What is real food?

If you read 100 Days of Real Food and In Defense of Food, you’ll know that real food is minimally processed and without additives or synthetic chemicals.

Here are a few principles to follow:

• Whole fruits and vegetables are ideally grown without pesticides and very minimally processed (technically freezing, chopping, canning, etc is processing…but those are acceptable)
• Dairy products should be made with whole milk and unsweetened.
• Wheat and Grains should be 100% Whole and unbleached.  Don’t be fooled – Multi-Grain is not the same!
• Meat should be raised naturally (be careful about this) and killed humanely.  Locally raised meat is also preferred.
• Limit any added sugar to natural sweeteners (honey, pure maple syrup) and to no more than 5-10 grams per serving.  Fruits and veggies have natural sugars in them and that is not added sugar!  The total daily recommendation is less than 25-30 grams of total added sugar, so keep that in mind!

Stay away from:

• Refined sugars and sugar alternatives
  • There are many forms and names, but refined sugars can be found in almost every type of processed foods.  The more refined the form of sugar, the more readily absorbed in the body and the faster it kicks off a number of reactions in the body that lead to diseases.
  • Zero-calorie sweeteners may not be absorbed with caloric value, but they not only cause the same responses as processed sugars in the body, they are also made from byproducts of petroleum and chemical processes.
• Refined grains, like flours, rice, wheat, etc
  • The most nutritious part of nearly every type of grain is the part that is removed in the refining process.  White flour has little to no nutritional value, which is why white bread is “fortified” with vitamins and minerals – many of which are in the parts that were removed in the first place.   Seems silly, doesn’t it?
• GMO foods.  Genetically modified foods are a source of controversy for two reasons – genetic manipulation and pesticide use.
  • Genetic Manipulation: There is compelling research suggesting that modifying genes can be harmful, not to mention the vast unknown of what the longterm effects may be.  Personally, I feel conflicted about gene manipulation – farmers have been breeding plants for thousands of years, but even genetic selection through cross breeding allows the plants to develop naturally.  Gene manipulation would most likely not happen in nature and is hard to get behind, but that isn’t the main reason to avoid genetically modified foods.
  • For us, the primary reason to avoid GMOs is that they are generally created to withstand higher levels of pesticides and herbicides.  Regardless of the claims for durability, yield, etc, those chemicals stay in produce and, therefore, in our bodies when we eat them.  That is highly problematic for a multitude of reasons, but you probably already know that!
• Packaged foods with more than 5 or 6 ingredients or that have ingredients that can’t be grown on a farm.

Things to be aware of:

• Some brands will list real/natural ingredients with their latin name for reasons I haven’t yet discovered.  Typically this is in non-food products like soaps and home products, but that isn’t always the case.  When in doubt, I’ll Google the ingredient and tend to err on the side of caution.
• Brands are getting sly with their listing of Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, MSG, and other formerly easy-to-spot avoidables.  “Dehydrated Cane Juice” is sugar.  “Fructose Syrup” is HFCS.  These are clever (and despicable) disguises, but they’re only hiding the real truth.
• Simply looking for Certified Organic labeled foods is not enough to ensure the above principles!  Organic sugar is still refined sugar and the rules still apply.  Organic Doritos are still Doritos…don’t be fooled.

Ok, now you can shop with confidence.  But, before it starts to overwhelm you or seem like too big of a challenge, it might be a good idea to take a breath and Give Yourself Time!