The February 2011 issue of Men's Journal features an article entitled, Everything You Know About Nutrition is Wrong.The article is based upon Gary Taubes' latest book, Why We Get Fact: And What to Do About It.
I have not read the book, but I'd like to share some of the highlights of the article with you. I'm also very interested in your feedback and reactions. Many of the ideas run contrary to what I've previously read.
Everything You Know About Nutrition is Wrong
1. Don't go on a diet -- change your diet. ". . .one of the best predictors of weight gain is having been on a diet at some point in the past."
2. Don't eat anything with BHA, BHT, sodium nitrate "Shop only the periphery of the supermarket, choosing whole fruits, vegetables, meats, fish and dairy products -- instead of fruit juices, canned vegetable soups, chicken fingers, fish sticks, and chocolate-covered ice cream bars. . ."
3. Don't count calories ". . .hormones control whether available calories in the body are stored as fat or liberated as energy."
4. Get to know the glycemic index "If calories don't make you fat, what does? Carbohydrates, especially simple ones like sugar, honey and refined white flour."
5. Eat meat from farms not factories. "Grain-fed meats tend to have more fat and fewer nutrients -- such as omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, and beta-carotene -- than wild and grass-fed meat."
6. Eat leafy green and brightly colored vegetables at every meal. "Leafy, cruciferous, and brightly colored vegetables are also excellent sources of fiber and complex carbohydrates, and they contain less sugar than most other carbohydrate sources."
7. Put your mind into mindless eating "Stay stocked up on healthy, low-GI foods like nuts, beef jerky, cheese, plain yogurt; low-sugar fruit berries and apples; and even energy bars made from only whole ingredients. . ."
8. Go easy on the fruit ". . .because of its high sugar content, you shouldn't think of fruit as the all-you-can-eat food group many nutritionists purport it to be."
9. Eat some saturated fat -- eat more omega-3s ". . .you should vary the type you consume by rotating through beef, poultry, fish, game and pork, in addition to eggs and plant-based protein like soybeans."
10. Learn to cook "Process foods play no role in fine cooking, and simple carbs are usually not the main ingredients in most high-quality recipes."
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My love of breads, pasta, beer and fruits run contrary to much of this advice. However, more meat/egg consumption is tempting.