(Subject line is an old Dutch proverb. Those Dutch. Don’t you just love them?)
I just finished Nina Planck’s book Real Food and I highly recommend it. Some highlights:
- Real butter is good for you. (And really? Is there anything that isn’t improved by a little butter? I’m just saying.)
- Traditional foods (stuff we’ve been eating for centuries) aren’t causing our “modern diseases” (heart disease, diabetes, etc.)–industrial foods are. Corn oil, sugar, trans fats. (Our sedentary lifestyles aren’t helping, either.)
- The “low-fat=reduced risk of heart disease” theory has been disproven. Time and time again. (And the whole cholesterol thing is also getting some scrutiny.) We’ve attacked the wrong kind of fats–we’ve been eating animal fat since, well, just about the beginning. Trans fats? Industrial fats? Not so much.
- Our bodies aren’t designed to say no to sugar. In “nature” (that’s a weird phrase, isn’t it? In nature? Like, can you be out of nature?), we don’t run across gross amounts of sugar (when’s the last time you ran across a bee hive and stopped for some honey?), so our bodies have no use for an off switch for our sweet tooth. But now we’ve saturated nearly everything we eat with sugar (read labels, you’ll be shocked). Fantastic!
Everything I’ve been reading lately has been pushing the same things. Eat whole, real foods. As in, eat things without labels (what are the ingredients in a cucumber?). As in, if it’s something God made, it’s probably good for you. If it’s something a scientist made, it’s probably inferior. Sorry, scientists. I’m sure you meant well. But look at margarine–a true testament to the power of advertising. We were all convinced that this high-tech “food” was better for us than butter. And gee, look how well that turned out.
So, enough about food. We’ll talk more food after the holidays. If you’re going to do the forty-day Maker’s Diet with us, I hope you’ll take the time to do some pre-reading. (Jordan Rubin’s The Maker’s Diet, obviously, and Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food and Nina Planck’s book are three I definitely recommend.) Oh, but one more food-related tidbit: Did you know that sugar has its own lobby in Washington? Nice.
In other, completely unrelated news. 1. It is cold here. 2. I’m loving A Year in Provence but I actually don’t think I would want to restore an old house in a foreign country, no matter how much I love books about people who do that, and no matter how good a fantasy it makes. 3. Oliver and Gracie have been really cuddly lately. Last night while I was on the couch, Oliver actually climbed into my fleece jacket and curled up on my lap. I’ll leave you with a picture:
6 Comments
My family is Dutch. And I do love them.
I also love the pics with the cats, and the insight on food. But especially the picture with the cats… oh, cuddly animals are the best.
Dutch people rock! I’m making that assumption based on you and their proverb on butter. What more proof does one need?
Butter… mmmmm…. yummy! It’s a lovely proverb, and one that I mean to take to heart. I agree with you about eating real, good foods with few ingredients. It’s the way I was raised, and it’s what I like best. Thankfully, I never developed a taste for Twinkies!
And as for cats and cold weather, we are actually experiencing a lovely cold snap in Florida. This has been the longest period of cool weather that I’ve experienced since moving here in 1991. I love it! And my cat is very cuddly lately, too. His little cat face is just so cute!
Sounds like everyone’s a little frostier this year! Maybe we’ll finally have actual snow up here. Even though Wilmington is colder than Orlando in the winter, I’m glad to live in a place that doesn’t have “real” winters. My body is still a Floridian and would not survive a harsh winter.
Oh yes! Winter time is an excellent time for cat companionship. Penny has been much more inclined to jump on our laps. I love it. She keeps me warm, and I keep her warm. The only thing is, when I have a cat anchor, I get very little accomplished!
I know–I never want to move the cats once they sit on my lap, so I usually end up spending more time on the couch than I initially meant to. When that involves a good book, I feel justified and happy.