Photo by Max Lakutin on Unsplash
This week, I posted a link on my Facebook to a well-known internet blogger who likes to poke fun at the "uber hippie" lifestyle while also encouraging people to follow it. The post was about the recent hub-bub surrounding coconut oil, and how suddenly we are being told that it is bad for us.
So Confusing!
Just last year we were told that coconut oil was the golden key to all our health ailments - we could eat it, slather it on our skin, even use it as sunscreen... And now, everything we thought we knew is all a myth?!?
How can a person ever hope to keep up?!?
If you fall into the camp (ahem - anyone who is even slightly health-conscious) where you feel confused and concerned that when you are trying to be healthy, you are really just harming yourself...then have I got some big news for you:
Superfoods. They're not that great.
There, I said it. Chia is not going to save your life. Nor will goji berries or spirulina or cacao (it's cocoa, people! The same stuff we were using before someone decided we had to call it a more fancy-sounding name!)
You know what will save your life?.. It's gonna be boring and you're going to roll your eyes, but...
Fruits and Vegetables.
And whole grains and beans and legumes and fish and (grass-fed) meat and nuts and seeds.
End of story. (Insert mic drop here).
Photo by Lukas Budimaier on Unsplash
Now. If you wanna read all about the merits of some "superfoods", then head on over to my post about them. Because, trust me, I DO use them! But from the stand-point of what should be your go-to diet, it's all about the above-mentioned foods. Stick to this, and you will ride the waves of the newest fads up and down, but always secure in the knowledge that you are treating your body right with the most important and health-promoting thing you could do: having a healthy foundation diet. The frills are extras. The foundation is key.
And. Without going too much into the coconut oil controversy, I will say that it is important to be aware of where the information is coming from. Research grants aka BIG money was provided to researchers for the coconut oil study from: National Cattleman's Beef Association, California Walnut commission, Canola Oil Council, AstraZenecka, Eli Lilly and Pfizer. Big businesses that either have interests in a) people using other types of oils or b) making profits from people who get ill (possibly because they are using those "other" types of oils).
Photo by Jimi Filipovski on Unsplash
And lastly...if you want to find out the truth (I promise!) about which fats and oils are best to use, then head on over to my other post here that is all about how awesome healthy fats are.
~Dr. Rush, ND