Vegan, Paleo, Keto… Which Way Should You Go?
A few years ago, The China Study was the talk of the town(s). Eat a plant-based diet, and life is good. You’re healthy, you feel good, your chances of disease decrease. Lots of data and research to validate the premise.
Now we’re reading about the Paleo Diet and the Keto Diet. Protein and vegetables [Paleo] and consuming fats to burn fat [Keto], each, again, with plenty of data and research to validate the premise.
Yet there’s controversy and tension as people take strong positions about which nutritional and health-affirming model is ‘RIGHT.’ At one point, I found myself censored by a colleague who proclaimed a plant-based diet the One-and-Only Solution to health and well-being. I was not allowed to speak of any other way of eating to any clients referred to me by this colleague.
Food is Fuel
Who’s right about what’s right for our bodies? I know you know this, but You are the one who’s right. Your body responds to what you eat. Food is fuel. It’s your body’s energy source.
What you feed your body matters. Just like what you think matters.
Now, having validated that you and your body are fully capable of deciding which health-affirming, rational nutritional approach works for you, let’s move to another topic.
Accepting and honoring choice
Each of us is a sovereign being, right? So we all have our own minds – conscious and unconscious – operating within us, within the unique cauldron of self. We are also informed by the energy of the collective. Whatever we believe as truth is something we hold in individuated awareness, as well as through the collective energy of everyone else who also believes what we believe.
Can you accept that another’s way of eating is his or her way? That it’s not yours to judge, condemn or praise? In reality, when we jump on the right/wrong bandwagon, we skew our energy out of neutrality and flow and into judgment and rigidity.
If you choose a plant-based diet, choose for yourself. If it works for you and your body, that’s awesome. You’ll be entering the plant-based eating collective belief system, and it will inform your awareness. There will be ‘rules’ you follow, and perhaps some rigidity in how you think about food and what you eat.
If you choose an animal protein based approach, such as the Paleo diet, and it works for you – equally fabulous! You’ll be entering the animal protein-based eating collective belief system with its rules and rigidity.
And thus it goes to reason, choosing the Keto diet will house your awareness in that belief system, and whatever rigidity and rules occur in that way of eating.
Inner Wisdom
We all simply need to remember that we are what we eat, and then rest comfortably in our choices, right? Good. I’m glad we’ve gotten this cleared up.
So from here forward we’ll all remember that the energy of acceptance allows us to honor our own and others’ choices, trusting that each of us is capable of being guided by our inner wisdom.
We’ll remember that our experiences are perceived through the legacy of our beliefs, opinions and thoughts. We’ll recognize and acknowledge that as we opt in to a way of eating, we join a collective belief system that feels right to us, but may not be what’s right for others.
And then, we’ll remember that cultivating neutrality and acceptance allows us to make our own choices while honoring others’ choices.
What a lovely chat! Thanks for reading this with an open mind.
This was a timely article that I needed to read. Thank you for sharing your insights. I have been exploring all those trendy new diets and found them all wanting in some degree or another. My personal food philosophy is “Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants”. I learned that from Michael Pollan and have stuck to that for many years now. I’ve kept my diet fresh, simple and healthy and at 61 I’m in better health than most of my friends.
As a former Personal Chef, I know first hand how weird people can get over their food choices but I looked at it as the only thing they perceive they can control in lives often enveloped by chaos or crisis. I don’t judge what others eat because they are doing the best they can at the level of consciousness they are at. As your consciousness expands and your awareness elevates, your food choices seem to change. At this stage of the game, I think I’ll leave the trends behind and just keep eating with a healthy intention and gratitude for the abundance we have. Thanks again!
Hi Deborah, I agree that it’s important to eat real food, in moderation. An excellent plan! And I completely agree that the choices people make about the food they eat are not for me to judge, validate or condemn. Many people do find their food choices modifying as they age, align with their values and listen to their bodies. It’s so powerful and affirming to choose foods intentionally and with gratitude. Thanks for responding to my article.
Thanks, Jill. I appreciate these examples of diet choices as demonstrations of the way we humans tend to become rather zealous about our personal preferences. I am guilty of this for sure! For instance, I really dislike ketchup and secretly (oops, now my secret is out!) look down upon those who like it. Ketchup has so much sugar, lacks complexity of flavor, is an ugly color, etc. How silly of me to make so many negative judgements about an innocent condiment! Why should I care what someone else likes to eat? I’m hopping back on the Neutrality train right now. Let everyone eat ketchup, I say!