A New Approach to Food
Legoland in central Florida is perfectly designed for kids. For example, every public bathroom has not only a lowered urinal, but also a sink installed at the right height for a five-year-old. On the other hand, for health-conscious adults — those literally awake to elements of good health — finding something to eat poses a serious problem.
Breakfast, though included for free at the hotel, features: eggs cooked in seed oils (no hardboiled or poached options), pancakes, various processed and glistening meats, breads, and fried potatoes. The life hack I ordinarily use for oil-free eggs — presenting the chef with a handful of butter packets — was impractical in this case.
Inside the park, for lunch, everything is pure slop. At a more comprehensive destination like Disney, I imagine you could locate some carrot sticks or a burger you could trust (minus the bun). Regardless, what’s being served at Legoland’s booths and carry-out windows underscores my worldview: Just because something is digestible doesn’t make it food.
Digestible non-food is a major contributor to another reality at large public venues — the striking unhealth of the general population. While statistics say that more than a third of the U.S. population is obese, you only internalize this problem when you see it first hand, at scale. Observers like me believe the difficulty has transcended willpower or discipline; there’s something genuinely wrong with the food supply.
I’ve written about how our food is poisoned with pesticides, seed oils, and a drug called sugar. Smart folks also point out how Big Food is deliberately sowing confusion about healthy eating in order to drive profits. These points are of course related.
A new strategy has emerged among individuals working to reverse our declining health. In reality, diets with unusual names and fuzzy definitions like keto, paleo, or low carb, mean nothing to the general population. Going forward, persuasion around health means simplifying food.
The provisions you stuff into your piehole should:
- have no ingredients (one substance, no label)
- lack a marketing department (no boxes, cans, bottles)
- be something your grandparents would have eaten (no seed oils, no high fructose corn syrup)
If you want to get fancy, you can pay attention to consuming adequate protein and avoiding grains.
To finish the story, my first meal on each day of our Legoland vacation took place far away from park, at a dinner location of my choice. This kind of self-control highlights the power of intermittent fasting. I have conditioned myself to abstain until my type of food is available. In fact, I was able to confirm a theory circulating on Twitter that few people believe: It is indeed possible to do an activity without eating before, during, or immediately after.