Healthy Living Principle #3 - Think Seasonally



Flickr: All rights reserved by fatboydon

To follow up Healthy Living Principles #1 and #2, #3 is Think Seasonally. What does "think seasonally" mean?  When you are choosing your fruits and vegetables, choose the majority of what you're eating based on those foods that are in season where you live.  Some foods are in season "year round" so feel free to enjoy them year round When you eat seasonal foods, they are more likely to be locally grown (since the food is in season where you are) and picked closer to their peak of ripeness verses picked early and ripened with gas or have color added so that the food looks more appetizing.  When you are eating foods that travel less distance, and that are picked closer to their peak you are getting a more nutritious product, and increasing the nutrients for your dollar.  Another great thing about eating seasonally is that it tends to be cheaper: blueberries are less expensive in July when they are in season and you can get them from New Jersey (for those of us on the East Coast) verses in January when you have to eat ones that are imported from a warmer climate where they can still be grown.  On that note, foods that are seasonal and local travel less, so in addition to generally being more nutritious and less expensive they are also better for the environment (less travel to get to you) and can help support your local farmers.



How do you know what foods are seasonal, the easiest way is to go to a farmer's market, find one local to you today here and see what they have.  Most farmer's markets source their products from LOCAL farmers, which means that you'll be getting seasonal produce.

Healthy Living Principle #2: Eat More Vegetables

Healthy Living Principle #2: Eat More Vegetables.  Vegetables are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that are essential for health and optimal body function.  Everyone's diet could be better with the inclusion of a few more veggies, especially the leafy green kind.  Think about it, at how many meals and snacks do you actually eat vegetables?  When you do eat them, how much do you eat?  Do you eat the obligatory 2 pieces of broccoli so you can check the box on getting your veggies for the day?

Did you know that nutritionally greens are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc and vitamins A, C, E and K. They are crammed with fiber, folic acid, chlorophyll and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals. You don't have to eat them raw or cooked all the time; it's a good idea to eat a combination of cooked and raw vegetables. And eat what you like, try new vegetables and experiment with how to prepare them and learn how you like them. You may like carrots raw but hate them cooked, or you may think that brussel sprouts are gross and have memories of your parents forcing you to eat them before you could leave the table when you were a kid. But try a shredded brussel sprout salad or sauteed in grass fed butter and you could find that they are delcious.

Paleo in the Mainstream

Robb Wolf's Book

Slowly, like Crossfit, the concept of Paleo eating is becoming more mainstream and is getting more media attention.  Last night, March 1 2011, "Eating like a Caveman" was featured on Nightline ABC.  You can watch that piece and read the write up on the story which included interviews with both Robb Wolf and Art De Vany by following this link.  Both Robb and Art have recently released books on Paleo eating, I've read and recommend Robb's book The Paleo Solution and have Art's book The New Evolution Diet in my queue.

Art De Vany's Book

Although I'd really like to move the media image of Paleo nutrition away from what Robb describes as the "lunatic fringe" of images of actual cavemen and the idea of people wearing "bear skins" watching the video you see both Robb in his gym and some normal people at Crossfit South Brooklyn, doing some work and then hanging out with some Paleo food.  I thought it was awesome that they show Art De Vany, who is 73, pulling his Range Rover as exercise and the best part, the interviewer was stunned.  A few things to note is that you don't have to eat at a Brazilian steakhouse to have a Paleo meal (featured in the beginning) and while the nutritionist's comments don't knock the diet they are still forcing it into the confines of what Mark Sisson refers to as conventional wisdom, advised that a Paleo diet is fine - as long as you watch your fat intake. If you know about the principles of the Paleo diet you know that fat is a good thing, check out my previous post on what eating Paleo looks like here.

Going Against the Grain

Over the past year I have discovered that "common knowledge" and "conventional wisdom" on food, nutrition, and fitness often steers us in the wrong direction and the things engraved into our brains about what we think is healthy is most often based on myth. Through my research into food and fitness I have developed a new perspective and outlook on life - one that I've found tends to be a bit controversial and different from others at times. . . or in this case Against the Grain.

My involvement in Crossfit lead to me learning about how to eat for performance, which soon developed into a new nutrition hobby. I've become really involved and dedicated to doing Crossfit - a type of workout focusing on constantly varied functional movements: lifting, gymnastics, running, rowing, and body weight exercises. I have been learning about how what I thought was healthy - running long distances, eating low fat foods, not eating red meat and butter - actually isn't and why. It’s been an eye opening experience to learn the science behind exercise and nutrition: learning how and why you should get stronger, how your body actually processes food at a macro nutrient level (fat, protein, carb), and how foods that I had traditionally avoided actually positively impact your overall health and well being.

Every chance I get, I have been trying to share my perspective and learning about food and fitness with my friends, family, and co-workers hoping they wouldn't tag me as being too crazy. I wanted to start this blog to share what I've been learning, why I do the things I do, and to help guide other people as they are trying to navigate through all of the information that they think is fact and why you shouldn't blindly follow what THEY say:the food pyramid, what you learned in high school health class, paid health claims on packaged foods, things you read in magazines...

I hope you find my blog interesting and helpful, and that it sparks your curiosity and has you considering why you should consider going 'Against the Grain' too.