Or not. I've been taking an interest in diet and nutrition for a while. I think it's what's supposed to happen to you, unless you're particularly happy go lucky, when you get past 40 or 50. You're brain starts to tell you: hey mate, you're MORTAL!
So I've read a lot about foody stuff. One of the things I've decided is probably correct is that it is not a good idea to put fats (proteins like meat, fish, and oils) and sugars (including sugar, and carbohydrates like wheat based items ) together. So...Cake? No. Doughnuts? No. Processed foods of most descriptions? No. You knew that of course.
But also. Potatoes/ rice/bread and meat. No! You can eat those things separately, but it seems that when you put them together it turns on some addictive triggers in our heads which stop us knowing when to stop. In fact a lot of the big companies (clue: money making businesses) sussed this years ago and pay evil science types millions to discover the exact addictive proportions of fats and sugars needed to make you simply HAVE to have one more bag of Wotsits. Or another Big Mac.
Now, you might think this is hokum pokum, and likely to cause unhappiness and stress related ulcers. And perhaps you're right. But I have realised that when I think of giving up cheese on toast, I get exactly the same nervous, twitchy unease that I used to get when I contemplated giving up cigarettes.
I know. One is Food. The other is a dangerously unhealthy carcinogenic drug. But the science seems to suggest that I might be doing myself damage with my tasty snacks too. And that I am in fact addicted to certain combinations of food. Which leads me to eating things that make me more likely to get...well, you know, the usual suspects. Deathly things.
So I'm experimenting. I'm basically going to eat most of the usual stuff, but not mix my carbohydrates and proteins, the sugars and fats. In short I'm going cold turkey on pizza.
I discovered when I stopped smoking ten years ago that most of the cravings that told me I MUST HAVE a cigarette were psychological. And just by stopping, and carrying on stopping, the cravings have gone. And I realise that I don't have to smoke. More than that, I really, really, don't want to. I learned to enjoy other things instead. Remarkably I'm happy without cigarettes. Happier, to be honest.
Because of that experience, I've no doubt I can learn to like foods in certain combinations, and stop craving food in other combinations. And I don't care if you think I'm being silly. I know I won't live forever. But I want to give myself a good shot at staying as healthy as a dying person can be.
Incidentally, I am not giving out any dietary advice here. Hence, I've not put links to any of my highly classified sources. I'm telling you what's happening simply because people are ringing me, messaging me, emailing all the time to find out what I'm doing at any given hour of the day. It's exhausting keeping up. Hope this helps.
Disclaimer: if you die because of anything you read in this blog it's not my fault. Fact!
The line "Have your cake and eat it" is from my song "Have Your Cake And Eat It" at Fee Comes Fourth. September 4th 2012.
I recommend you tune into (if you haven't already) Sugar: The Bitter Truth on Youtube, it's a scientific lecture, which was also in The Lancet so it's a truly reliable source. Quite in depth but absolutely fascinating. I've also been reading Bet The Farm, again very in depth and I'm starting to struggle through it, especially the chapters about genetic modification, which goes further back and a lot deeper than I knew. Watched Vegucated recently aswell, trying to avoid meat and animal products unless local/ethically sourced which is relatively easy for me cos I'm not a fussy eater and love veg. The cheese thing is probably the hardest bit. It just always comes back to the same old story of being shocked (and extremely limited) when you actually check labels! I did a nutrition course last year and it really appears supplements are essential - part of the course was taking a list of whole foods and calculating exactly what you'd have to eat every day to get your RDA of everything and it's unbelievable what you'd have to plough your way through, then of course if you're actually trying to combat a health problem you need more than your RDA. It constantly rages me how some 'food' is actually allowed to reach the supermarket shelves and the amount of total mince (!) we're fed (!) through marketing. Vegucated taught me even something being labelled Organic doesn't make it ethical. I also heard from a very reliable source a lot of breads and cereals are only advertising the fact they have added vitamins etc because due to new food regulations if they didn't add them they wouldn't be classed as food!! And people wonder why they're overweight/hyper/generally unhealthy. At least if you choose to eat junk food you're aware of the crap you're ingesting, the real worry is all the hidden stuff in so-called healthy options. If you want me I'll be living in a cave in outer Mongolia eating grass and leaves.
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