Optimizing nutrition (for less $) even as prices are rising

Food prices are rising, it’s true. Just when I thought that people’s panties might finally be getting untwisted, here they are again in a twist! People are starting to freak out again and point fingers. Stahhhp!!! Slow down, breathe. Yes, we are still in a crazy time and it’s nobody’s “fault.” The entire world is dealing with it. It’s pretty much the definition of a global crisis.

But you know what? We’ve got a lot of problems, but this food price increase, we can handle. At least here in the United States, which is where almost all of YOU live, and, I’m guessing, most of YOU are also squarely middle class.

So here’s the deal. Americans already eat more than they need to be eating and they waste food in obvious ways (such as throwing away food that’s gone bad or food that they don’t want to finish) AND also in not-so-obvious ways, such as pooping out lots and lots of undigested food and nutrients.

Do we all need to go on a diet? Kind of. I know that that word, “diet” is a loaded one for a lot of people. So just stay with me here. In my book (The Issues are in the Tissues: Get Comfortable in Your Own Skin and Thrive in Business and in Life), I tell the story of hosting a Russian couple for a few days while they were on a big US vacation. I took them out to some good representative restaurants so that they could experience San Francisco cuisine. But I was surprised (and a little disappointed) that they pretty much only ordered appetizers to share and soup - never an entrée. At first, I thought that this was due to wanting to save money. Later, when I finally asked, I discovered that it was because they believed that American portions were absurdly large and that they would not (physically) feel well if they attempted to eat full-sized American portions!

This got me thinking.

And so, when my Russian friends went back home, I decided to try out “The Russian Diet.” For me, this “Russian” diet entailed simply cutting my portions in half. Whatever I would normally eat, I would eat half. If I was hungry later, I could eat more. My brain resisted mightily. It complained like a toddler, even before sitting down for the very first meal! It just whined and freaked out internally! But, you know what? My body didn’t freak out at all! While my monkey brain was chattering about what a crazy idea this was, the truth was, my body felt totally OK with it. My physical energy did not wane. I rarely had to go back for more food, as I was not really hungry, even though I had been cutting my portions in half! I slowly started to lose a little bit of weight, but nothing dramatic. I stuck with the “Russian diet” for about a month, and then slipped back to the American diet after a few meals with friends, which seems to be how most people end up falling off of various “diets.”

But the one thing that REALLY struck me while I was on the Russian diet was how much money I was saving! My food expenditures were cut by almost 50%! I saved so much money. It was kind of amazing.

So my point is, if food prices are rising - even if they rise quite a lot, let’s say 25% - you can STILL save money in the end by trying out my “Russian diet” and cutting your portions. If you have kids, don’t cut theirs much - kids need more fuel than adults - but if you’re an adult, you can feel just fine with less. And by the way, it’s not just the Russians who eat way less food volume than Americans. It’s pretty much everyone else in the whole world.

The other way that you can optimize nutrition for no more money is to chew your food. Most Americans barely chew their food and just swallow in big gulps. Not only does this prevent many of the nutrients from being digested, but it also contributes to leaky gut and a host of other gut problems. One study showed that by blending food and then consuming it, nutrient absorption was increased by as much as 90%! I’m not saying that you need to blend your food (although this does illustrate why smoothies can be so beneficial), but the more you chew your food - the finer the particles are - the more you will absorb the nutrients. So, it follows that if you chew your food more slowly and thoroughly, you will absorb more nutrition and therefore will need to consume less food.

The supply chain, food, etc. crisis that is happening right now is temporary. It’s happening for logical reasons and it shouldn’t surprise anyone. It’s also going to end for equally logical reasons, even though emotionally it can feel like we’re screwed. That’s the nature of the beast! Don’t take the bait. Instead, take Dr. Kim’s Russian Diet Challenge and see if you can save some money AND feel healthier in the food department even while other people are freaking out!