A quick note before the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow.  We are in the midst of the holiday season, filled with great celebrations, and more often than not, filled with lots of food centric activities.  Don't get me wrong, I love to eat and I love good food.... I just hope that more people take the time to truly "know" what they are eating. Before I jump on a soapbox, please understand that I am not a dietician or physician (although it would be fun to play one on TV). I'm just a normal guy from a normal family that decided we would be much better served by eating well.

I shared an article earlier this week on Facebook about the addition of cellulose (wood fiber) to a wide variety of processed foods.  If you missed it, click here to read it. Over the past year, our family has worked really hard to eliminate processed foods from our diet, and to focus on whole foods, preferably organic, and ideally local. And for those other items we buy, we have made a concerted effort to read labels, and to avoid those things that have ingredients that are not recognizable as "food".  It's certainly not easy, because if you stick to those rules, you've eliminated 90% of what can be found in most grocery stores. By focusing on eating this way, my wife and I have both lost weight, our boys are amazing healthy, and I've managed to drastically reduce my cholesterol.  As as side benefit, I've become much more physically active.

So, as we head into this holiday season, my wish for everyone is that they don't count calories, don't become fixated on fat intake, sugar intake, carbohydrates, or any other dietary fad or focus.  Instead, just truly understand and know exactly what it you are eating, and do what you can to make sure its real food ingredients.  If you want some very easy rules, just follow Michael Pollan's "Food Rules" and you can't go wrong.  And finally, eat the real stuff. Choose butter over chemically orchestrated simulated butter spreads. Choose agave nectar, or organic cane sugar over high-fructose corn-syrup or artificial sweeteners.  Keep it real! Your body will thank you.  To quote Andy Bellatti (who really is a registered dietician), "Stop fearing a home-cooked holiday dinner. Your mom's mashed potatoes worry me much less than Big Food's ubiquitous crap food".   So.. there you have it.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday!

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"Within each of us, nature has provided all the pieces necessary to achieve exceptional health and wellness, then left it up to us to put them all together."  ~ Diane McLaren