Here Is The Simplest Advice For Anyone Trying To Lose Weight Or Eat Healthy

Every few years, another diet seems to be all the rage. Food fads come and go every day. Go ahead, try to follow all of the advice that has proliferated: eat low fat, cut out all sugar, eat like a caveman, become a vegan, cut out gluten, go dairy-free, measure glycemic index, etc.

You'd be left with nothing but water — and maybe spinach. Most diets allow spinach.

The best advice, though, is to ignore the cacophony of "expert" voices. The secret to healthy eating is painfully basic. Michael Pollen articulated it memorably several years ago: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Mark Bittman, a longtime advocate of sensible eating, makes the case for some similarly untrendy basics in his latest column for The New York Times, arguing that vilifying salt, fat, and sugar misses the real problem. There is a mounting public health epidemic in this country around obesity, diabetes, and other problems associated with unhealthy diet and sedentary living, and the answer, Bittman says, is simple: "Eat Real Food."

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