I think some lifestyles choices are very unnecessarily politicized right now because bad actors have captured the entirety of the discourse surrounding them for their own rhetorical purposes and twisted them to fit their biases. Iāve actually been attacked recently and accused of being an alt-right nutjob by someone who knows the way I eat which saddens me!
Itās also difficult to talk about your own dietary choices sometimes without making people feel personally attacked so when I say this keep in mind itās just what works for me ā¤ļø
I avoid seed oils as much as possible and choose to use butter, olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil instead (if you would like to hear a coherent, logical, data-driven argument for this check out this video). I donāt eat a lot of chicken and rarely if ever eat pork; if I eat them itās usually pasture-raised chicken and forage-fed heritage pork from the farmers market because the meat is higher quality due to their diet and better animal welfare standards. Same with eggs; I would never buy eggs at the store when I can get the best quality eggs I can buy for like $6 a dozen from my favorite friendly farmers. I eat fresh produce in season but I honestly love organic frozen vegetables because theyāre cheaper and easier to manage.
I eat a lot of grass-fed beef and grass-fed New Zealand butter. I go through wedges of aged parmesan absurdly quickly. I love organic pasta imported from Italy and try to buy organic for almost everything. Lots of black espresso. fresh bread from my neighborhood bakery and dessert about once a week. I donāt like to carelessly or mindlessly eat sugar; if Iām going to do it I want it to be a real treat! Love carbs.
If I buy processed food I prefer that it has a short ingredient list and you could say I live in an āingredients household.ā I donāt eat until Iām hungry (usually somewhere from noon to 2:00 pm) at which point Iāll eat a snack with protein and fat. I eat one big meal at the end of the day.
Iāve tried a lot of different dietary lifestyles. I was a vegetarian for about a decade and a vegan for a good portion of that time. I ate keto and fasted regularly. I didnāt eat any sugar for a couple of years. Iāve incorporated elements from all of these and found a way of eating that I enjoy! I feel good in my body and Iām never stressed about what Iām going to eat.
Food is a joyful thing for me and my dream is for better nutritional education and the ability to buy healthy foods (whatever that looks like to them) to be accessible to everyone š