This world is filled with different people, that’s what makes it so beautiful! Different personalities, different opinions, different lifestyles, different choices.
Lets get more specific.
We also have different health issues, need different doctors and need to eat different ways.
I have Hashimotos disease, battle systemic candida and as a result also have had to deal with metabolic syndrome and adrenal fatigue.
I choose to follow the Paleo diet- though I like to use that term loosely for reasons I will expand on.
There is the specific carbohydrate diet, the vegan diet, the raw diet, the vegetarian diet, the basic gluten free diet- I could go on.
Within each diet there is dogma. Just like your angry political extremist, or the the man on the side of the road with a sign that says “God Hates Fags”. Dogma exist’s in diet plans too. Each diet has its founders, and decision makers that lay out the rules of what it to be eaten and what must be avoided. These decision makers may or may not have the credentials to be creating diet laws- but that doesn’t matter, as they are often listened to without question. Each diet will swear to save your life and cure all ailments.
So, tell me. If one of these diets is the true and only way- then why do people feel the need to try their feet into a number of different plans to find the perfect fit? The answer is simple:
THERE IS NO ONE TRUE WAY, EXCEPT YOUR WAY.
Diet plans do have their perks. They offer a marvelous starting point, the often offer lots of recipes to help get you going in the right direction. They allow you the structure to see what works and what doesn’t. But, the moment you make any diet your bible, and you believe every statement that the leaders of the diet make- you are asking for trouble.
For those of you like me dealing with autoimmunity you know just how sensitive and reactive our bodies can be. While that can be difficult to live with- it can be a blessing. It forces us to take care of ourselves, or forever be riddled with pain. Within 30 minutes of eating my body is either happy and feeling great OR if I have eaten something that is a problem my joints will start to ache, and my heart might race a little. I know exactly what is good for me. Do I know whats good for you? Nope. I’m not even going to pretend that I do. I can point you in the direction of things to try but in the end the only person that’s going to be able to save your own health through trial and error is you!
In the last few years as a recipe developer and blogger I have seen a number of different food trends develop.
One blogger maybe two years ago firmly stated that Xanthan Gum was bad. This blogger is not a doctor, nor a researcher. They are a blogger, and for them xanthan gum was a problem, it caused digestive distress. The fact that is caused issue for them was a legitimate statement. Again, we are all different and different ingredients are going to cause us different problems. While something might work for me, it could make you violently ill.
Soon after this anti- xanthan gum statement was made people everywhere started to question this ingredient. Bloggers began getting hounded if they used the ingredient in their recipes! They were scolded and asked in repetition how to remove it from their recipe. This has happened with a number of ingredients- most recently under microscope is Psyllium Husks.
Please, do yourself a favor and don’t instantly believe everything you read. Take the time to test out an ingredient and see how YOU FEEL. Your body is the most important voice to listen to. Use the information you read to act as a starting point, not the end point.
Don’t be fooled by the forces of dogma. Dr. Google does not know all. Your diet is not a religion. Be the master of your own body, you know whats best. Don’t allow anyone to try to convince you otherwise.
the only Dogma approved in this home, is the kind that comes from those 3 sweet faces pictured above.
-Brittany-
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Brittany: I don’t have the same health issues as you do, but I have similar that have restricted my diet from the SAD (standard Amercian diet). I chose to become vegan after 25 years of a high carb/high dairy vegetarian diet, all the while being married to a hunter. I am commenting because I don’t believe a vegan diet should be included in the list of “diets” you’ve listed. A vegan diet for me started with my compassion for animals, I’ve rescued dogs and cats for over 35 years. I’ve tried many diets, tho not “fad” diets, but diets that have been long traditional for some cultures, eating whole foods and off the land, ie Ayurvedic or macrobiotic.
I am not justifying a vegan diet over another here, this is not the way I live. Vehanism has a history that others don’t have. Here is a link for it, http://www.happycow.net/vegan_diet.html. There are over 600M vegans in the world, so I personally can’t classify it as a fad, but a way of life, just as hunters and gathers would their diet. Until man created just to name a few; high fructose corn syrup, and packaged everything refined and processed as “food”, I feel our health has declined.
Any “diet” can be shot down or argued, yet as you’ve mentioned we all could do ourselves a greater service finding out how we feel eating the way we traditionally have. Many people don’t understand or feel any correlation to what they eat or drink except how it satiates a mood or feeling, nothing about their health. Just as my husband will never stop hunting or eating meat, I could never go back consuming any animal product. I don’t try and change him, and he doesn’t tey and change me. Fortunately he loves my cooking though.
I appreciate how much you are empowering individuals; encouraging people to know their own bodies, trust what they know, and use critical thinking to evaluate the rest. Bravo!
I agree 100%. I wish I had answers for *why* some foods make me sick while others are just fine – but the only way to know if an ingredient is ok is to try it. If you aren’t willing to try something new, then skip the recipe and move onto the next, or do your own experimenting to come up with a substitution. I think there isn’t enough medical evidence anywhere (except possibly with wheat) to say that one specific ingredient is not healthy for *all* people. Listen to your body and eat what makes it feel good!
Hi Brittany, thank you for such a thoughtful post. I recently found your blog and look forward to trying out tons of recipes.
I’m sure you have been through what most of us experience when we need to change our “diets” for health reasons. The majority of people don’t understand and love to judge which keeps me on the defensive most of the time, adding to the stress of everything else that is going on. I’m just really grateful for people like you who provide the rest of us with recipes, so thank you!
I completely agree. We need to learn to listen to our own bodies, to be able to focus deeply within, and to heed what we hear. Thank you for writing about this important issue!
This is a good point to make as many of us can get in a loop about what we believe is right. I think it’s good to compare multiple sources of information and gain a knowledge so comprehensive that you can begin learning from yourself. Similar in baking when you know how different ingredients react so you will be able to anticipate how a recipe will turn out, it is as if you know that certain grains (all grains have anti-nutrients and harsh proteins, but Wheat in particular) are pro inflammatory and nutrient binding, whether or not you don’t FEEL any effects, you still shouldn’t eat them.Maybe when you turn an old age, your joints will begin to deteriorate due to incessant inflammation.
Municipal water systems are Fluoridated, and some people never get a bout of Arthritis or Eczema in their entire lives, yet at the age of 50 they develop Alzheimers of which Fluoridated water has been named a contributing factor. Just because something doesn’t effect you, I don’t believe means that it could be good for you. If that were the case, thin, active people who eat Fun-yuns and grape soda would be justified in their eating decision.
If health is not a major concern I would say eat whatever you want so long as you have no negative effects, even by process of elimination. But if you want to eat to live, try to gain enough backup knowledge to justify your eating habits, if even only for yourself.
I definitely agree that you should not religiously practice one diet. As an example, I have a intolerance to eggs even though the ‘Paleo/Primal’ diet promotes them. And I know why, because of lecithin in the egg protein (and dairy which also causes me problems but it is not considered on the Primal/Paleo Diet). And my boyfriend is allergic to nightshades.
While someone may do well on a bean, corn, chickpea, peanut butter, and vegetable diet, does not mean that they are eating as healthfully as they can. I have met vegetarians that have eaten beans for 20 years and have never heard of pre-soaking or sprouting, they preach what they practice with no knowledge of why! There are always improvements to be made (which you’ve made clear, is your philosophy) but this seems more like an excuse for people to eat the wrong things simply because they don’t’ have a reaction to said item instead of learning though science and books what is actually in the limits of what should and should not be eaten in a quest for human health.
What a breath of fresh air. Thanks for reminding me not to take it all so seriously!
Sweet. It like Heavenly Father lead me to this post. I was just blogging today about confusion of what GF diet I should follow. I had great results with the candida diet but then came across a diet for the leaky gut and it was slightly different and my whole family experiences symptoms of it too. My daughter has special needs and I am afraid she may have also inherited my hereditary diseases and it seems the leaky gut covers them. However I would of hopped right on that if I also did not have a belief from my scriptures of eating meat sparingly and in times of need. It seems your post here has cleared up my concerns. I have a plan and gonna use the diets as a guideline not as a rule. I can still feel like I am following my scriptures and not taking some humans word over my Heavenly Fathers. Thank you for writing your thoughts out loud.
{ 2 trackbacks }