Real Food - What's Real is Actually What's Good for You

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 4 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #5,011 in Food, #117,655 overall

You're in for a Surprise!

Ever read a book that changed your life? The book "Real Food" changed mine! Just imagine—it's actually good for you to eat whole eggs and cream and beef. Want to know more about it? Read on!

What it's all About 

Author, Nina Planck asks, "Don't you find it odd that the experts blame butter and beef for heart disease, even though heart disease is new and traditional foods are old? Heart disease as we know it was first diagnosed by James Herrick in 1912; it is a 20th century disease. Meanwhile, we (or our ancestors) have been eating milk and butter for 10,000 to 30,000 years and beef for 2 or 3 million."

Wow. She has a point! Intesting to think about, huh?

Actually, Nina makes a lot of really interesting points about the things we eat or avoid in her book. She also has lots of online information she's shared. Read on for more informative links and articles...

Read Food Links 

Here are several links and articles (with small excepts) from Nina's website. Read on, but be warned--you probably will want your own cow by the time you're done.
Nina's Official Website
Only the open-minded need apply; skeptics welcome.
Whole Milk is Best
Whole milk is what is called a complete food, because each ingredient plays its part. Without the fat, you can't digest the protein or absorb the calcium. The body needs saturated fat in particular (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat can't do the job) to take in the calcium that makes bones strong. Milk fat also contains glycosphingolipids, which are fats that encourage cell metabolism and growth and fight gastrointestinal infections.
How Raw Milk Got a Bad Rap
Pasteurization has little to do with health and everything to do with practical matters. Without pasteurization, the transport, distribution, and sale of industrial milk and cheese as we know it would be impossible. This is a brief history of pasteurization in the U.S.
Vegan Babies at Risk
An adult who was well-nourished in utero and in infancy may choose to get by on a vegan diet, but babies are built from protein, calcium, cholesterol and fish oil. Children fed only plants will not get the precious things they need to live and grow.
The Low Fat Study
Here are some thoughts on some of the media and nutritional commentary following publication of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) low-fat study, which found that a low-fat diet does not prevent heart disease, cancer, or stroke, and that a low-fat diet does not aid weight loss. It was very useful to read both JAMA articles in full, including the fine print.
Where I Buy Real Food
I'm lucky to live within walking distance of the excellent farmers' markets run by Greenmarket as well as my own little Real Food Market. If you're not so lucky, here's where to find farm shares for fresh produce; mail-order sources of grass-fed beef, raw milk cheese; regional American specialties, such as stone-ground corn meal and pink grapefruit; and the imported foods I can't live without, such as virgin coconut oil and good dark chocolate.

What Real Food Has Meant to Me 

It's so refreshing to hear that natural things that actually taste good (like fat!) are believe it or not GOOD for you! But seeing that I live just outside of Baltimore, I'm not sure just how I can get some of the natural down-home goodness that Nina talks about in "Real Food"... especially since our family is on a budget. But thankfully, we do have a local Trader Joe's that I can shop at (and not blow the budget). We can at least live without lots of preservatives and additives in our meals this way!

I think that more than any food book--as much as I've appreciated the things I learned from reading about Super Foods and the science behind the South Beach diet--the things I've learned through "Real Food" are going to stay with me for a good long time. As you can see below, I have a bit of a problem with additives in my food. To find out that so much of the extra processing we do to our food is actually harmful?! Well, that'll get me all up in arms!

Real Food on Amazon 

Enough talk about it--here's the book I've been going on and on about:

Real Food: What to Eat and Why

Amazon Price: $10.87 (as of 11/09/2009) Buy Now

Real Food Talk in the Blogosphere 

What is everyone saying about "Real Food" and Nina? Let's listen in...
Controversy over Nina Planck'sReal Food for Mother and Baby ...
My jaw hit the floor when I read the thumbs down book review on Nina Planck's Real Food for Mother &...
GIVEAWAY: Nina Planck Real Food Books - Kitchen Stewardship ...
I'm thrilled to be able to give one lucky reader a copy of Nina Planck's Real Food: What to Eat and...
Fat of the Land: Brief Book Review: Real Food
Brief Book Review: Real Food. The book's title reads "Real Food - what to eat and why" by Nina Planc...
Feeling Baby Naturally: What, When & How
Gil Rapley's Baby-led Weaning and Nina Planck's Real Food for Mother and Baby are two excellent read...

More Good Picks 

Here are some other books on food that look like yummy reading. Like one of these? Vote for it as a favorite with Plexo!

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The Guestbook 

So, tell me what you think! Did I convince you to pick up this book or not? Or are you a convert already?

Say hello!

tandemonimom wrote...

in reply to tandemonimom That's the Raw Milk Debate at http://www.squidoo.com/rawmilkdebate. Sorry about that!

ReplyPosted December 28, 2008

tandemonimom wrote...

Excellent lens! I have been using raw milk for years, but had not heard of Nina Planck, so always glad to add a new author to the list! 5* and lensrolled to a> debate.

ReplyPosted December 16, 2008

Margo_Arrowsmith wrote...

Well, of course this is true! The real food is better. You might want to look into how they gave coconut oil (which is actually not just "not bad for you" as they claim, but is healing!) We were better off when the movie theaters used palm oil in popcorn!

5*

(BTW, did you know that fruit flies, which I won't tolerate in my kitchen, don't hurt you and are helping make us healthier? There are always surprises!)

http://www.squidoo.com/fruit_flies

ReplyPosted September 05, 2008

view all 5 comments

by webseitler

I'm a wife and mother of two who loves digital scrapbooking, rubber stamping, homey goodness, blogging oh--and Jesus, too! I'm married to lensmaster T...

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