I have a problem with television commercials. From the pharmaceutical ads spending lengthy durations rattling off frightening side effects, to the highly desirable underwire bras that impede the lymphatic detoxification system, to the toothpaste pitch that says enamel can’t grow back, I garnish many eye rolls from my kiddos when disputing product claims.
But now I’ve gone too far. My dander is up from a seemingly harmless promotion of Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt by the ever so handsome and charming John Stamos. I’ve jumped off the extremist, kombucha loving, health nut deep end. As if not wearing a bra wasn’t bad enough, now I take offense to Uncle Jessie? Dannon’s plain yogurt of the Oikos variety contains only one ingredient, cultured grade A nonfat milk. The simplicity of their plain yogurt is refreshing, but not healthful. Quality fat, like the cream found in milk, is necessary for good health. The commercial, however, features the blueberry (not plain) variety containing a whole host of unhealthful ingredients like sugar, modified corn starch, natural flavor, carrageenan, carmine, malic acid, potassium sorbate, and sodium citrate. Normally no fats and questionable ingredients are enough to send me into a rant about Ancel Keys and/or processed foods, but not this time.
So what is it? My problem with this commercial is its ending tagline, “Too Delicious to be so Nutritious”. Really? The message of this commercial (and others) is that nutritious food tastes bad. I disagree wholeheartedly! Nutrient dense whole food tastes amazingly delectable! Unfortunately, without fats to make food enjoyable, modern day “health food” is exemplified by dry, tasteless rice cakes. Guess I do need to mention a bit about Ancel Keys. He chose 6 out of 22 countries in his 1953 study to prove his theory that high rates of dietary fat correlate to high rates of heart disease, omitting the 16 countries that showed no such correlation. Ancel Keys’ falsified report led to the no and low fat diet trend, and one reason people think that healthy food should taste bad. Because other than being used to make neurotransmitters, hormones, and cell walls and regulate inflammation, fats make food taste great!
Another reason people think real whole food tastes bad is because regular consumption of processed, chemically laden food numbs the senses. Taste buds become dull. Not to worry though, taste buds will regain their flavor sensing function after switching to nutrient dense whole foods. Some bites of real (not processed) food bring me so much joy that I well up with tears. That’s how delicious real whole food can be! Not only do your taste buds come alive, but you do too. Real food makes you happy, like when your body makes serotonin, the happiness hormone, out of quality fat and protein. Alive food (cultured and fermented) makes you feel alive. No dry processed Chips Ahoy cookie or diet bar can ever measure up to an organic white peach sliced and topped with homemade sour cream.
Every bite my family eats tastes mindblowingly delicious, and it’s all grain free and sugar free. Tonight, my fourth son said, “Mom, this is the best meal ever!” (It was just an ordinary night, not a holiday nor special occasion.) Most of the others agreed triggering the thought of a modified SpongeBob song. I did go a bit overboard by cooking honey applesauce ribs, fauxtatoes, butternut squash fire fries, and omelets. It was SO good and all GAPS friendly, which means it’s easy on the digestive system! GAPS™ stands for the Gut and Psychology/Physiology Syndrome. When you heal the gut, you heal many mental and physical illnesses.
It’s fitting to modify Howard Thurman’s famous quote: “Ask what makes you come alive, and go [EAT] it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
You matter! What you eat matters! Let’s create a new way of thinking about food, “So Delicious it must be Nutritious”!
NOURISHING HAPPINESS 