Does good nutrition starts with "Everything in Moderation"? Have we not heard the captioned phrase numerous times throughout life? It has become so common that we have learned to accept it as self-evident. Very few people (if any) give it a second thought, let alone evaluate it critically. It is parroted every time someone desires to put an end to a discussion about lifestyle choices, especially when the issue of popular "standard American" foods is raised. Most people think that if they eat unhealthy foods "in moderation" they will be just fine, because this overused adage is so all-encompassing that it "allows" us to safely indulge in numerous addictive foods and activities that are highly detrimental to our bodies, our minds, and our environment. This directly benefits large corporations, which spend billions on advertising artificial and disease -- causing foods with addictive properties, long shelf life (no other living organisms are interested in it), and high profit margins.

So what common food ingredients do we feel safe eating "in moderation"? Artificial preservatives, flavors and colors? Pesticides, insecticides, and fungicides? Mercury, lead, and other heavy metals that contaminate so much of our food supply? Advanced Glycosilated End-Products (AGE's) from baking, broiling, frying, and barbequing glycoproteins in meats, cheeses, grains, legumes, and seeds? Acrylamides from high-temperature cooking of starchy foods? Carcinogenic (cancer-causing) nitrosamines from animal flesh and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH's) from burning of flesh and other organic matter? Inflammation-promoting arachidonic acids from flesh and dairy products? Refined, concentrated, and processed sweeteners and flours? Trans-fats (partially-hydrogenated and hydrogenated vegetable oils) and rancidity-prone poly-unsaturated fats? Nutrient-depleting stimulants (in coffee, tea, colas, and cacao beans/chocolate) that cumulatively poison our brain, damage our energy metabolism, and poison our liver and kidney cells, blocking our ability to detoxify our body effectively?

Each and every one of these (and other) "food products" were non-existent nor were they considered "edible" until very recently. Their quantity in our environment is alarming, and some we can't control even if we tried (thus, we must control the ones we can, while relaxing about those we can't)!

Whether individually or in devastating combinations (similarly to known and unknown drug interactions), they are all proven to cause numerous health dysfunctions and diseases that are now plaguing our Western society with staggering epidemic statistics never previously encountered. Literally all people over 25 years of age are chronically ill, suffering from various symptoms and losing their vitality, vigor, vibrancy, and enjoyment of life as a result of "enjoying" poisons "in moderation." Cancer, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, developmental disorders, brain fog, depression, anxiety, auto-immune disease, degenerative neurological disorders, and many other syndromes are all directly associated with accumulation of many toxic substances that we ingest or breathe, especially when combined with exposure to other substances, stress, radiation, and activities that lead to cellular nutrient depletion. Even children today are suffering from conditions that previously were only affecting older people.

Quality of life is degraded for many years, eradicating productivity and eliminating the joy of living. Yet it seems easier to simply disregard the consequences of our own actions and come up with trite blanket statements that provide excuses for our behaviors, instead of intelligently taking responsibility for our actions and gradually seeking ways to improve our long-term fortune!

What else should we safely be doing in moderation? Smoking? Drinking beer? Taking prescription drugs? How about injecting street drugs? Is it not clear now that "everything in moderation" becomes an excuse to perpetuate lifelong habits and maintain addictive "comforts" that gradually destroy us while financially supporting the industries that knowingly create poisons for profit? Do we really want to let them control us and our choices, so they can win their corrupt game, at the expense of our entire society? It's time to develop a clear and critical vision of reality (recall "The Matrix"?), leave the advertisement-blinded, media-confused, big business-misguided, soon-to-be-slaughtered herd, and become independent of these corporations to take charge of our own environmental, mental, and physical health!

Eating "in moderation" can also have a positive meaning: If we make certain that at home (and at restaurants) we regularly eat wholesome, unrefined, unprocessed, nutrient-rich foods, while avoiding nutrient-depleting stimulants, toxins, stress, and un-natural substances, then we can allow ourselves to be "moderately" flexible when we join our friends and families for special occasions. In such events, we can eat a few foods that a case, means that we dont continually obsess about our food choices, but that we are honest with ourselves about the integrity of what we put into our body, rather then find excuses to support eating harmful substances on a regular basis! Therefore, "moderation" can actually be our path towards truth, health, and the pleasure of community and family, instead of the path to self-deception! And the side effects? Ecological health, sustainability, and thriving community!

(related articles: "the Occasional Junk Food", "Eco-Raw Living" ).