Healthy Eating: Everything In Moderation

Photo credit: edkohler

Of course, “everything in moderation” will never be as popular as “PROCESSED MEAT CAUSES CANCER STOP EATING IT!”, but I’ve always believed in it and always will.

The recent findings that link processed meats to cancer are not all that groundbreaking, are they? There’s a reason health food stores such as Whole Foods only sell uncured, nitrate-free meats. It’s also important to remember that while the report highlighted the risk of processed meat, it also pointed to other elements of diet and lifestyle which could either reduce or increase cancer risk.

No doubt, it’s good for researchers and for the media to come up every once in a while with alarming news about various stuff that causes cancer. But the bottom line has remained the same for centuries: a diet based on plants, with meat and dairy consumed in moderation, is the healthiest. Smoking is lethal, and too much alcohol is bad for you. An active lifestyle is healthy to our bodies and souls while a sedentary lifestyle is very unhealthy. And being able to de-stress and spend quality time with our loved ones is one of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves.

All of this is pretty basic.

What about kids? Kids definitely tend to prefer processed carbs and salty snacks. But what if those were not even an option? A recent TV advertisement said something like “kids are hungry when they’re back from school. That’s why I always have X in the house!” X is an over processed, frozen, microwaveable pizza-pockets type foodstuff. But what if those same hungry kids were offered celery and carrot sticks, small toasted peanut butter on whole wheat sandwiches, and lowfat milk for their snack? I bet they would eat it, especially if they knew THERE WAS NO OTHER OPTION.

So, my best advice: don’t keep junk in the house. Offer healthy food. Teach your kids about the importance of eating well and of getting enough servings of fruit and veggies each day. Now that my kids know they should eat AT LEAST five servings per day (ideally more, but that could overwhelm them), they are highly motivated to achieve that goal.

If you can, buy organic meat and dairy. It’s a good idea regardless of this scare becasue the nonorganic variety contains hormones and antibiotics. If you can’t, eat meats in moderation, emphasize plants and whole grains, encourage an active lifestyle, never ever smoke, and remember: everything (except for smoking) in moderation.

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