Keepin’ it real (real food)
I am a vegan.
And I can’t stand vegans.
Is there a support group for that? To be fair, I also hate carnivores, Paleo fanatics, the Low Carb cult, etc., etc. Well—I don’t hate them all—but I really hate the fanatic ones—the ones that are just perched there in cyberspace somewhere, just waiting to pounce on you if you make any statement about nutrition whatsoever. I’m sad to say the vegans might be the worst, but the carnivores are nipping at their heels. However, all of these very specific nutrition devotees all have something in common—they are all absolutely sure that they are right. And they are all equipped with quotes from the latest Netflix food documentary—ready to take you down, and bury you beneath eviscerating words of fury.
Common ground
They also have something very positive in common. Wait—can it be? All these know-it-alls, that are so sure their way is the one true path? Yes—they all believe in eating real food. Food that does not have a list of ingredients—food that can be found in nature, that is not processed in any way. What a wonderful common thread to draw all of these armies together under one glorious flag! But it doesn’t happen. Instead, the war of words marches on, and the average person sitting back and watching continues to be confused.
This phenomenon is a great disservice to the two-thirds of the population (US) that is overweight or obese. If all those people just ate a diverse diet of real food, they could all turn their lives around. Instead, we are hit with a barrage of different messages—both from all of these fanatical groups, and from our own governments. I can imagine that it is impossible to know what road to choose, when you are standing at a fork in the road with 10 different paths in front of you.
As someone who has studied nutrition, I can tell you that it isn’t any better in the classroom. In my degree in Global Nutrition & Health here in Copenhagen, all of the options I mentioned above were lumped into a part of a course called “Fad Diets,” and were dismissed as ineffective and unsustainable. I also think that viewpoint is unhelpful.
Tools for your nutrition toolkit
As a nutrition professional, I prefer to see all of these options as tools in a nutrition toolkit. I have a business, The Center for Metabolic Health, where we use the low carb/high fat diet as a nutritional therapy to improve symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes and other chronic diseases.
The Center for Metabolic Health
Does it work? Yes. Is it for everyone? No. My partner in that enterprise is a carnivore—he eats only meat and animal products. We are on two different ends of the spectrum—natural food enemies. But it is quite wonderful, I think, that we can represent these two polar opposite viewpoints, but have the common ground regarding real food. We are then able to help a range of people along the “meat/no meat” spectrum change their dietary habits, and change their lives.
A real food coalition
A final plea—it may just be a cry in the dark, but I have to try. If you are a nutrition professional, try to stay open minded. Use these different diets as tools to help your clients. Do you agree that carnivore is the best way to go? Maybe not—but is it better than what your clients are probably eating right now? Hell yes!
If you are a confused observer watching all of this craziness—not knowing where to turn—try just eating a diverse diet of real food, and see what happens. Real food that doesn’t have a list of ingredients, and that is not processed in any way. If you make that the basis of your diet, you are striking the beneficial common ground that all of these diets share. Good health awaits.
Here’s to keepin’ it real!
Scott