Why ‘whole grain foodie?’ Why whole grains + whole foods? What is with the trend? My first inclination is to point out that this is not merely a trend but rather, a lifestyle.
I am not an expert nutritionist but I have personally tried many diets in my lifetime; all of those “fad” diets that do nothing positive for your body or for your health. Sadly, I spent the majority of my life contaminated by falsely advertised fad diets that plaster the media until about six years ago when I picked up a book recommended to me by my mother-in-law: “Ultra Metabolism,” by Mark Hyman. This book alone combined with a new mentality toward food and health has me feeling the best I have ever felt.
Mark Hyman talks in great detail about this concept of whole grains/whole foods and how introducing these foods to your body can create an ideal balance for your metabolism. He starts by reiterating the fact that we truly are all individuals in that we are each made up of unique genetic strings. In order to create this ‘ideal balance,’ the best thing we can do for our bodies is to “eat in harmony with our genes” (Hyman, 25). So while some of us may need to digest more fat and less protein, or more carbohydrates and less fat, our metabolism does “have some basic operating principles” (Hyman, 25). The focus here? The principle of eating whole, unprocessed food.
I recommend picking up the book and reading it through as my words don’t really do this justice. But fact for fact, let me briefly define a whole food in a nut shell (no pun intended). A whole food is “one that is as close to its natural state as possible when you buy it at [your local] grocery store… The calories you consume that come from whole foods speak to your genes in their native tongue [and] your DNA knows exactly what to tell your metabolism to do to use these foods in the most efficient and healthy manner possible” (Hyman, 25).
The only intention I have with this blog is to share my lifestyle. It has proven positive for my health, my mentality, and my energy, and has brought me to a point in my life where I can eat and enjoy all the foods I love.
Bon apétit.
