Make “Real Food” Your Health Food, “Health Food” Your Junk food and Put Junk In the Garbage!

Who needs junk food when most health foods are really refined foods that are loaded with all kinds of unnatural stuff?

I would venture to say that 90% of all health foods are really junk foods and nothing more than junk foods in disguise with “all natural” marketing on the package.

If it was all natural, it likely wouldn’t be in the package.

Now I’m not an idealist and I know that distinctions in meaning need to be clearly made. 

So let me explain.

Real “nutrient rich” food, in its natural state, is healthy food. You don’t have to look at it as health food, but it naturally promotes health.

Health food, is usually never as ‘nutrient rich’ as real food and in most cases is really junk food (see below), because it is far from food in it’s natural state, even if it came from natural sources at one point.

I say “likely”, or “in most cases”, because healthy foods are usually refined, meaning many nutrients have been stripped out of the food.  Some quote “health  foods” though are “processed”, but haven’t had vital nutrients stripped out.

For example, a real food bar or meal replacement may actually have more nutrients than a real food meal, even though it is processed.  Still, meal replacements need to be eaten in conjunction with real whole nutrient rich food.

Another example is a traditional hummus. Everyone loves hummus – processed chick peas or garbanzo beans. It’s a processed food, often sold as health food, but because it’s not refined it’s still considered real whole ‘Nutrient Rich’ food.

Fragmented foods, overly cooked foods, those foods that have as many unnatural substances added etc, while they may be healthier or better than traditional junk food, are still junk! These are foodstuffs that have strayed so far from their natural state, that their effect is similar to junk food.

Many “health” cereals fit that bill.

Whenever I want a good hit of  junk food, (and I do sometimes) all I need to do is look for a health food store or the healthy section of most stores and I can find some worthy junk food.

Junk food?

Who needs that, when we are surrounded with pseudo healthy foods that are often as rich as a standard chocolate bar or shake?

This Atkins Day Break is a great example. Although, you can usually find health food that is far less junkier than this!

I for one will go find a dark chocolate covered greens bar if I’m really looking for something junkie.

The point here is, “change your definition” of junk food and make “health” food your junk food if you need it.

You don’t need junk food, when you could just as easily eat your basic health food bar. I was in whole foods the other day and noticed all the chocolate covered greens bars they have amongst an array of choices.

These food bars are as good as any chocolate bar I’ve ever tasted and are way better for you. Hasta la vista Snickers.

Now of course, I have to finish this post off by saying, eat at least 90% real nutrient rich foods and real nutrient rich food bars, nutrient rich meals, replacements etc and your need for junk will go by way of the highway.

There are so many nutrient rich foods that are so tasty in their natural state, soon enough you won’t need much health food or junk food. A medjool date for example is natures snicker bar. A ripe persimmons is natures syrup and there are countless other examples.

This is the most successful mindset when transitioning to a nutrient rich diet and deciding to eat for health,  performance and natural weight loss.

That’s a resolution that can work!

John Allen Mollenhauer

And no you don’t have to eat like a mouse!

See our last post: Do the Holidays the Nutrient Rich Way – Happy Thanksgiving!

Why do most have to go on a diet in the New Year, eating less food than they want and need? The answer is simple. They eat so many nutrient-poor, calorie-rich foods during the holidays, they overeat excessively, and it’s only natural to want to deal with the most obvious symptom; overweight. It’s what happens when you overload your body with food that doesn’t “serve” your needs other than great taste.

But what if you prepared Nutrient Rich meals which are more appropriate in calories and promote your health? Imagine eating foods, meals and a holiday menu that was great tasting, and you actually felt better after you ate? This can happen for you when what you eat is Nutrient Rich!

Everyone will benefit when you choose to create, buy and serve Nutrient-Rich recipes, rich in quality real food or whole food ingredients. From snacks to baking, there is a Nutrient Rich equivalent for almost every food you are eating right now.

Below are examples of ways to make your holiday meal great tasting and healthier for the entire family.

Instead of eating meals heavy with calorie rich, nutrient poor animal byproducts and ultra refined food stuffs, eat smaller amounts of animal products and discover the dozens, actually unlimited number of ways to eat plant based menus. Plant foods are more Nutrient Rich than animal foods because they are higher on the food chain and don’t contain stuff your body doesn’t need.

Instead of ice cream, eat vice cream – real food ice creams that are made from cashews, water, maple syrup and vanilla, for example.

Rather than seasoning the sweet potatoes with butter or margarine, add orange, pineapple, apples, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, maple syrup, lemon, lime, to add even more flavor.

Enjoy freshly baked bread by itself – there is no need to spread on the artery clogging butter when whole grain breads and healthy spreads are all around us. You can use raw nut butters, apple butter spreads and others.
If you choose to leave some of your favorite recipes as is, eating smaller portions will likely not happen. So make the majority of your meals with Nutrient Rich Recipes, and you won’t have to get as full. You’ll get fulfilled faster eating Nutrient Rich and hunger shuts off. You also won’t have to deprive yourself of the great tasting foods that are important to you and the holiday spirit.

Don’t worry, during the holidays you will likely overeat and gain a few pounds no matter what you eat because everything centers on food. But eating Nutrient Rich, you’ll be healthier, feel better, and be happier. You can then Lose weight the Nutrient Rich Way™ with simple adjustments, and there is no dieting required.

Make only one commitment his holiday season. Raise your standard and eat better quality food. Eat Rich, Nutrient Rich foods, not poor foods that will wreak havoc on your body… Start the New Year with the confidence and knowing you celebrated well.

Check out the Nutrient Rich Food and Recipe Database!

Best, JAM

One of the leading authorities in PerformanceLifestyle® training and coaching, John Allen Mollenhauer (aka John Allen or JAM) is helping an ever-expanding achiever base optimize their lifestyles for better health and success results.

Based on the PerformanceLifestyle® philosophy, he is the founder of the Lifestyle Coaching Center in Livingston, NJ and  leading lifestyle solutions like www.NutrientRich.com Eat Better, Not Less! He teaches that improving your physical fitness and nutrition, losing weight and managing your energy levels

You may know that at NutrientRich.com, we exclusively deliver The Top 12 Findings of The China Study,  as written with the authors of this, the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted.

Findings such as:

• Don’t worry too much about single nutrients, single foods, or single supplements.

• 2.Breast cancer is not just a function of fat intake.
• 3.Blood cholesterol is a predictor not only of heart disease risk, but also
  of cancer.
• 4.By adopting a nutrient rich diet and an active lifestyle, the risks for
  several diseases are reduced at the same time, without even thinking
  about it.
• 5.When a virus strikes, what you eat plays a vital role in your overall
  health.
• 6.It’s not just about how much you eat, it’s what you eat.
• 7. You can virtually eliminate your risk of heart disease,
• …
• 13. Even though many of us worry about getting enough protein, evidence
  suggests that the real danger is consuming too much protein,
  especially if it is protein from the wrong foods.

This document reveals the relationship between diet and disease and is a precursor to the book The China Study.

Since it’s publication, in 2004, T Colin Campbell has started the T. Colin Campbell Foundation and has made major strides in promoting a plant based diet all over the world.

Recently, he was on Larry King Live and that’s where this post really starts.

Note: At about min: 10:38 you’ll see Dr Campbell.

This media clip starts off talking about the e coli contamination of our meats, which were unfortunately causes of death for a number children in this case, and their parents and associates who have taken up activism as a result.

What’s so transparent about the 4-5 people on this CNN panel is the predictable perspectives of each person – that of a practical scientist who is  clearly the most properly educated person on the subject of nutrition among the panelists (T. Colin Campbell), a traditional 4-food groups nutritionist, a “chef” and a newbie vegetarian who is on and off. As well, a meat industry representative.

Each is uniquely motivated by their work and industry and the story that’s consistent with it. Each is tuned into the story reinforced by their interests. Not to imply that anyone had bad interests, but when it comes to the nutrition game, many interests may be no good for you.

Now each professional made sense, and all make interesting points at one point of another, but clearly each is not working from the same body of knowledge and experience. Here’s where you as a consumer have to do your own research, get educated and make wise decisions.

Whatever you do, do not” follow Larry Kings method for coming to conclusions about meat.

From statements about “bacon”, to outdated nutritional arguments, to industry interests, to justifying the consumption of meat based on taste, this interview is a great example why people get so confused.

I don’t think this video came even close to the real argument, which is not about complete protein, it’s not about calories, or taste, or how much money has been spent on food safety… significant amounts of animal protein promote cancer!

Significant consumption of meat (animal protein and products) also causes heart disease!… I could go on.

Have a watch of this clip – Is Meat Safe?

Let me know what you think.

And read The China Study.

Before you respond conclusively about whether meat is safe, from any perspective beyond first hand research that’s at least 20-40 years old on the subject, just share your observations like I am and let’s have a discussion.

John Allen Mollenhauer

PS: The Chef’s observation that because “we have eyes in the front of our head, long legs ’sharp teeth’ (see the tiger above and then tell me how sharp our teeth are) and can track down stupider animals to eat…” is not a very conclusive argument for whether we should be be eating a meat-based diet.

In my next post I’m going to share what I think the argument should have been and what I think Dr Campbell needs to delve into next time he gets this opportunity.

Of course, I know it’s Larry King, not the Healthy Lifestyle Expo.

Nice Job Dr Campbell!

This is the wrong interpretation of a Nutrient Dense or “rich” diet.

A few months back I was debating a student of mine in PerformanceLifestyle training on the concept of whether or not, one diet was right for everyone. Many times a “Nutrient Rich diet” is confused for being a specific diet that everyone must follow, when it’s not.

My debate companion (as opposed to an opponent) is a very open-minded individual and stated that “we have more in common than not”, I agree with him. But I feel he has been hooked on the idea that eating Nutrient Rich is a one-diet-fit’s-all way to eat, meanwhile, nothing could be further from the truth.

I and those I collaborate with have an intention as thought leaders around this idea of eating Nutrient Rich and that is to help people eat the best quality diet possible improve their health, and live at or near their ideal weight free of disease.

Towards that end, we objectively review the literature, test, corroborate, read, and come to sound conclusions. We are heavily influenced by, but not limited too, the work and practice of Joel Fuhrman MD whom I worked for and am a protege of, The China Study (the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted, and factor in broader interests as well, such as what’s best too, for the environment…

We are open minded, we are members of the National Health Association, and frankly if there was a better way to eat, we would find it and will find it if it’s out there.

To our benefit, we are backed by the principles of Nutrient Density, and a world wide movement towards Nutrient Rich eating, which includes the development of the Nutrient Rich food coalition formed by both animal and plant food producers around an idea who’s time has come, the basic science of nutrient profiling and assessing food quality to determine the best foods to eat.

But nutritional value doesn’t always determine the way someone eats; biases, desires, unnatural influences, modern day story and marketing, convenience, addiction, detoxification, culture, tradition etc, affect what why and how we eat as well.

So Nutrient Rich is a quality standard, not a specific diet per say, like vegan or vegetarian or carnivorous etc, and especially not an “eat less” or restricted diet. It’s an intelligent mindset and approach to eating. Matter of fact the only golden rule is that you can eat whatever you want. If you break this rule, you are dieting and that mindset does not promote well being.

A Nutrient Rich diet is generally a plant “based” diet. What this means, is that your diet is at least 90% or more, derived from plant food categories – vegetables, fruits, beans, raw nuts and seed, whole grains…

Why?

You’ll see below, but simply put, these are the most Nutrient Rich foods. As part of an successful lifestyle, when people eat these foods they tend to thrive.

But still, uniquely we don’t dictate specifically how people eat, we simply inspire, educate and support people to eat better, to go from a nutrient poor diet style to a Nutrient Rich diet style that promotes health, the ability to function and perform better, and success, including natural weight loss.

Simply put, eating a Nutrient Rich diet, does not mean you don’t or can’t eat any animal products; as there are many animal foods that are rich in some nutrients and they can be eaten in small quantities without a significant health or environmental effect; but there are reasons why there is so much resistance to animal product consumption.

So we don’t promote animal product consumption as necessary for nutritional reasons, because nutritionally speaking, they are not required for healthy development and they contain substances our body does not need. – See the Food Class System for a complete understanding of the nutrient profiles of foods.

My debate companion comes from another school of thought, influenced by the Weston Price “wise or nourishing” traditions movement in our society that is the “other camp”, who believes that an animal product based diet versus a plant based diet is the healthiest diet around.

Of course, plant vs animal is the big nutritional debate. It’s one that I have tried to steer clear of as I don’t see it as clear cut as that, but if I were to take a side, it would be hands down, plant-based, which is not only about your health first and foremost, living at or near your ideal weight; it’s also healthy for the planet.

Now, having been around a while, I’ve been privy to the low-carb, high animal protein regimen for weight management for a long time, heck, I used to be a bodybuilder who lived by this mantra, but that’s not what this movement is talking about.

Weston Price devotees are promoting an animal products based diet as the healthiest diet and using the research of a dentist (Weston Price) and stated with no derogatory inflection, who states that squatted faces and straight teeth are the hall mark of healthy meat-eating people (major generalization), whereas the elongated faces of vegans and vegetarians who have bad teeth (another major generalization) are the hall mark of eating an unhealthy diet, “loaded with sugar”… as if either were a true premise for either camp.

Now before I go on, let me be clear – a Nutrient Rich diet, does not need to be vegan diet or a vegetarian diet, although a Nutrient Rich diet has more “in common” with a vegan diet than any other because the most nutrient rich foods come from plants..

As a matter of fact, all nutrients come from plants with the exception of b-12, which comes from the small insects and bacteria that are on plants as they grow.

While I am not a vegan per say, I eat a diet that’s probably 95% or more plant-based and most of the time (not all) raw, simply on the basis that I, like millions of others, like to eat the most nutrient rich foods determined by their nutrient profiles and the state in which you eat them, not guesswork or idealism and it’s convenient!

From time to time I will eat some animal products for one reason or another… but why, is another post.

Note: I am not a raw foodist so to speak, or any other but we support such perspectives as they all have value, including the perspective that some people want to consume and consume more animal products than others. You can eat what ever you want.

We I and my team are most concerned with is promoting, all things considered, the best definition for eating Nutrient Rich, and then let people make decisions for what they will eat, who they will follow, what they want their regimens and ways of life to be. At the end of the day, we don’t dictate that. It’s your lifestyle and you are responsible for it.

So, recently, I went to a Weston Price Foundation-based presentation, by a promoter of a diet “the Liberation Diet“, inspired by the Weston Price “wise traditions” philosophy that my debate opponent was defending; defending as a “nutrient dense” diet. Note: I realize that this particular diet promoter, may or may not be extreme and of course, he is not Weston Price and may have his own skews.

What I discovered was one of the most porous arguments I have ever heard. Aside from the fact that they were selling nutrient rich supplements, Mangosteen and other mineral drinks along side the nutrient poor diet they were promoting, I have never been presented with a more un-appealing diet in my life.

Mind you, I happen to like many animal foods, but this just didn’t seem right; even as a layman this might seem a little off base.

Let me know what you think.

– 80% fat
– butter, as much as you want to eat
– lard
– pig fat,
– duck
– goat
– cheese
– insects,
– pickled foods
– organ meets, particularly liver,
– steak,
– raw milk
– eggs
– small amounts of vegetables and
– even smaller amounts (at the top of the pyramid) of seasonal fruits. “according to the Liberation diet, they have to much sugar).
- No refined food, other than process bread, home made.

The argument was that these foods are high in vitamin A, D and “activator x) vitamin K. Just 3 of the 4 vitamins and minerals (only two of the roughly 10 categories of nutrients) and that’s where the argument stood. These foods are rich in some nutrients, even more than was accentuated, but still animal products are nutrient poor foods as a whole for 3 reasons:

1) The quality of the nutrients and their effects (i.e animal protein) are cancer promoting – ref The China Study…
2) These foods are missing whole categories of nutrients, in particular phytochemicals, hence the need for supplementation.
3) These foods contain substances our body doesn’t need from dietary sources – saturated fat, cholesterol etc..

This gentleman, who is the owner of www.VisionaryTrainers.com and a registered dietitian, had some really good things to say and was very respectable – the whole story about how Crisco was inspired by the creation of Edison’s light bulb because there was no longer a need to rely on candles (made from lard) for light, which gave way to hydrogenation and the creation of trans fat as “a healthier fat” when compared to animal fat (stated at that time), which of course inspired the refined rood revolution and increased hard attacks… is not in debate.

I know long sentence.

But to think that the rise in heart attacks, diabetes and obesity… is only about eating too much trans fat, is just short sighted.

What knocked me off my chair was this; the argument was, there were no heart attacks before 1901 and people were eating the “wise tradition” of meats and butter etc (see dietary recommendations above), before heart attacks began to rise; so therefore in short, we should not only return to eating those foods, but they should be 80-90% of our diet.

The more the better!

Does anyone else think this is crazy?
80% fat?

Well, I think it is crazy, the nutrient profiles of foods say it’s crazy, years of reflection after Robert Atkins died of his own diet say it’s crazy, objective science says it’s crazy, even marketing says it’s crazy!

When’s the last time you saw an advertisement promoting “nutrients” that had “liver” as a promotional photo??

I am reading more from those who promote high fat diets to become even more versed in this, and to be able to articulate why some people who eat these diets may see health improvements, but there are just too many arguments against such a diet that do not support it’s sensibility. Nonetheless, I will learn more as I eat Nutrient Rich clean foods.

As I listened to this presentation, I was surrounded by the same group of people I remember seeing at Atkins events years ago (I used to attend for insight into that trend)… overweight people who are being misled by other overweight people who have good intentions but seemingly need to open their minds and understand more than weight management and observational science, and the nutrient poor model of nutrition.

A Nutrient Rich Diet, is a predominantly plant based diet. You can take it as far as you want and become a vegan, but you don’t have too. That’s entirely up to you.

Once you understand the nutritional qualities of foods and the practical influences on living healthy in todays day and age, factor in good science, and use your common sense, most people arrive at eating a diet that is at least 90% plant based or more.

When you focus on eating better, not less, you enter into the realm of not only having a healthier body, but a healthier mindset that’s good for you and the planet (another post). You also learn how to lose weight the Nutrient Rich way.

So be very careful about the story you buy into. This article does not provide sufficient data for you to know 100% or not it’s truth, so, I would suggest you begin reading this site, and other sites such as www.diseaseproof.com and like me, get educated on both sides of fence, that way you can come to your own conclusion.

At NutrientRich.com we are more interested in debate and seeking best practices, than dictating how a person individually eats. Part of the fun is the learning and discovery process. But in the end we are for defining and eating the most Nutrient Rich diets possible, the results of such a diet are usually great!

~ John Allen Mollenhauer

In just the past week alone, the History Channel, and the Discovery Channel ran multiple documentaries on the subject of global warming or what’s otherwise known as “climate change”.  

National Geographic has the clearing of the Amazon on its front cover and there are many other
references to what is happening right now to our planet in the mainstream media every day; the result of what’s mostly thought to be a fossil fuel and emissions issue.

The mainstream media is telling us every day about this problem, but what they don’t understand is that it’s more than the burning of fossil fuels in your Humvee that’s causing the problem, it’s your food choices.

We are eating a diet that is predominantly based on animal foods and refined foods, the production of which is largely what’s causing the accumulation of Co2 in our atmosphere that is creating global warming.   

If you have to raise “billions” of animals for food, to feed other animals (humans) who would naturally eat predominantly plant foods, you can imagine how our land, water and natural resources are being spent in a way that is throwing the whole ecology of our planet off.

Not only do we need to feed 6 plus billion people but we have to feed 10 plus billion animals a year to create the food most westernized populations are now eating.

This morning I got a newsletter from John McDougall M.D a Nutrient Rich Lifestyle, Health and Science Advisor, talking about this very subject.

Here’s the headline:

An Inconvenient Truth: We Are Eating Our Planet to Death. Choosing a Plant-food Based Diet Is a Moral Issue http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/dec/truth.htm

In the newsletter he provides great facts and figures and quotes Nicholas Cage (2004):

“It means if there is something wrong, those who have the ability to take action, have the responsibility to take action.” 

It’s an inconvenient truth I know to realize you might need to change cars http://www.hokeg.dyndns.org/AITruth.htm). But know this, our food choices are at the center of the problem and making changes to a better quality diet is what we’re doing anyway!

This inconvenient truth can inspire YOU in 2007 to hit the goal we’re aiming for which is 80-90% or more, Nutrient Rich foods.

NutrientRich.com is first and foremost about eating for health and success in our lives, free of diet weight and long term health issues and eating a predominantly plant based diet is at the heart the solution.

This is why I have often steered clear of political issues so as not the muddy the waters while we get this message heard and focus on the goal. I felt and feel I can do more to solve this global problem by helping people hit a goal that directly promotes their health and success, than to be a crusader on the global warming crisis when the goal in eating Nutrient Rich solves the problem.

But climate change, largely the result of clearing land to produce meat and milk (not the only but among the largest causes of the problem) is a big deal and needs to also be addressed directly, particularly because its not only a food issue.  

The whole agriculture system we have today is set up to feed millions of people a second and third class diet that is rich in calories but poor in nutrients and it’s ruining our planet. But we also have to make other changes so that we maintain the ecology of our planet. So get educated on this.

I am no longer going to sit idle on this an neither should you.

Don’t think for an instant that your food choice don’t matter, they do. Don’t think for an instant that this is environmental hype, it’s not. Don’t think for an instant that this doesn’t effect you, it does!  And your kids too – especially your kids.

It’s not that inconvenient. Improving our food quality is a good thing with all kinds benefits and it doesn’t have to happen overnight. Changing out cars the like can also happen over time, especially now that some of our cool cars and stuff are becoming more environmentally friendly.

But start with your food!

The irony here is that you don’t need to become a crusader to solve the problem. To solve the problem all you need to do is take care of you and your family and eat a Nutrient Rich diet!

There will always be someone telling you just what you might want to hear. ”There is no problem, it’s all false and hype”. These are false profits; they are purchased people who have an interest in you eating the way you currently do. Food marketing is at the root of this; the beef industry the dairy council and others.

I recogonize that these people have families to feed too and that’s why they defend their products, I respect that. But the production of these products as a significant part of our diets, the majority of our diets that animal products have become, is raping this planet. Keep this in mind as you make your food choices.

We have never said become a vegan or a vegetarian at NutrientRich.com, but eating a predminantly plant based diet is the way to go, for your health and the health of the planet!

In closing:

This post is meant to inspire, not educate. I’m leaving that to experts on the subject. But consider making the transition to the goal of 80-90% Nutrient Rich whole foods, of plant origin in 2007. Not only will you save your body, but you’ll save the planet.

Google Reference:

http://www.google.com/search?q=climate+change&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a