Eat Real Food Advocate

Brain dump...

While working at a major flavor and fragrance corporation, my first job in my field after graduation, I learned way too much about our food industry and what is in the food at the grocery store. I quickly became what got coined as an ERFA (because of course everything must have a funky acronym to be remembered!)  That stands for Eat Real Food Advocate.

Here is the simple reasoning. We sold flavors. The more something needs flavored, the farther away it is from its original state, or anything resembling food in general, really. I began with Pop Tarts. It's flour. And flavor. Really, it's super processed stuff. When you think about it, and that's what I did, why on earth would you eat a bunch of flour for breakfast? Just because something is sold and is edible does not mean we should eat it.

I tried to get better about eating the right foods, staying to the outside of the grocery store. And some things were easy because I couldn't stomach the intense smells of the flavors that went into the food product or think about how not much of a food something was. But, convenience is...convenience.

Fast forward to now. The past few months have been shifting for me. It started with Thanksgiving.

I used to love to cook. Then I got jaded by the pace of my day, being tired, trying to fit it all in. I decided I hated the grocery store. I didn't want to cook. Why should I, after working all day and being tired?  But this year, things went a little differently, starting with some food poisoning.

I got food poisoning. As I wrote here, it was probablay...[hanging head in shame] Taco Bell. Then, two weeks later, Greg got food poisoning. Of course you can't really do much to control that. Except, it made me think about how we always always always eat out. Logically, we're increasing our risk a bit by the amount we eat out (assuming I always have safe food and cook things safely).

Another factor. Greg's cholesterol went from being really good to all of the sudden just into the high range. And mine... mine skyrocketed. Greg's mom was hospitalized for colitis. Not that a specific diet causes that, but ... I know how they eat and again the logic.

Ok, we all know that food isn't the only factor for cholesterol. But what if you can lower it by eating differently? I already exercise. Got that covered.

While planning my menu for Thanksgiving, I tried a couple of new things and stuck to the old things. I just got thinking about food, and nourishing people and how ... relaxing it all can be. It's simple. It can be anyway. And that goes right along with my ongoing quest to simplify my life....

So. Again, now. Possibly having Rheumatoid Arthritis, or at least a good chance I will in the future. Asthma. Allergies so bad I can't get shots anymore. I've read here and there how food and diet has helped some people with all of these things. I'm so very very skeptical.

But.

If I ate better, it doesn't matter if any of it would be helped or not. I'd at least be eating better and probably would feel better too.

So, I looked up "eat real food" on the interwebs and came across a tumblr that had cross-fit exercises and something called the paleo diet. Well, what do you know. My ERFA-ness has a name. And an industry, sadly. But, people who exercise and care about health first vs how they look are eating this way. It's something like deciding to be a vegetarian because you think it's healthier I guess.

So, ERFA that I am, it looks like I'm tending towards the paleo way of eating. That means lean meats, fish, veggies, fruits, nuts (but not peanuts), oils. No dairy, which seems weird. Not sure if I'll do that. The main focus is not processed food and tons of grains.

This just makes sense. I'm going to see what happens. Allergies, asthma, not sleeping well, cholesterol can all be measured. My RA flare ups are few and far between. We'll see what happens.

This morning I had eggs scrambled with some peppers and onions I had sauteed in oil.

I'm not going to be all crazy about it. But I really wonder if this is what my body needs. If nothing else, eating healthier should hold some kind of benefit for me. And really, it's something I've been toying with for years now. Let's see what happens.