Sunday, March 29, 2015

Do You Get Your Nutrition Advice From the Back of a Bus?



Unfortunately I believe that most people who even care at all about their health get most of their advice about nutrition from places like the back of a bus or even worse, the TV, newspaper, magazines or from popular websites that are really there to earn the website owner lots of money. Sadly we all live in a world where everything is biased when it comes to nutrition. Why do I say that everything is biased when it comes to nutrition? Well, diet and nutrition is one area where every single human on the planet must participate.

When somebody consumes a certain diet they assume that it is the greatest thing for their health and that there is nothing better in the universe. This seems to be the case with most people, especially those who advise a diet that is different from the mainstream diet. Rarely do you find someone who is a trusted figure on diet who eats one diet but suggests a different one. We all suggest a diet that is the one we are eating right now, who would do otherwise?

Another big issue is that we all are people who have to eat every single day and everyone has likes and dislikes when it comes to food. We tend to eat the things that we like the taste of over what is actually healthy for us. Some people have figured out how to enjoy the taste of healthy foods and somehow avoid the foods that taste good to them but are unhealthy.

There is also so much conflicting information about diet that it is nearly impossible to keep up with the latest ideas from the top scientists and what is the best diet for human health. There are new books written on the subject almost every day, so much information overload is a bad thing. There also are so many stakeholders who have something to gain by having the diet recommended include certain foods or supplements.

The ad on the back of the bus seems to encourage meals under 500 calories. A meal of 500 calories is not going to fill up the average person. A normal size man of about 5 foot 10 inches who weighs around 150 to 175 pounds will require about 2700 calories a day if he is not very active. A meal of 500 calories falls far short of the minimum of 900 that he will need for each meal. The person who follows a diet plan like this will be craving calories all day and will certainly give in to the cravings by eating large amounts of potato chips, ice cream, or some other health destroying foods.

The only diet that will satisfy someone is one that provides sufficient calories as well as one that gives the person the feeling of a full stomach which also tastes good. If a person consumes nearly all of their calories from the plant world and chooses to eat nearly all of their food whole and ripe from nature, they will be able to feel satisfied, get enough calories and taste and never have to worry about gaining weight.

Why would anyone dispute a diet that can do all this? Only the ones who have some kind of agenda or financial gain by confusing the people.