8 Aspects of the to Real Life Food Philosophy
New diet theories are trending every few years. It was said that we should avoid fats. Suddenly, the problem was no longer the fats but the carbohydrates. Now it’s said we should eat a particular amount of proteins. Coconut oil is hyped as a Superfood one month and the next month it increases the risk for cardiovascular disease.
Common reasons for such contradicting messages are the simplification of research results in the media, the marketing of the diet and sports industries, doctors that haven’t been trained for nutrition, studies funded by large corporations as well as persuasive lobbyists.
What we need to be able to cut through, are not more myths and tactics, but a basic philosophy, which helps us to orientate ourselves in the jungle of diet theories.
In this article, you’ll learn what about the to Real Life food philosophy. Our Brunch and gourmet dinner events, recipes and our personal diets are based on this philosophy. You can also use the following tips for your personal journey.
Do we even need a Food Philosophy?
Why should we even question our diet? Many diseases that have become almost commonplace such as inertia, overweight, abdominal cramps, diabetes, and headaches can be resolved with a conscious nutrition or preventively avoided.
You are what you eat. Our fast lifestyle often leads us to fast food and the menus in restaurants, as well as the shelves in supermarkets, are filled with offers, which don’t support our own lives, nor our planet.
This imbalance of offers and the associated health, environmental and social consequences have the result that we should place a counterweight with a conscious diet philosophy. With our personal path, we can make a difference.
The information in this article is based on personal experiences or the experiences of others and are not medical advice.
Here 8 aspects of the to Real Life food philosophy:
Individuality
Most diets theories are based on a fixed dogma, which classifies certain foods as healthy and others as unhealthy. With nutrition, it’s not so easy. We are all different — in height, weight, stature, character, age. Every human being is unique. Accordingly, everyone has their own needs. And the needs change again according to the season and geographic location.
What’s the best diet for you, is therefore not written in stone. Diet theories such as that of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) or of Ayurveda (Traditional Indian Medicine) were the first to teach us to pay attention to the differences of our lifestyles, bodies, and personality types to nourish ourselves.
Without the help of Ayurvedic or TCM coaches, this means we need to develop body awareness and to make sure how our own bodies and minds respond to certain foods. Accordingly, it’s up to oneself to decide what’s a good food and what not. This also applies to the following points listed by me.
Real
According to the to Real Life definition a diet that is real is based on integrity and respect for social (fair trade), environmental and health aspects, as well as on enjoyment. This means that one’s nutrition matches the personal taste and makes a social contribution at the same time. Thus, we can live in harmony with our fellow human beings, our environment and ourselves.
It’s not focusing on inflicting less damage and practicing renunciation, but on doing something good for yourself and your environment.
The variety of the foods that nature gives us is huge. It’s fun to go on a journey of discovery to fully enjoy life and what the world has to offer.
An example for this is this blog, which is full of recipes and tips from our personal journey to real life.
Wholesome
Processed foods, which have lost much of their original taste and many of their original nutrients are a big part of the supermarket’s offer. In addition, the list of ingredients at the back of these products is often filled with incomprehensible chemically manufactured and artificial ingredients. While much of the original quality of the food is lost. Many of the above-mentioned diseases are preemptively solved through the consumption of wholesome foods.
Be sure to mostly consume as original full-fledged food and processed products to only gently processed products to the shopping cart.
Examples of ways we implement this are by buying plenty of fresh vegetables, using Sun-dried dates instead of refined sugar to sweeten desserts, consuming whole grain products wherever possible and drinking mainly water and home fermented beverages in addition.
Organic
Conventional food is produced using chemical fertilizers, plant, and fungal toxins (pesticides, herbicides, fungicides), and animal products with the use of drugs such as antibiotics. This has a tremendous impact on the ground on which these products are cultivated, which are becoming more infertile year by year. The health of the animals, the workers, and the consumers is also affected by the modern way of conventional food production.
With the purchase of organic and biodynamic products we promote sustainable agriculture and protect ourselves from environmental toxins and antibiotic-resistant germs.
Plant-Based
Our food philosophy is based on a plant-based diet.
What many of the world’s longest-lived people have in common is that they mainly live on a plant-based diet.
Image: Factors, which make out the Blue zones (places where the world’s longest-lived people live).
There are also many social and ecological reasons, to have a purely plant-based or vegan diet, which we have discussed in previous articles:
Why plant-based (vegan)? Part 1
Why plant-based (vegan)? Part 2 — Beyond Local
Seasonal and Local
Nature has always been giving us what our bodies need in every season. With a seasonal nutrition using local produce, we benefit from fresh nutrient-dense foods. Therefore, when buying fresh products such as fruits and vegetables we pay attention to buy seasonal and local. Exceptions are dry fruits, which have a low ecological footprint through the long durability and light weight.
Love
We believe that love in food is an essential part of good nutrition. Most of us intuitively sense that eating can play a much greater role than the intake of nutrients. This is also supported by the international slow food movement. The mindfulness and care with which the food has been produced, the love while cooking, the gratitude for the dish, as well as the social setting while eating make our experience richer and our food more pleasurable.
The Journey
The journey is the reward. Therefore, our food philosophy is not about forcing ourselves to things which we are not ready for, but about introducing new habits into our diet with pleasure bit by bit. Part of the journey is going in one direction, questioning our dogmas and belief systems and continuously reinventing ourselves. Only when we enjoy our journey in the now, we can shape the future according to our ideas.
Finding a food philosophy, which works for oneself, is not always easy. What’s often missing is help, guidance, and support to cope with the flood of information, new myths, discoveries, and trends.
Do you have questions about nutrition or do you seek assistance or advice? Then click on the following link to set up a private discovery call with my wife Lisa who is a certified Health Coach.
If you have general questions or inputs from your food philosophy, we appreciate your comments below.
Cheers,
Prosper
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