Just the Tips: Food

I’ve written before about how my relationship with food has changed and will do so as my needs change. Beyond story time, I wanted to go into more detail about how I go about my eating choices and habits as part of my “healthy lifestyle.”

Earlier in life, I gave myself willingly to the indulgence of food. It was an almost carnal experience; I sought bliss and satiation. I did not and perhaps could not see food as anything other than a divine .

The “divine treat”.

Rule One — Food is nourishment. It has other roles, but it is nourishment first.

This first rule may feel obvious, or overly reductive. Food is a huge component of our lives, and it fills many of our needs outside of the physical realm. Food is also social, cultural, sexual, therapeutic, luxurious, to name a few. The point of the first rule is not to ignore the other facets of food nor to diminish the importance of them. Claiming food primarily as nourishment establishes a priority that in preparing and eating our food, the focus will be on nutrition and nourishment before anything else. I have met a few people in my life now who all gravitate around this central idea —

“I don’t care what I eat; it’s all fuel for the same fire.”

This doesn’t have to resonate with you. Food can be more than fuel for you, but it IS fuel, and establishing a more healthy relationship with it starts with demanding it be fuel before anything else.

In line with this tenet, not all food is equally nourishing. In the U.S.A, we’ve learned in the past several decades along a model of the food pyramid (which admittedly may well be quite different now than it was when you actually learned it so it’s worth a Google).

One of MANY food pyramids available these days. Food and nutritional science is still growing, so the information changes from day to day and person to person.

We saw our food broken down into categories and given suggested daily intakes for wheats, fruits and vegetables, meats, fats, dairies, and everything. But again, things have changed in our understanding. A more recent understanding of food and nutrition focuses on food in terms of macro-nutrients which our body uses in various ways as fuel.

1. Carbohydrates contain not just what we think of in terms of “carbs”. Breads and pasta fall into this category, but they’re joined by fruits and vegetables, and pretty much everything sweet you could get your hands on.
2. Proteins have changed very little, but explicitly include meat, eggs, nuts, and a number of legumes that can be processed to be used as meat-substitutes.
3. Fats have also changed very little, though we’re much more accepting of them these days. They have a distinct role in our nutrition, and include dairy, nuts, oils, and animal fats.
4. Vitamins and minerals are chemical compounds our body needs, often in very small quantities. They don’t directly act as a fuel source, but facilitate our body in its many processes.
5. Water IS a macronutrient, but like vitamins and minerals does not act as a fuel source. Your body definitely needs water, go drink some.
6. Alcohol is a macronutrient, but not one we really process for fuel — in fact our body treats it like a poison. So the alcohol will get burned and broken down, but you won’t get much aside from whatever carbohydrate media carried the alcohol into you.

I will focus primarily on the first three, with frequent reminders about drinking water. I personally don’t go out of my way for vitamins and minerals, but that’s because with a “healthy diet,” proper vitamin/mineral intake is a non-issue.

An alternative to a food pyramid, for a different informational purpose. Notice the lack of cake.

Scientifically carbs, fats, and proteins will be broken down during different stages of digestion. All three can be used for fuel, and they are not calorically equivalent. Proteins and carbohydrates provide four calories per gram ingested, while fats yield nine. Furthermore, each of these categories is actually rather large; sourdough bread is just as much a carbohydrate as any banana even though the actual chemical makeup varies quite a bit. Just bear in mind that our body has evolved over time to prefer glycolysis, which transforms carbohydrates of varying complexity into energy, over ketosis (breaking down fat into energy) or utilizing proteins as a fuel. That doesn’t mean we can’t trick the body and change up the processes it relies on first; in the end, your diet will be one of the best ways to adjust your body composition and weight.

For now I’ve gone on about as long as I want for these stories. Next, I’ll begin delving into these macronutrient categories to lay a foundation of a healthy diet, before wrapping everything up. If you simply can’t wait, the short-story is “you’re eating too many carbs; cut back on carbs, maintain on fats, and indulge more on proteins.”

If you can wait, stay tuned.

Sincerely Not Done Yet,

August