Listening to your body

My constant mantra on here is that natural food is all that matters and if you eat natural you will be fine. Michael Pollan discusses groups in Africa that eat virtually nothing but meat, Pacific Islanders who eat nearly all seafood, and certain groups who have eaten a nearly entirely vegetarian diet for centuries -- all with the result of being virtually disease-free. The lesson put forth is that you can eat anything so long as it is natural. What can be important to keep in mind, however, is that you can't necessarily just switch the pescatarian islander with the carnivore land-locked African. We are all different, and it is important to listen to our bodies. Some of use may be intollerant to gluton, others lactose, still others may need to eat a low-fat diet due to genetics (does your body process fat differently than it should?).

What I think may be the best approach if you think you have any issues with foods or nutrients (such as fat), is to first try to eat all natural. You may find that raw dairy does not have the same effect, or truly whole grains. But they still may, and you'd need to adjust accordingly. People often don't pay much attention to their body. If you're riding a bike and it's squeeking or clicking as it rolls along it is telling you something. Something needs to be adjusted. The human body is no less capable of giving us signs that this or that isn't working -- we need more of X and less of Y. It pays to take some time and nail down on the issues. No matter what anyone suggests, we're all different and we figure that out through trial and error.