Tag Archives: Nutrition

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October 9, 2015

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10 Things to stop believing RIGHT NOW about fitness and health

 In no particular order, here are a few things I feel strongly about. It is not about being right or wrong; my purpose here is to bring to your attention the fact that holding erroneous beliefs can, and does, influence our daily actions.

If given half a chance to think, most of us would say they don’t hold most of the erroneous beliefs on this list. But our actions reveal that, somehow, a lot of those ideas still have a hold on us. Otherwise, both our bodies and our planet would be in much better shape.

1) Exercise is something only athletes do; the rest of us should just watch sports on TV.

Our bodies are supposed to move in order to function optimally. That’s just the way biological entities such as ourselves work. Not like mechanical devices that get damaged and used up the more you use them. Within reason, we must submit our bodies to physical stressors (i.e. exercise) for all systems to do what they are supposed to do. So move. And move some more.

2) Humans are something different from other animals; outside of, or “beyond” nature.

We are animals. We have a lot in common with other animals. We live, we exist, on the only planet we know of that is capable of harboring life. What sustains life is the intricate inter-connection of all living things, the web of relationships that constitute all the ecosystems and, at the largest scale we know of, the biosphere of planet Earth. What we do has an effect on everything else alive on this planet. While there are variations in the details, all life on this planet functions essentially the same way. I could go on about the implications, but at least you should keep this in mind: We cannot exist without nature, or outside of it, and we often delude ourselves into thinking that we understand everything there is to understand about our bodies and its interactions with the environment. We don’t.

3) Information about health and fitness found on the Internet can be trusted.

This blog being one of the notable exceptions, keep in mind that just because it is on the Web, it does not mean it comes from someone that should be trusted. There have been plenty of fads and outright frauds over the last few years, so be careful. Always ask yourself: Is someone profiting from this “advice” I’m reading? (In the case of this blog, by way, the answer is “no.” Just thought it was worth repeating.)

4) Everything we see offered on grocery shelves and in restaurants is food.

NOT! Definitely NOT! As a matter of fact, a lot of it is NOT FOOD, and should be treated accordingly. We all need to make better choices on a daily basis, while not going overboard about it… So, think twice before putting some things in your mouth. (Need to be reminded of what NOT FOOD is? You can find quite a bit on this blog about it.)

5) Food, real food that is, will cure any disease we suffer from.

Nope. Sorry. Good nutrition, by which I mean eating real food, not too much, and mostly from plants, will set the stage for your body to function well. And that helps prevent some diseases. But if you are very sick from something, even if the initial damage was done by eating very badly, chances are the damage is already done, and can’t easily be reversed. If that is your situation, seek real medical attention! Refer back to items 3 and 4 above if still necessary. 

6) Nevertheless, there are so-called “superfoods” that will cure any disease we suffer from.

Look, we all want to believe in silver bullets, miracle cures, and the Easter Bunny (among other things). That doesn’t make them real. Real food is good for you. It is part of ensuring your body has a fair chance of remaining healthy. But no single food will reverse years of neglect, abuse, or injury. Eating well, like being physically fit, requires some effort. There are no free lunches in this world, so to speak.

7) Running is bad for you and/or will cause you problems with your knees.

Done correctly, in moderation (and moderation still allows for a lot of running!), regular exercise like running actually makes our bodies (muscles, joints, internal organs) get stronger and function better. It is true that some people get injured, and that some people have gotten into trouble with their knees, but be careful of jumping to conclusions. Seek advice about technique, don’t try to do too much too soon, and you’ll find that running is probably the best, cheapest, and most easily accessible form or exercise around. See the next point for a kind of continuation of this.

8) In order to get fitter, we need to follow the latest training regimen, or buy the latest toy.

Definitely not. Exercise, and training if you go at it a bit more seriously, is not complicated. And it does not require much in terms of equipment. Those exercise crazes and newfangled regimens you read or hear about are no better than what simple advice a real coach can give you. They typically only serve the purpose of getting participants all hyped up and motivated for a short while. And make lots of money for their promoters. Remember the bit about questionning who profits? It applies here.

9) Devices like escalators and door openers help us conserve our energy and should be used by everyone.

Just because a device exists and is readily available, doesn’t mean we should all use it. I’m always amazed (to put it politely) to watch perfectly capable people press the door opener button at the entrance of a building, or take the escalator (or elevator) to go up one floor (or two or three, for that matter). There are people with limited mobility for whom those devices were installed, and that is great. But the rest of us can, and should do more with our own bodies! Similarly with some power tools and gardening implements, by the way.

10) The water coming out of the tap is not good.

Please, please, please, stop drinking bottled water. The plastic is choking our oceans and wrecking the food chain. Ok, this is a pet peeve of mine, but we mindlessly adhere to the notion that our water supply is not good and we must drink bottled water. This is pure propaganda, er, I mean, marketing. Guess what? Except in some very specific situations, our tap water is by and large excellent. Heck, some bottled water companies fill their bottles from tap water. So drink water. Just plain water, by the way; that’s what you need. Use a re-fillable bottle. Drink out of a glass. Anything but buying (buying! something that’s free already in all of our homes!). By the way, please also try to use fewer plastic straws. But that’s another battle…

11) There are only 10 Things that people erroneously believe about fitness and health.

This one is a bonus, and speaks for itself. But I think I’ve listed the biggest elephants in the room. Let me know what you think.

Photo credits: Sophie Tremblay-Paquet

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August 11, 2015

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Diet

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This is NOT a detox

Food, detox, nutrition, health

An ordinary meal, provided you take the time to prepare it.

Nor is it a mixture of “super foods” designed to prevent cancer.

It is also not an extraordinary meal that requires hours of work to prepare.

Nope.

All it is, is a meal made at home from basic ingredients.

(Note also that it is not a carefully planned photo shoot: The pictures were taken at meal time, because that’s when I realized it might be worth talking about it in this blog.)

There’s nothing magical about it, no silver bullet for anything in it; moreover, it requires a bit of time and energy to put together.

Nothing miraculous about the ingredients either:

  • Small potatoes,
  • fresh beets (3-4, not from a can),
  • celery (one whole “heart,” sliced thinly),
  • peppers (one red, one yellow, for colour variety),
  • green onions (3, I seem to recall chopping in there),
  • a few cashew nuts to add crunchiness,
  • a bit of coconut powder/flakes (because my wife insisted).

These ingredients don’t come from our garden (not yet), but some (the beets and green onions) were purchased at a local farmers’ market. We are lucky to now live fairly close to one, and of having the free time to go buy stuff there.

Actually, come to think of it, it is not a matter of having the free time to go: It is the desire to take the time to go. It is about resolving not to let easier ways, and the illusion of being short on time, take control of our lives. That’s the real message of this post. And it is a topic I’ll re-visit in the future.

Final ingredient? Home-made mayo. That’s a habit we have taken recently, and it is highly satisfying. We know exactly what we put in our mayo. But if you are not sure about making mayo, you can always use ordinary olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar. We happen to think that such a “potato and beet salad” goes better with mayo, and because it is meant to be mostly made from scratch, it should be home-made mayo.

As a matter of fact, even the home-made mayo only requires a few minutes to make. Really. Therein lies the drama of our modern existence: We are told, and we tend to think, that making food from scratch requires a lot of time. It takes time, but not that much.

Instead of reading the paper, or watching TV, or worse, reading silly stuff on Facebook or the Web about what “famous people” have been up to lately, we can find better uses for our time.

Before I forget, you have to steam the potatoes and beets before using them in the salad. I use a little steamer, and that pretty much dictates the quantity of potatoes I put in, once the beets are cubed and in the steamer. Let them cool down before mixing them in with the rest of the ingredients; you can steam them a day or more in advance, while doing something else, or use the cooling-down time to chop the rest of the veggies. The mayo can be made while the potatoes and beets are being steamed, or hours or even days in advance.

I think my wife added a few spices (some salt, hot pepper flakes) while my back was turned. That’s to taste (and I never question hers).

Nutrition, Food, detox, Health

Go ahead, take some more. It’s all good.

So, this is not an extraordinary meal, and this post is not a recipe. Not quite. But it is good food, so you are welcome to seconds, and you don’t even need to think about the calories.

And even though this mix of vegetables and home-made mayo is not a detox meal, I can guarantee that it is a very effective way of measuring the time it takes food to transit through your digestive system. (This is very useful, because we hear a lot of weird statements about food that “get stuck” in our intestines, etc. We tend to associate some feelings like bloating and heaviness to food consumed a few minutes prior, or many hours earlier, without really knowing our own normal transit time. Well, eat this salad, and you’ll have real data to use in the future…)

Because when it goes through “the other end” after anywhere between 12 and 36 hours, you will notice.

Try it, and let me know how it “goes”…

Photo credits: Sacha Veillette

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March 20, 2015

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Diet

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The problem (as I see it) with nutrition advice

Food, Advice, Nutrition, Everyday, Diet

Food, the final frontier? It is all about how you think about it.

This is going to be a short post.

Primarily, because it doesn’t take long to express what, to my mind, is the problem with nutrition advice.

But also because I would like this to be the starting point for a conversation. (I know, I tend to go on and on when I write, and that can give the impression that I don’t listen to what others have to say. But I promise it is not the case. So there.)

Here we go:

The problem with nutrition advice, and it permeates pretty much all advice on nutrition that I’ve come across, is the idea that good nutrition will make you healthy.

How often have you heard or read that a specific diet will make you healthy? That a supplement ensures health? That this food (or that food, the very next week), will prevent disease?

The truth is the reverse: Bad nutrition makes your body more susceptible to diseases.

In part, this is because it does not have what it needs to function optimally. For instance, to fight off infections; but one often reads that better nutrition will enhance your immune system, whereas the problem is that bad nutrition impedes the immune system from functioning optimally.

The other part is because, over time, bad (or simply excessive) nutrition leads to weight gain in the form of fatty deposits, primarily in the abdomen region, which is proven to lead to chronic diseases like diabetes and nasty stuff like cancers (to name only those main life shorteners).

In my estimation, the way nutrition advice is given, implying that eating right will make you healthy, leads perniciously to all sorts of damaging beliefs about nutrition and health. It points towards a constant search for a special diet, super food, secret ingredient, or other magic pill, to keep disease at bay.

But the truth is otherwise: Given what it needs, which is a lot of movement and good nutrition, the body is, naturally, healthy. The body does not become healthy by having plenty of exercise and good food; removing those things from your body, however, can (and often does) lead to chronic disease and problems coming from sub-optimal functioning.

You might be tempted to say that the difference is only semantics. My contention is that the difference has a big influence on how we think about food and nutrition. The way the advice usually goes (eat well to be healthy) leads to thinking some additional, external, and effortless solution can be applied. The advice focusing on the way the body works (eat well to allow your body to be healthy) hints, on the contrary, at changing habits, removing bad nutrition, and letting nature take its course.

Let’s use an example, albeit an extreme one, to illustrate the logic.

Does not smoking make you healthy? Can we say “if you don’t smoke, you will become healthy”? No, of course not. That would seem absurd. Smoking can, and does, cause you to be at risk for a whole lot of nasty things. Absence of smoking is how things should be for optimal health, but not smoking is not the cause of good health.

This is analogous to what I was saying earlier: If you stop eating bad food, you will not become healthy. The absence of bad food, or the presence of good food, is not the cause of health. The presence of bad food on a daily basis is an impediment to your body’s optimal functioning (a.k.a. health).

So eating “right” will help the body restore itself, and will reduce the likelihood of chronic diseases and the incidence of other problems. But it won’t make you healthy. Your body will do that all by itself, given half a chance.

And to give it more than half a chance, to give it a full chance (and a chance-and-a-half), it is not just a matter of eating right. In fact, a larger proportion of the solution resides in moving more.

But that will be a subject to be covered (again) in another post.

Picture from Pixabay.

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March 7, 2014

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What about the stuff we eat?

Food

Nice, real food. Not too much of it.

So, what about the stuff we eat, what about our diet in relation to fitness, I can almost hear you ask…

Obviously, diet is an important topic, because it is a key element of being healthy. And I have a page devoted to it on No-brainer Fitness, so it must be important!

Fitness, in a natural environment, would stem from the food ingested and the activities to procure that food… But that’s no longer the case for us. We have in large part decoupled the two, and therein lies the complexity at times. After all, if we were still all eating what we have to hunt, gather, harvest, or scavenge on a daily basis, this would be a very short blog post.

I have so far stayed away from the topic of diet, in the general sense of “what we eat”, for two main reasons:

  1. I am not an expert on nutrition. I know what I like to eat, and I pay attention to what I eat, but I am largely like most people: I still struggle to figure-out what’s “best”, and I still like to indulge from time to time. (Yes, I’m a chocolate fiend, and I love ice cream…)
  2. Although very important to health, nutrition really comes second to exercise. Granted, without food, we can’t live, end of story. However, given some food, our bodies are extremely resilient; we can make do with very little quality of food. Provided we move enough, we can handle a “much less than optimal” diet for a pretty long time.

The single best thing you can do to improve your health prospects is move more. But don’t get me wrong: Of course, it is better if you also pay attention to what you eat. But the reverse, only paying attention to what you eat and moving too little does not have the same long-term effect. That is in large part why weight-loss regimens never work by themselves.

Nutrition is indeed a complex topic, so I prefer to rely on the advice of true experts in this field, and focus on getting more fit through exercise. I invite you to do the same.

Which is not the same as saying I won’t provide advice on the subject. I will, you can count on that. Simple advice. Safe advice. No-brainer advice, you might say. The rest will be up to you.

For instance: One simple change you can make right now, this very instant, to lasting benefits for your health: never, ever, drink sodas (pop, soft drinks, etc.), no matter how tempted on a warm day, no matter if “unsweetened” or “0 calories”. Soft drinks are NOT FOOD, and should be treated as such.

Food is something that comes from nature, as directly as possible. NOT FOOD is something that you could not possibly find in nature, or easily make from stuff you find in nature. (You can bet this topic will come back time and again…)

Down from the soap box, on which I can be found from time to time. Where does that leave us? Ah, yes, experts.

Here is one I have a lot of respect for:  Dr. David Katz. He gives solid, unbiased advice, and spends a lot of his energy fighting the good fight against bad nutrition, and bad nutrition advice. For instance, his What’s wrong with us? post is an excellent review of nutrition and our modern industrial food processing complex. I highly recommend his blog.

When it comes to nutrition and diet, the best advice I can give you is to be careful of the advice you receive. There is no magical ingredient that burns fat, no optimal combination to prevent disease, no silver bullet to a long, healthy life.

There is perhaps only one other bit of advice, not originating from me (it’s from Michael Pollan), that you should consider:

Eat food, not too much, mostly from plants.

Photo from Pixabay.