I had two amazingly inspiring conversations this week, both of them with my Californian BFF Anna.
(Both conversations were held in a student dive bar, at about 9pm, whilst drinking budget wine and eating free popcorn. And lead by Anna. Obviously).
Anna: ‘The problem I have with the whole – what’s it called Paley-what? – diet is that it’s so based on eating beef. And, unless I’m really missing something, they didn’t have cows in pre-agricultural times anyway.”
Now, I get that the Paleo reasoning is that people ate wild bison and that the most similar cost-efficient option these days is beef. I also totally agree that beef is far more similar to bison than macaroni cheese ready meals are, and that we have to act within the options we have. BUT Anna’s comment did remind me that they only reason I really have to advocate eating more meats and fats, and fewer grains, is that I feel better doing so. The eating style resonates with ME.
Preaching a dietary model because ‘It’s so much more natural!’, ‘It’s so much more authenic’ or even ‘Way less people get cancer eating this way, you know!’ is always going to be pretty redundant. None of us have enough definitive knowledge to make claims like that right now, and the best thing we can do is be responsive to our bodies.
The other great moment I had was this:
Anna: ‘I often feel like people obsessing over their dietary needs is just a reflection of them not having any real problems to worry about’
Word.
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