Monday, April 30, 2012

It Doesn't Need To Be So Complicated

I received an email on Friday from a reader who had read some of the writings of a nutrition guru and wanted my take on them. I get emails like that a lot.

Regardless of the guru, my answer's always the same, "It doesn't need to be so complicated" I'll tell them.

Even if the nutritional gurus and zealots were absolutely, 100%, scientifically bang-on with their edicts and commandments, I'd still stick with that message.

Not because I necessarily know better about nutrition, but rather because I work with actual people, real life folks who go to work, who worry about their finances, who shuttle their kids back and forth to hockey, who are trying to do their best. And while there's no doubt that it's possible one of these nutrition gurus will actually, indisputably, get it right, it won't change the fact that real people need to like the lives they're living, even if they're not nutritionally perfect.

Real life folks? Here are my recommendations:
  • Cook more.
  • Use whole ingredients.
  • Eat out less frequently.
  • Cook together as a family.
  • Eat together around a table.
  • Exercise regularly and with joy.
And while those instructions may not satisfy the gurus and zealots who demand perfection, I'm guessing they'll take you a very long way health wise.

It doesn't need to be so complicated.