Food Rules

Food Rules!

Hello EMI Wellness fans! I am our newest Wellness Coach, Taun Bleazard. I am experienced in health education, coaching, and biometric screening. I have my degree in exercise science and nutrition from the University of Utah! Go Utes! I love hiking, running, and finding every short cut to eating healthy without much effort! Eventually, I would love to share my insights in all of these areas.

This week, I am starting my first blog series on a quick read by Michael Pollan called "Food Rules." It is a simple book for anyone to pick up and I have been impressed so far.

The catch phrase is "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." I love this because it illustrates how simple a healthy diet can be! (Not to be confused with fad diets which often cut out essential foods)

Eat food. Let's take a step back from the typical American to re-define food. There are lots of products out there pretending to be food. They are referred to as "processed foods."

Processed Foods = "Edible Foodlike Substances" = Garbage Pretending to be Food

Food or Not?

• Produce- FOOD!
• 100% whole wheat bread- FOOD!
• Potato chips- NOT!
• All-natural Milk- FOOD!
• Salmon- FOOD!
• Soda- NOT!
• White bread- NOT!
• Greek Yogurt- FOOD!
• Fruit snacks- seriously...NOT! Fruit leather- FOOD!
• Ramen noodles- NOT!
• Nuts- FOOD!
• American cheese- NOT!
• All-natural cheese- FOOD!
• Hot Dogs- NOT!
• Chicken breast- FOOD!

Do a quick look through nutrition facts and ingredients. Here are some basic guidelines to avoid edible foodlike substances:

• If there is trans fat, run away!
• If there is an ingredient listed you have never heard of, run away!
• If you see the ingredients "hydrogenated oil" or "high fructose corn syrup," run away!

Not too Much. We all know calories matter. Giving your body the amount of calories it wants will keep a steady weight. Eating more calories than you need will gain weight. Cutting calories will lead to weight loss. The good news is hunger and fullness are excellent internal indicators of when to start and stop.

Mostly plants. Have you ever  heard someone tell you plants are unhealthy? I sure hope not, and if they did, don't listen! It is true that some are more nutrient-dense than others, but if it comes from the ground or a tree, it is always better than something from a package.

I will go into each section in depth over the next few weeks so please check back next Friday!