Standard Post

27 Oct 2021

Nutrition: How to Keep it Simple

Many years ago, I read Zeno and the Tortoise - How To Think Like A Philosopher - by Nicholas Fearn.

One thing I took from it, was about reductionism. My learning was that we often get the greatest gain in knowledge of something from our first level down understanding of it. As we get into subsequent layers and detail, we learn more, but not as much as we did at that first level.

To understand how a flower grows, we learn about sunlight, water and nutrients and a process of photosynthesis.

I have a similar philosophy for nutrition. We can easily get bogged down in science, information and latest research.

I prefer to keep things simple. We don’t need to go on a diet, but be mindful of our diet. We need a mix of things - carbs and sugars for energy, proteins for muscles and bones, nutrients and fats for various reasons. We probably learned that at school.

And if we consume too much, our bodies put on weight.

So I have some personal rules for eating (some amended from Michael Pollan):

  • Eat carbs for energy - from plants (potato, rice, pasta, cereals)
  • Where’s the colour? - don’t have a plate of brown or beige! Fruit and veg give colour
  • Don’t get too hungry (or too full)
  • Don’t shop when you are hungry!
  • Don’t follow fads!
  • Watch out for things with fat AND sugar (man-made to be appealing!) Natural foods rarely, if ever, contain both fat and sugar. Unlike chocolate, biscuits, puddings…

I have more rules, but it’s more fun and interesting to write down your own. I recommend it.

For more, uncomplicated, information I recommend Michael Pollan How-to-eat

Pictured Below: 'Everyday Performance' by Jim Constable and Barry Wyatt – "an entertaining, informative and easy read on how to perform better at what you do!"


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