got light?

… keep it to yourself.

People who are conscious about what they eat and drink, seem to go for “lean” and “light” whenever possible these days. I have never been given good reasons as to why that is, and other people's choices for what to consume are of course their's to make anyway.

Being conscious about what one is eating and drinking, is good – at least in theory. Knowing for certain what one is consuming, and why, is even better, and hopefully most consumers are on top of those issues too.

Right, so I have also become more conscious about what to consume and what to avoid. I want my body, and mind, to work optimally, and – with reference to the headlines – the only thing I want “light” is pure water.
To continue along those lines, I am also not fond of bottles and cans with intended or unintended pollution, which, for the most part, rules out softdrinks, juices and bottled water. Thus, although I'm not an avid beer drinker, good beer in glass-bottles may be the best option if there is no clean tap-water or unpolluted natural water source available.

When it comes to the “all-important” question of how to keep weight under control, my choice is not to consume more light and lean, but to consume less … especially less of what my body, and mind, have no need for. Seems to work fine.1

safe choices

The human body has had thousands of years to adapt to natural food and processing, and from only a few years to a century or so to adapt to polluted, “improved” and over-processed food. No doubt in my mind when it comes to what serves my body best.

Naturally produced food-items that haven't been altered or polluted compared to how they were available let's say one hundred years ago, are sure winners when I go food hunting. I have very little interest in “improved food” no matter how and with what it is improved, and – when at all possible – I prefer to process my own food all the way from raw, unpolluted, ingredients to the plate.

I may of course choose “lean”, “light” and other unwanted and (in my mind) totally unnecessary “improvements”, over suffering from hunger and thirst, but only if there is no proper food and drink available where I happen to be.
No big deal once in a while – every few months or so.

health fanatic? no way…

I love to prepare simple and delicious dishes, with or without basis in traditional recipes. Almost anything can go into a dish, as long as I know exactly what it is so I can weigh it in at the right amount and process it properly.
Some naturally lean products do then of course also go into my meals, because they contain necessary proteins, minerals and vitamins. I don't count calories, only usefulness.
“Rich and balanced” is the main rule.

Hardly a dinner without meat when I'm in charge. No big steaks, as all meat is cut or shaped into bite-size pieces before being slowly fried in a mixture of real butter and/or coconut oil, flaxseed meal and spices. Usually served with a rich mixture of simmered vegetables and seeds.

As I no longer have access to raw milk from our own farm, a selection of fermented milk products with medium to high fat content has become part of my diet.

Light, low-fat milk or milk products … forget it – that's bad even for calves.

If eggs are on the menu for breakfast – or any meal for that matter, one can hardly have too many. Two, three or four eggs, and sometimes more. And preferable organic – they really do taste better.

Real (organic) eggs contain a pretty balanced mix of the vitamins we humans need – all except vitamin-C. Thus, real eggs in the diet make most supplements unnecessary.
And don't bother to mention “cholesterol” in eggs as something negative, as nothing could be further from the truth in an otherwise rich and balanced diet.

something extra…

My taste-buds are well developed, which means there's no need to exite them with extra flavors. I am definitely no health fanatic though, and am consuming what may be considered to be less healthy substances simply because I like them.

I enjoy good whiskey and good tobacco – both as potent and pure as I can get them. If I want something added to my drinks or tobacco, I'll add it myself.
(FYI: I consume alcohol in moderation, but smoke more than my doctor, and my lungs, like.)

Coffee isn't bad either. I prefer mine laced with Cinnamon, and without fake cream or sweeteners. May on occasions add real butter and/or coconut fat to my coffee, and maybe also more spices.

Chocolate is a delicious treat – especially my home-made chocolate mousse variants consisting mainly of cacao, coconut fat, yoghurt and honey, and spiced to taste.

a pretty basic idea

All nutrition my body will ever need for whatever I ask of it, I intend to supply it with in the form of food. What my body doesn't need, including residue of pesticides, antibiotics and all the various food compounds and additives invented over the last hundred years or so, I intend to avoid consumption of to the degree possible.2

I have minimal interest in rules, recommendations or guidelines from experts on nutrition or related subjects, regardless of whether these experts are professionals or of the more regular home-spun kind.

I develop my personal preferences as I go when it comes to what I will consume or not, and will continue to let others figure out and keep their preferences without me interfering.3

what's the point…

There are no lofty goals, like wishes for a “long life” or “great health”, behind my new, more conscious, diet preferences. It is all so very much simpler…
You see, sticking to sound choices seems to have tremendously positive and lasting effects on my wellbeing today, every day, and who doesn't want that.

The good thing about sound food choices is that doses won't have to be increased over time to achieve the same positive effects. This indicates that there are no “addiction” effects at play, only adjustments to my daily needs.

no fad…

More and more in life circles around increased, and pretty mindless, consumption, as people jump on one cleverly initiated fad after another. I have never paid much attention to fads, and am not about to start now.

The slight changes in lifestyle indicated in this article, don't really cost me anything in time or money now, and will probably save some of both in the future. So, I think I'll make these changes permanent.

After some down-turns in the near past, I am now in the process of rebuilding my constitution – in part by consuming proper food. Apart from the damage caused by “medical expertise” (that will probably take a few more years to heal), everything seems to be working out much better than I could have dreamt up.

sincerely georg; sign

Hageland 01.aug.2015
last rev: 10.sep.2016

side notes.

no “laws” in my cookbook

In our modern societies all terms, laws, rules and guidelines are under constant change without notice, in all areas, and so also for what is, or can be, defined as food.
The term “good food” has become a moving target, and one has to dig deeper and deeper in order to verify any such claims.

I will not allow myself to be caught clinging to terms and preferences that have been stripped of their original meaning in order to serve somebody else's agenda.
Thus, I am prepared to change any and all “wording” I use in an instance, without notice, whenever I find the need for change in order to serve me.

dealing with unknown factors

While I am always open for trying out new food, I am also becoming more and more sensitive to what my body tells me I should not consume – also when I have no idea why.

My body's nutritional needs are anything but constant, and I try to pick up the signals it sends as early as possible. No secret that the human body converts different substances at different rates depending on a whole range of factors, so apparent lack of “constants” when it comes to the effects of diet, isn't, or should not be, surprising.

In some cases my body may react negatively on food ingredients, and in other cases it may be the processing that throws it off. It may also simply be the relative amount of an ingredient that feels wrong. I don't have to analyze and define exactly what it is my body reacts to, in order to act with caution.

Fixed “mental rules” will tend to interfere with my body's often quite faint and fine-grained signals, and in order to serve my body's best interests all interference has to be filtered out.
What I end up with is personal preferences and guidelines that are flexible enough to not get in the way of sensible reactions to my internal signaling system – a technocrat's perfect open-ended solution.

some basic preferences

I prefer food in raw, unprocessed, form, for me to process.
I prefer food that is low in carbohydrates.
If a food-item is marketed as “healthy”, I become suspicious.
If any form for “prescription”4 is needed, I usually pass and go on search for alternatives.
If a food-item doesn't degrade naturally over time, it isn't meant for consumption.
I avoid refined sugar and salt, and food that contains them, whenever possible. I will always get enough sweet stuff, and unrefined salt is what my body needs.
I do eat pork and fowl, but prefer meat from free-ranged cattle and sheep.
I do eat fish, but only if the quality is really good – I grew up on fish since my father was a fisherman.
Refined and processed food is always suspicious.
Heavily processed food is even more suspicious.
If I don't know for sure what's in the food I'm offered, I prefer to pass on the meal.
Any suspicion of GMO content in whatever quantity, and I prefer to pass.
Any suspicion of abnormal use of pesticides, and I prefer to pass.
Naturally grown and unpolluted fruit and vegetables, does not have a uniform and standardized appearance.
If there are true organic alternatives available, I usually choose those.

These are a few of my personal guidelines, and I don't plan ahead but make my choices based on what's available where I happen to be.

some near absolutes

I do not eat farmed salmon.
No shrimp on me thanks.
No softdrinks.
No low-fat/no-fat produce.
No olive, soybean or canola oil.
No artificial sweeteners.

The reason for not listing these items as totally, absolutely, off the table, is that I will of course not let myself die over not consuming them if the situation is that dire. “Once in a while” may be acceptable.
On the other hand, if the situation becomes permanently bad for lack of acceptable alternatives on the market, I may choose not to consume these items no matter what.
In my neighborhood nature will always provide…

finally, an example…

Below is a picture of my typical breakfast, served in a small bowl.

Oats and/or flaxseed meal, cacao and turmeric, greek yogurt and cottage cheese, banana, blueberry and strawberries … adding cinnamon, honey and a dash of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to taste.

For variation I may choose from a wide range of nuts and seeds, crushed on top of, or mixed into, the basic breakfast mix. Any supplements5 I may find a need for, are served with such a breakfast.

additional notes

1 I'm now about 4kg above ideal weight, and am losing a little weight each month without even trying. This despite the fact that my daily diet contains a lot more fat and “paper-calories” now than back in the days when I went up in weight.

2 as nearly all food (and most else) on the market today is contaminated or “unnecessarily processed” to some degree, it is not realistic to think that we can totally avoid all the unwanted stuff. We can limit intake and exposure though.

3 I am no expert on other people's nutritional needs, and do not see it as my business to tell anyone what I think is good or bad for them.

4 after decades of having had to rely on medication to control pain caused by irreversible medical conditions, with all the negative side-effects of that, I am glad to report that my pharmacy bills are now at zero, with no negative side-effects (but many positive ones).

5 my typical (daily) vitamin and mineral supplements are: D3, K2 and Magnesium. Usually one unit (pill/capsule) of each – max available strength.
One can overdose on vitamins and minerals, which often is just as bad, or even worse, as not getting enough.