The Forgotten Basics of Nutrition

As a nutritionist it can be easy to get carried away with the more complex side of our job, the laboratory testing and supplement prescription. All too often nutritionists and other health practitioners forget or even disregard the basics that add the foundation to the more complex recommendations.

Of course if you have specific goals, perhaps relating to fat loss, muscle gain or you are dealing with a particular health condition, then a more individualised approach may be necessary, but on the whole our goal should be to create a nutrition foundation we are happy to remain with indefinitely and return to naturally after perhaps a specific diet or returning from a holiday where you indulged a little.

One of my favorite books on the simplicity of nutrition is by Michael Pollen and called ‘Food Rules: An Eaters Manual.’

In his book he outlines 64 food rules, most of which I agree with. Here are some of my favourites:

1. Eat Food – Sounds so simple, but when you consider around 17,000 new ‘food’ products show up in our supermarkets each year you have to ask are these real food?
2. Don’t eat anything your grandmother would not recognise as food.
3. Avoid anything containing ingredients a ten year old cannot pronounce.
4. Avoid foods that are ‘LOW FAT’ or ‘LIGHT’.
5. Avoid foods containing added sugar or artificial sweeteners.
6. Avoid foods advertised on TV.
7. If it came from a plant eat it, if it was made in a plant, don’t.
8. Eat well grown food from healthy soils.
9. Treat treats as treats.
10. Eat animals that have eaten well themselves.

If you would like help establishing some basic nutrition foundations then please don’t hesitate to contact us using the form below.