These days it feels like everyone - doctors in white coats, wellness personalities on social media, celebrity chefs, your neighbour, your cousin's dog - has Very Strong Opinions on what it means to eat healthy.
So why don't they tell us the same thing?
You’d think keeping a human body running smoothly would be fairly straightforward. We’re all built on the same basic blueprint, powered by the same hormones, enzymes, and follow the same rules (as the scientists tell us). And yet… we’re faced with an entire range of diets that often outright contradict each other.
Here are some of your current options:
- Vegan
- Carnivore
- Paleolithic
- Raw
- Macro
- Ketogenic
- Blood type
Rather than choose which camp to pitch your tent in, here is an alternative... (which to be fair, could also go on that list!):
Eat what is right for you.
Eat clean. Eat smart.
That's it! If dairy feels off for you - skip it!
If later it feels good again - enjoy it!
If your body is craving meat - go for it!
If it's begging for nothing but raw veggies - listen to that too.
The trick is learning to tell the difference between the voice that says “Eat the cake because everyone else is” and the quieter, wiser one that says “Today is definitely cake day”.
This approach does require some clarity within yourself. It requires you to tune in, listen to your intuition, and to be able to say no at times, for reasons that you maybe can't even articulate beyond "It doesn't feel right".
The only guidelines are to eat clean and eat smart. The only restrictions are to avoid chemicals, food made in labs instead of grown in the soil, and any ingredients that you can't pronounce or that your grandmother wouldn't recognise.
Your body will handle the rest (you just have to listen to what it says!)