Public health guidelines, food pyramids and plates, high-fat, low-carb, vegan, vegetarian, low-GI, high-protein, low-sugar, low-fat, low-cholesterol, Paleo, Atkins, fruitarian, alkaline, blood type diets, raw foods, fasting, cleanses, detoxes… it’s a minefield of weird and wacky, contradictory nutritional information and dietary advice out there. Most of it is utter nonsense.

We’re inundated with opinions, pushed and pulled in every direction and at the end of the day, more confused about what to eat than ever. When it comes to looking at nutrition from a physiological perspective, for the individual person in the context of the modern world, I personally disagree with the majority of what the mainstream deems to be “healthy”. The foods and specific nutrients that end up being most conducive to a well-primed metabolism would surprise you.

Thank you for all the amazing feedback that you've sent our way in the last week, since the launch of the 
I Didn't Quit Sugar e-book! We're completely chuffed. 

To celebrate, I thought I'd post a recipe from the accompanying recipe book (which will be released in the next few weeks) - it's also one that is available in the free recipe 'preview' with the main I Didn't Quit Sugar e-book. 

This custard recipe gives a good sense of what our food is about - nourishing, real foods ingredients and unrefined sweetness in a mouth-watering little bundle. You could serve these hot or cold, for dessert or for breakfast - I like a bit of custard as a bedtime snack.

• Calcium in milk reduces stress, is extremely pro-metabolic and decreases levels of parathyroid hormone, which can play a role in insomnia. 
  
• The added sugar - maple syrup - and salt further increase the pro-sleep effect by helping to boost T3 and body temperature, replenish liver glycogen stores and curb the release of nocturnal stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. 
  

Below you'll find a summary of what the book is all about. Have a read, then head on over to the 
I Didn't Quit Sugar website. 

What's more, we thought we'd give everyone a free taster via the brand spanking new I Didn't Quit Sugar Facebook page. There you'll find a downloadable copy of Chapter One - The Dangers of Quitting Sugar. 

In Australia, ‘quitting sugar’ is most definitely in vogue. Fear-mongering and a slew of media endorsement have encouraged our collective abandonment of fruit, honey and all things sweet. Admittedly, our country’s a little behind the rest of the world; elsewhere, low- and no-sugar dieting (in many guises) has been popular for quite some time. 

A little summary for the uninitiated:

Modern versions of quitting sugar say no to the vast majority of simple sugars, even those which occur naturally. This means no granulated sugar, no maple syrup or molasses, no honey, and preferably no fruit or sweet root vegetables. 

In most instances, starch consumption is also discouraged – potatoes, rice, oats, noodles, bread, buckwheat and quinoa all break down to sugar in the body.

Instead, meals generally spotlight proteins, fats and green vegetables. You see a lot of eggs, pastured meats, nuts and nut butters, bacon, cheese, butter and ghee, avocado, coconut, kale, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, asparagus, sprouts...you get the idea. 

The emphasis on whole foods is unarguably superior to any diet in which processed foods take centre stage. 

But (and this is a BIG but), sugar restriction –at its core – denies our cells the very thing they require for optimum function. Sugar fuels thyroid activity, boosts and sustains metabolism, and is critical for stress reduction. 

There is simply no reason to malign natural sources of sugar. Anti-sugar rhetoric has cultivated an all-or-nothing outlook which is misguided and unnecessary.

In writing I Didn’t Quit Sugar, we thought it critical to publicize the very real and serious perils of sugar restriction, particularly with regards to long-term health. 

Quitting sugar will stimulate fat loss and lower scale weight in the short-term, and this is much of its appeal. In most people, it will also blunt appetite, increase energy and heighten mental focus.  

But underneath the surface, there is often a gradual and imperceptible decline in cellular and body system function, attributable to ramped up adrenal activity and elevations in stressful substances – adrenaline, cortisol, glucagon and parathyroid hormone to name a few. 

We learnt our lesson the hard way (read our stories for the gory details). Three years ago, we quit sugar, watched our bodies slowly deteriorate, and – in our journey to recovery – were forced to question everything we thought we knew about nutrition. 

What did we find out?

It’s actually pretty simple. Good health hinges on us tuning in and l-i-s-t-e-n-i-n-g to our bodies. Sugar cravings? Signs of imbalance? Don’t ignore them! Give the body the credit it’s due.

Responsible and sustainable eating patterns cannot be underwritten by ideas of exclusion (and especially the exclusion of an entire macronutrient). 

When we lay aside dogma, pre-conceptions and ego and instead focus on physiology, the essentiality of sugar becomes self-evident. Natural, whole, unprocessed sugars, in the context of a balanced diet, digest easily, fuel our cells, facilitate growth and repair, and promote peak physical, mental and metabolic function day in and day out. That’s a damn fine résumé. 

Know this: Food – and especially sugar – is your tool. Utilized correctly, it can fuel and support whole-body health for a lifetime. 

Whether you’ve previously quit sugar, or are simply looking for a way to eat healthily and inclusively of all the macronutrients, we hope I Didn’t Quit Sugar serves you well. 

time and effort into preparing delicious, nutrient-dense meals, and savour them in good company, you’re more likely to feel truly satisfied both physically and emotionally by the food on your plate. 

A few of the below ideas were favourites from my previous snacky post (fruit + cheese will never get old!), some are updated and tweaked, and some are new. Here goes… 

Hello! Before we kick off this week’s Q&A post, I’m excited to announce…

And by A Very Important Nutrition Ebook (ebook title yet to be disclosed) I mean, yes, mine – co-written with a brilliant colleague and close friend. 

It’s been a labour of love, and I really hope a good many people find the book a useful tool in the pursuit of excellent health. (As always) the subject matter is a wee bit controversial, and the book busts some nutrition myths that seriously need busting (they’re not myths/topics I’ve covered on the blog before, either).

Keep your eyes peeled and watch this space. And this one. 

Onwards! 

Meet Michelle Robson-Garth, author/owner of HealthFoodLover.com, naturopath-in-training and real foodie extraordinaire. Michelle and I "e-met" cross-stalking each other's blogs and realising we both shared a passion for nourishing, delicious food and natural nutrition. A mutual love of clarified butter meant we were fast friends (even if only online!). Her site offers a wealth of great information and awesome recipes - if you haven't checked it out already, do yourself a favour and head on over! 

Thanks Michelle! Over to you... 

One of the common questions that I field from clients and readers is how best to avoid water retention. I see countless people who do everything they can to avoid “puffiness” (particularly women, around menstruation) in order to feel ‘leaner’ – they typically reduce salt and increase water intake drastically (which of course is what is widely recommended). 

I thought I’d tackle the problems surrounding these strategies (reducing salt, increasing water) to try to combat water retention, to explain how in actual fact, they’re much more likely to amplify the problem, rather than solve it. Ultimately, decreasing sodium (salt) in the diet will increase water retention, not the other way around. 

Welcome to Q&A Mondays! Each Monday, I'll endeavour to answer some of the health questions sent in by readers via email, or that have been posted on the Nutrition by Nature Facebook page. 

This week's questions tackle some darlings of the health food industry - quinoa, almond milk and stevia. Are they really all they're cracked up to be? 

I’ve written about gelatin before, both here and here. But (for new readers in particular, hello!) to summarize, some of the health benefits of gelatin and why you’d go out of your way to include it in your diet: