Shopping The Perimeter
I am in no way a model practitioner of anyone’s version of a perfectly healthy diet all of the time. My schedule can be insane. Sometimes I just have to grab whatever I can find and eat it as fast as humanly possible between things. Sometimes I don’t have time to eat for prolonged periods and when I finally do get a chance to sit down and eat, I over do it. I am aware that these things are problematic. Sometimes I honestly don’t give a shit. I just want some num num in my belly now. When I am functioning from a healthy framework rather than from my fight or flight state, I make better choices. I could greatly improve my wellness by minimizing the amount of time that I spend in survival mode. Sustained survival mode makes me feel out of balance, particularly when it’s time to transition back to “normal life”.
There is so much contradictory information out there about which way to eat is the healthiest. Is it healthiest to be vegetarian? Vegan? Raw vegan? Forks-Over-Knives? Mediterranean? Paleo? Keto? Carnivore? Do a quick internet search and you will quickly find many rabid supporters of each of these diets and many other programs laying out the benefits and how their life was changed as a result of adhering to the diet that they are promoting. And others demonizing the very same diets and issuing dire warnings about their risks. The gloves come off, the claws come out and the pseudo-authorities defend their positions to the death. Amusing but not particularly helpful.
Consider this possibility. Perhaps there isn’t a one-size fits-all diet that will help every human achieve their optimal health and wellness status. Of course there isn’t. People are different. Some people have different medical issues, such as cardiovascular, intestinal or inflammatory conditions, that make certain diets better choices. Some people take medications that interact with certain foods.
Diet control is essential for weight loss, if that is your goal. Exercise is of great benefit for other aspects of lifestyle (cardiovascular health, sense of well being, mobility / flexibility) and shouldn’t be neglected, but time and again studies have shown that diet is the key to weight control. While there isn’t necessarily a single diet that will satisfy everyone’s conscience and help them achieve an optimal state of health, I would like to lay out a few principles that can help guide healthy food choices. This is intended to be a springboard, not an exhaustive list.
Guidelines for building a healthy diet:
Focus on eating fresh foods when possible. In general, the closer that you can consume your food to its natural state, the healthier it will be. The less processing the better.
The fewer ingredients the better. One ingredient in its natural form is best. Watch out for additives. Labeling isn’t always transparent. For example, the presence of many soy and corn products is obscured behind fancy chemical names.
Too much sugar is bad. Even “good sugars” and “sugar substitutes”. These stimulate insulin which leads to fat storage. No bueno.
Consider periods of caloric abstinence, or fasting, to give yourself prolonged periods without insulin spikes. There are many intermittent fasting techniques to explore and see which works best for you.
Drink plenty of fresh, clean water.
Homesteaders have the benefit of knowing exactly what went into producing their food. For some, this is one of the driving forces behind their decision to produce their own food. Most people don’t produce every thing that they consume and look to either co-ops, farmers’ markets or grocery stores to supplement their refrigerators, pantries and larders. When possible, it is best to know how the food you are consuming was produced and which foods are at higher risk for containing higher levels of poisons like herbicides and pesticides.
If you go to the grocery store, what is your shopping strategy? We go, but as infrequently as possible. Our general approach could be described as shopping the perimeter. The perimeter of most stores is where you find the fresh foods. Fruits. Vegetables. Eggs. Dairy. Meats. I’m sure you get the idea. This is where you find the foods that are the building blocks of a healthy diet. I am not saying that these are the only healthy foods or that all of these foods are healthy by the merit of being on the perimeter. It is a solid starting point though.
Bulk dry goods make up the majority of our non-perimeter purchases. Coffee. Tea. Grains. Legumes. Nuts. Dried fruit. Sugar. Salt. Herbs. Spices. Lastly there are the shelf stable wet goods. Oils. Vinegars.
Is this all that we eat all the time? Hell no! My wife would nut up if she didn’t get her occasional allotment of Oreos. It would get ugly quick. This is our basic outline though, and these are the building blocks of the majority of our meals.
Do you find the glut of available information about what is supposedly healthy and what isn’t confusing?
What sources do you trust to help you cut through all of the nonsense?
Why do you think it is that the healthiest foods are also the ones that cost the most?
