foods can be used to treat
isolated ingredients and components rather thansymptoms. Yes, this is safer than drugs, but not
the overall nutritional value of food, we fall shortas effective as an overall Wellness approach to
of achieving health. We fail to see the forestnutrition.
(optimal health and function) for the treesSince he has read and heard in various health
(segregated components of the food). Thereports that foods like pineapple and cherries help
obvious exception to this is avoiding a food duewith inflammation, he recommends to all his
to a toxic ingredient. That's an intelligent choice.friends with arthritis that they load up on these
The only successful approach to making nutritionalfruits! I remind him that the first focus is to eat a
choices that will result in lifelong health and balancebalanced, healthy diet - one that is pure and
is to focus on creating a holistic, balanced diet. Wesufficient and has minimal toxicity and deficiency.
need to look at the big picture. When we fail toPervasive toxins, modern day 'food' made in a
do this, some of our segregated choices seemchemistry lab, stress, and sedentary living are far
rather silly.more critical when dealing with inflammation and all
Some recent examples of well-intentioned, butother pillars of chronic illness... NOT a deficiency of
inaccurate nutritional choices that clients havepineapple and cherries!
shared with me (and granted me permission toSo, while it's a good thing that more of us are
share here) are:actually reading labels and making attempts to
1. Choosing foods and beverages because theychoose healthier foods, unfortunately we're basing
are labeled "low carb". This is a client that hasour choices on skewed information and an
struggled with her weight for years. Wheninaccurate paradigm.
grocery shopping, her number one focus isWhen we follow a simple, holistic approach to
reading labels to see if a food choice is low carbnutrition - like the "Human Being Diet" - the natural
or not. She admits that many products areby-products are welcomed changes like optimal
purchased that are toxic and lacking nutritionalweight and body composition, little-to-no sensitivity
sufficiency... but they're low carb! Is decreasing ourto foods, and less likelihood of developing the
carbohydrate consumption inherently bad? Ofpillars of chronic illness, like inflammation or stress
course not. It's when it's taken out of contexthormone release.
that it no longer supports optimal health. WhenFocus on Health first!
the focus is on real, whole, pure foods, a natural