Food

What Should I Eat?

Last month we attended ‘What Should we Eat’, an evening set to answer the biggest question of all time. It consisted of an epic panel of industry experts including Lola Berry ( Nutritionist ), Damon Gameau ( That Sugar Film documentary), Trainer Luke Hines, David Gillespie ( author of Sweet Poison ), and all the way from the UK - Joe Wicks ( The Body Coach! ).  So I bet you are dying to hear the answer to the biggest question of our time - What on earth should we all be eating?

If only the answer was that simple, but alas, there is no easy answer to this question as it encompasses many complex aspects including different body types, food  intolerances, and cultural and spiritual beliefs. Many topics were discussed and debated, however the two big take homes of the night were more in line with What Should we NOT Eat. Our expert panel were unanimous that the biggest dangers in modern diets are excess sugar and carcinogenic chemically extracted vegetable and seed oils ( “vegetable”, canola, soybean, peanut, sunflower, safflower, rice bran, just to name a few ), unless they are certified organic and cold pressed. If you’re not sure, contact the manufacturer or ask at the café or restaurant where you are.

David Gillespie explained that it’s not just consumption of these polyunsaturated seed oils which proves a health risk, but cooking with these oils is equally dangerous because of the toxic vapours released when the oils are subjected to high heat.  

For many, advice on avoiding these foods is not new information. However, sugar and vegetable oils are so saturated in the processed and café foods around us, that unless every single meal is prepared at home, they can be hard to avoid. And although, I am very careful with all the food our family stocks in our fridge and cupboards, I can be known to turn a blind eye in favour of a guilty treat such as fish & chips. Life is about balance, and I’m not saying to give up fish & chips if that’s your little pleasure, but it’s good to be mindful, and you may discover new ways of satisfying these cravings in a way that doesn’t leave you feeling guilty. Using fish & chips as the example, it could mean making them at home using coconut frying oil, and choosing a healthy café or restaurant when you are out and about. We have discovered an awesome raw food restaurant in our town, and some of this style of food is laborious and time consuming to prepare, so we appreciate eating these out because they are not something we always have time to prepare at home.

So getting to the topic of point - what should we be eating instead? First and foremost, listen to your body, tune in and pay attention to how you feel after eating certain foods. Secondly, the answer to alternatives for vegetable oils is cold pressed oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, organic butter, ghee and even lard ( much like our grandparents and great grandparents did ), and ditch the margarine in place of organic butter. In regards to excess sugar in the diet, this is an extensive topic in itself, so stay tuned for the next instalment.  

Miranda Gray

Article by Miranda Gray

Miranda has had a background in the health and wellness industry for over twelve years, and is a co-founder of Aussie Health Products.

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