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Collagen supplements
69—Could it be that we are...
69
Coming back to our senses?
Chillin' out maxin' relaxin' all cool
Until a few months ago, I used to notice a lot of people (both the health conscious, and the unwell), flittering about all over the place. They would jump from one health-food craze or fad diet to the next — desperately trying to improve their health.
Lately though, I’ve stopped seeing as much of this. No longer do I see people coming in just for Kale or loading up with armfuls of coconut water. They’re not squirrelling away packets of Kelp Noodles, nor are they dropping huge wads of cash purchasing the ingredients that will only make one raw cake!
Initially I thought that this was simply because I only work a few hours per week in a health store. But then I started thinking (or rather hoping!) that maybe people were starting to get fed-up with fads. So, I asked my full-time colleagues at the store whether they had noticed that people had calmed down with all the ‘hype’ products. They thought about it for a while, and everyone agreed, “Hmmm — now that you mention it — yes they have”.
I was excited that my observations had been confirmed — for several reasons:
1) Maybe we have finally run out of new + random ‘super foods’ to go silly about?
2) Maybe people are starting to listen to what their body is telling them — rather than to the over-enthusiastic ‘health food’ recommendations on social media.
3) In this particular case at least, my imagination hadn’t gotten the better of me.
4) That people weren’t simply avoiding coming in on the day I work at Huckleberry Farms 🙂
I'm a survivor!
I don’t know about you all, but up until about five-ish years ago, I hadn’t even heard of the majority of the items listed below — let alone tried them! (And yet, somehow I had managed to live without them…)
Coconut variations of everything
Kefir, water, milk, cream, oil, sugar, nectar, yoghurt, ice-cream, ‘non-soy’ sauce, vinegar, bread and flour.
To find out what coconut products I recommend — and who I recommend them to — check out this blog-post I wrote on the subject.
Protein powder
Because of all the hype, it would seem that people now think that protein powders are an actual food-group!
(This is especially relevant to Clean Lean Protein — a pea protein powder .)Note: I only recommend protein powders be used as a supplement. It should only be taken for a short period of time to promote such things as weight-loss, or to correct hormone, immune or neurotransmitter dysfunction.
Kombucha
You all know what I think of this fizzy beverage — it’s primarily a cocktail!
I prefer fermented foods. (And, I don’t necessarily promote these to all my clients. It depends on the state of their health.)
Check out the blog-post I wrote about this: Kombucha or CONbucha?
South American 'Super Foods'
Acai, cacao powder + butter, chia seeds, and maca powder.
Note: Everyone is apparently ‘over’ the likes of Camu Camu, Goji, Lucuma, Macqui, Mesquite, and Yacon. I wonder what the next South American super food trend will be (that people will eventually get bored with)?
Raw cakes + other such delights
These generally require: huge bags of (expensive) nuts + dates + maple syrup + cacao powder + cacao butter or coconut oil.
I prefer nuts + dates be eaten ‘as they come’.
Note: Check out the blog-post I wrote about this: Half Baked Baking Notions
Green Smoothies
These require ingredients like: Kale + frozen berries + bananas + coconut water + maple syrup + cacao powder.
You all know what I think about Green Smoothies! (I had so much to say about them a couple of years back, that I had to make it into a two-part blog-post!)
I prefer veggies + fruit be eaten — not drunk.
Most people will have tried these so-called life-changing products and will have found that they didn’t live up to the expectations from all the hype.
Sadly, there is no such thing as a ‘magical’ food or drink.
When good products get bad recommendations
People were also encouraged to use good ol’ fashion, Apple Cider Vinegar. The problem was that everyone was being told to use it everywhere — and they weren’t being told how to take it correctly. And, more worrying than this, they weren’t being warned about when NOT to take it.
If you’ve tried ACV and found it ineffectual, perhaps you weren’t taking it correctly? Here’s a previous blog-post I wrote about when, how and when not to take ACV.
'Three E's' of health food trends
These are the ‘Three E’s’ of health food trends:
EXPENSIVE
Some of the products that people are being told that ‘they can’t live without’ aren’t cheap e.g almond meal + maple syrup + cacao butter + cacao powder.
EXOTIC
A lot of the products that people are being told to buy are not from New Zealand — let alone sourced locally! Most come from South America + The South Pacific Islands + Asia e.g. Maca powder + Coconut ‘everything’.
E-RELEVANT
The food + drink being promoted is not the ‘norm’ when it comes to health food. You don’t have to eat these random sorts of foods in order to be healthy.
It is my hope — that now these people have stopped throwing their hard-earned money away buying into health food fads — that they redirect their funds appropriately.
I advocate you buy local, seasonal and preferably organic varieties of ‘normal peoples’ food like meat, chicken, grain, veggies, fruit, and dairy — or whatever your version of ‘normal’ happens to be e.g. Pescatarian, Vegetarian, Vegan, Dairy-free, or Gluten-Free.
Not only can we get healthy this way. But together we can also bring down the price of organic food — making it more accessible for the masses. (Good old supply + demand.)
Lisa says:
No fluff. No bluff.
Health Buffs practice the Daily fundamentals of health — which aren’t nearly as sexy as what’s been portrayed in the media. Health Buffs get into health either because they had to (they experienced ill health), or because they want to maintain their current good health.
Health Trend Buffs tend to get into health because it’s the cool thing to do, or because everyone else is ‘doing it’.
Health Buffs ‘shop the shop’ at the heath food store. We get baskets or trolleys and we fill them up with real food — that which is local + organic. We don’t fill them up with new or novel food items — because simply put, we don’t ‘play with our food’.
People need to focus on getting ‘back to basics’, before they start experimenting with the likes of Kombucha, Coconut Kefir, Maca, and extreme diets. Because contrary to popular belief, they are not magic cure-alls.
You may even find that you don’t need to seek out extraneous additions to your dietary regimen if you simply focus on having a ‘good diet’.
TO ME, 'REAL FOOD' or 'HEALTH FOOD' IS LOCAL + ORGANIC...AND NORMAL!
Make an appointment with Lisa
Lisa Fitzgibbon is a degree qualified (2006), experienced and registered Naturopath & Medical Herbalist. She runs her own private practice – OOMPH in Grey Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand.
Lisa has been involved in the Natural Health industry for 16 years. She draws on her professional training and experience, as well as her own personal experience to bring you realistic, holistic health advice.
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