Real Food: What It Is and Why Eat It
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The term “real food” has been thrown around for a while now.
It was probably food-writer Nina Planck who coined it, but I personally first encountered it from Michael Pollan, journalist and author of many food-related books, including Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food, and Food Rules, to name just a few.
His advice to “eat real food” has become a slogan for many, and eating “real food” has become something of a movement.
And for good reason.
Why Eat “Real Food”?
Eating real food is one of the best things we can do to support a healthy body and mind on a daily basis.
Food is medicine.
This isn’t a new idea. Hippocrates supposedly preached it some 2000 years ago, and cultures across the world have enjoyed food for its health-promoting properties in addition to energy and enjoyment since ancient times.
Dr. Mark Hyman, leader in the field of Functional Medicine, advocates for food as a primary healer. He breaks down the science simply and practically in this article. His anecdote about traveling in China reminds me of my own time in Asia.
My teenage students understood the health-promoting properties of each item in their lunchboxes and could explain to me which food would strengthen their hair, which would ease their digestion, and which would keep their skin looking young. That was probably the first time I’d heard food talked about in that way, and in such detail.
Real food heals. It’s a source of energy and enjoyment, but it’s so much more than that. Real food nourishes the body and mind, is anti-inflammatory (Harvard), and has disease-fighting properties.
I’ve personally experienced the health-promoting benefits of real food as I have cut out processed foods and sugars, cheap oils, and emphasized plants and quality meats and fats, and found it naturally led to easing digestive troubles, weight loss, improved focus, decreased anxiety, and reduced joint pain and discomfort.
What Is “Real Food”?
“Real food” refers to food in its most natural and unprocessed state.
Real food is vegetables and fruits, quality meats, nuts and seeds, healthy minimally processed fats, minimally processed sweeteners such as honey and maple syrup.
Real food might also include whole grains and full-fat dairy (which some—myself included—would argue “raw”).
Real food is, as my kids often observe, “stuff for making things” (read: ingredients) rather than “things ready for eating” (read: packaged food).
Real food prioritizes food that is raised in the best way possible. It encourages grass-finished meat, pasture-raised pork and poultry, and wild-caught fish over, as well as organically grown produce over conventional products, when possible.
What Isn’t “Real Food”
Packaged food made with ingredients you can’t pronounce and don’t cook with in your own kitchen. These are usually high in sugar, sodium, processed fats, “natural flavors,” dyes, and other chemicals.
Highly-processed oils and fats: canola oil, soybean oil, vegetable oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, margarine, and non-butter spreads. These are highly inflammatory and may actually inhibit the good work of healthy fats in the body (Hyman).
Highly processed sugars and sweeteners, including white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners.
Real Food Shopping List
When we’re focused on real food, these are the things that we’ll be tossing into our shopping carts:
Vegetables and fruits in every color
Pastured meats
Wild-caught seafood
Nuts and seeds
Beans and Legumes
Whole food fats such as cold-pressed olive oil, coconut oil, butter, ghee (clarified butter), and avocado oil
Full-fat dairy
Whole grains (though, there may be good reason to consider white rice over brown)
Minimally processed sweeteners, such as honey and maple syrup
Nothing fancy here, just nourishing, satisfying food. And, while it’s important to understand how to read a food label (more on that coming soon), only the most basic skills are necessary to begin cooking real food and enjoying its benefits.
Food In Focus
Now, I want to make something very, very clear. I don’t always eat this way.
Sometimes, I break my own real food rules—though, actually, I don’t call them rules. Not anymore. I’ve personally found a “rules” attitude toward food to be neither helpful nor healthy.
I’d rather not label the way I eat—it’s just how I eat. But if I had to, I’d call them priorities.
As I prioritize my health and feeling the best that I can, I prioritize real whole foods by choosing them over others more times than not, because these are the foods that both research and my personal experience have proven to give me the results I’m looking for.
Now, even within the realm of real food, my priorities will look different from your priorities. I feel strongest, for example, on veggies, fat, and meat, but you might really thrive on grains and legumes. Our bodies are different, our needs are different. But one thing remains the same, real whole foods from nature serve our bodies best.
Ready to prioritize real food? Have you experienced benefits from switching out processed food for real whole foods? What makes it difficult or challenging to shift your food focus?
Important: This is not intended as medical advice, but as encouragement and empowerment for you on your own wellness journey.
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