By Garth Brown
It's easy to get caught up in the minutiae of diets. While it can be fun to experiment with different approaches to food, it can also be daunting, because there is so much information about diet and health, so many people confidently arguing for one position or another, yet so little science that is anything like conclusive. That's the appealing thing about trying to take the big picture view I attempt to share in this video. Yes, there are lots of interesting, suggestive studies about any number of foods and nutrients, but the most basic thing is also the most important. Eating less processed food and more real food is always a good idea.
In this video I didn't have time to get into another unfortunate aspect of focusing so much on the relative health merits of various diets. When food is viewed strictly as healthy or unhealthy, it detracts from much of the joy it can bring. There's the pleasure of eating something delicious, of course, but also the particular human interaction that can only take place around a shared meal.
It will not surprise you that I also enjoy food that has a good story. Not the story that appears in three sentences on a box of cereal, but the story of actually having an idea of where food came from and why it is unique. I'm thinking of my friend Michael giving me a bottle of cider, or cheese from an artisan creamery. Luckily, such interesting food is never the heavily processed stuff found in the middle of most grocery stores, so it's usually both enjoyable and healthy.
