The Simple Secret to Eating Healthy

Shhh! Can you keep a secret? It’s a secret many people know, and are reaping the full benefits. Then, there are people who don’t know this secret, and are suffering the consequences, due to their lack of knowledge.

The secret to eating healthy is quite simple, but elusive to many: Eat Real Food. That’s it! It’s not complicated. If we eat real food, we stand a better chance of living a healthy life, free of chronic diseases and illnesses.

But, what defines real food? Sorry, but I don’t think fast foods qualify as real food. In his book “In Defense of Food,” Michael Pollan defines real food as foods that our great grandmothers ate: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish, and meats. He cautions against our over-indulgence on edible food-like substances: processed and packaged foods. His philosophy to eating healthy is: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Here are Mr. Pollan’s 7 Rules for Eating:

1. Don’t eat foods your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. Avoid eating foods with 15 ingredients you can’t pronounce.
2. Shop the outer perimeter of the store, which is where real foods are located. Food-like substances are usually in the middle of the supermarket.
3. Don’t eat foods with more than 5 ingredients, or ingredients you can’t pronounce.
4. Don’t eat anything that won’t eventually rot, like Twinkies; not real food.
5. Never eat until you’re stuffed; leave the table a little hungry.
6. Enjoy meals with people you love.
7. Don’t buy foods from the gas station.

Now, you know the simple secret to eating healthy!