As someone who struggles with digestive issues, I tend to spend much of my time inspecting the nutritional information on every product that I consume. Some may deem this extreme or even unnecessary, but when pain strikes after eating a supposedly harmless everyday product, the only thing I find myself repeating to myself is “I should have checked the label”.
In an age where everything gluten-free, dairy-free and essentially “guilt-free” is on trend, it’s no wonder that society is becoming more health-conscious. However, due to the effective impact of clever marketing, the so-called “super foods” that grace the pages of some of the most fashionable up-and-coming foodie blogs are not as super as they are claimed to be.
Quinoa was getting so much press back in 2012 that it was only short of being deemed the pseudo grain with magical powers. Don’t get me wrong, I love tucking into a quinoa tabbouleh, but quinoa is not a one source nutritional miracle either. I understand the wonderful health benefits of this plant-based complete protein. However, the truth is, you probably won’t be boasting rock-hard abs at the gym the following day.
Agave Syrup is one of the latest sweeteners to hit the health aisles of our supermarkets. One might ask, what is the difference between this mysterious liquid and sugar? The truth is, not a whole lot. While the syrup originates from a plant, it undergoes a lot of refinement and in turn becomes over-processed, eliminating any of its inherent healthy properties.
Continuing on the topic of sugar, juice diets are becoming increasingly popular. Some brave so much as 21-day detoxes without one morsel of solid food passing their lips. I don’t know about you, but to me this concept doesn’t sound so healthy. While you might find you lose a crazy amount of weight (too much too quickly, in fact), the juicing craze is not a sustainable lifestyle.
For many of us, we do not have the time, or the money, to seek out the hottest superfoods on the market or to hunt down the latest magic elixir that insists it will have us glowing within a week. The good news is that we don’t have to! While ingredients such as quinoa and maca powder may look lovely on the shelves of our pantries, they are not essential in trying to obtain optimum health. Some of us, myself included, are guilty of uploading our fashionably healthy plates to Instagram for all of our friends to ogle at. In a world where we are bombarded with images, it is only natural for us to share and compare. This should not distract us from the simple fact that healthy eating does not have to be complicated. It’s important that we strive for the basic principles of healthy eating, such as eating a diet based largely on wholesome, natural foods and drinking plenty of water. We don’t need to rely on the raw cacao nibs to keep us out of the doctor’s office!
