Blog

Yesterday was a rough day in the world of meat eaters.  The New York Times published an article claiming proof that eating red meat increases your risk of death.  I hadn’t actually seen the article, but 3 of my first 4 clients made sure to tell me all about it, wondering if I had a witty rebuttal.

I talk about paleo eating a lot.  During my workday as a personal trainer and a nutrition consultant it is not unusual to have 3 or 4 (if not more) separate conversations on the topic.  I'm not surprised with the amount of skepticism I run into.  I can’t help but think it is because of all the misleading “certainties” we hear about diet -- by-the-way, coffee is good for you again.  Or maybe it’s because of the numerous diets that offer as many stories of failure as success. In fact, just this morning one of the gym’s TVs broadcast the “Best Diets of 2012”.

I have yet to finish talking about fat and the role it plays (at least should play) in our lives.  And based on the response I got from my first post, there are a lot of intrigued, yet skeptical people.  Not to worry; I’ll keep the facts pouring in and have you eating more fat and getting healthier in no time.  But first I wanted to take a step back and discuss the term “health” (especially since I’ll be throwing it around on a regular basis), and the link between health and nutrition.  I’ll also get into the basic guidelines everyone should design their diet around to promote a long, healthy lifestyle.

To this day, it is a largely held belief by the general public that dietary fat is to blame for obesity and heart disease.  Though research has clearly shown this to be a myth, it has taken such a deep root in our society that the mere suggestion of fat being good for you is greeted with scoffs.  Here’s a little cartoon to illustrate how this came to be:

It’s sad really.  We have spent the last few decades shaping our lives around a health myth that has in turn made us sicker.

I'm a sucker for puzzles.  I enjoy problems that can be looked at with fact, or at least reasonable evidence, and a logical conclusion be drawn.  That is probably why I always did so much better in math than in English.  There were too many opinions and not enough fact.

Although nutrition is its own science, it is often regarded as opinion much more than the other sciences.  There are still so many competing points of view; it is unfortunately hard to pin down the fact from the myths.  I feel the best approach is to be open about nutrition, roll with the research, and discover what works best for you. An objective mind-frame will lead you to a path of health.