I am driven to write this article by the hope that we might survive this age of "science food." I feel compelled to raise my written voice above the foggy drone of propaganda pouring from the machines of the diet industry. I am frightened about the absolute disconnect we find in our relationship with food today. We are so lost and don't even know it.

We have lost reference for where we've come from and where we are going. We comprise the first generations in our culture's history that have to take classes on how to eat. Grocery stores strike me as warehouses of "food toys," headlining illicit entertainment for our taste buds; perhaps they're really creative and elaborate mazes fraught with adventure, distraction and temptation as you battle to find unadulterated whole food. Too much drama in my tone... perhaps... or maybe just enough. Today is my daughter's fourth birthday and I am overcome by disappointment that I have done little to stop this degradation that may become the best we have to offer her generation.

I offer you a vision of what I hope for. I wish to remind people of the simplicity of eating and living well. Our fixation on diets as the cure to our eating woes is greatly misplaced. As I write this I am reminded of all the men and women that seem to have benefited from this diet or that, who will valiantly defend their diet. I hope that you will suspend your judgment and reflect on the information here. A diet is simply meant as a manner of eating to achieve a desired outcome. I suggest that our primary diet not truly be a diet but can be best described as eating to nourish. I am promoting my concept of the Rainbow Gourmand Diet, however, to help people conceptualize the simplicity of eating well, to act as a touchstone which they can reflect upon when making the right food choices.

The Rainbow Gourmand Diet is a very simple approach to eating well. Your diet should be abundant in color and an ever-changing variety of whole foods, defined as unprocessed and unrefined or minimally processed before consumption. That's it! That's the key to vital eating. Beyond that, there are guidelines to tailor your eating to your more specific needs or goals. You might be disappointed by its simplicity but eating well is simple. We have only convinced ourselves that it has to be more complicated, that a doctor needs to right a book about it and end up on a talk show, or perhaps we need to restrict everything to a food group. How could it be as simple as just eating food that's actually food? With the concept of the Rainbow Gourmand Diet as a guide you will always be able to make the right choices and quickly begin to experience the renewed joy of eating well and feeling well. You'll find improved clarity of mind, physical energy, and mental-emotional vibrancy. Your body will thrive when not burdened by the onslaught of "science food."

It should be noted that many people experience withdrawal symptoms as they remove the science foods from their system. Designer foods have been manufactured to be addictive at some level. Many foods tickle receptors in our brain that give us mild 'highs' and make us feel good. Often it is our comfort foods that we turn to get us through tough times. Fundamentally, these foods contain mood altering substances; we love them for it. However, when we remove them, we experience cravings and withdrawal. Scary in its own right but not to be feared as you begin to free yourself from their addictive nature.

Here are some more extensive guidelines for the Rainbow Gourmand Diet. Start your day with breakfast. Enjoy a protein source with every meal. Eat several smaller meals throughout the day. Aim to drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water daily (100lbs=50oz. H2O). Avoid caffeine, sugar and other sweeteners. Eat organic, especially foods on the dirty dozen from the EWG. (Organic is generally your best bet albeit this designation is being challenged by those that would exploit its loopholes.) Consider variety at all times. Vegetables aren't just vegetables. Depending on the type of plant, growing environment, part of the plant, color of the plant, and on you will reap a variety of health benefits. Enjoy what you eat and add intention to the process. Consume a lot of cold water fish.

The Rainbow Gourmand Diet in its simplicity reminds us to eat a bountiful splendor of beautiful, colorful, and diverse foods as nature has provided them. Insert personal judgment here. For legal reasons I won't highlight certain branded foods (huh?... read that again... branded foods?) but have you ever seen square fish sticks swimming in the ocean, hot dogs frolicking in pastures, potato chips growing in the soil, chickens playing in their own feces and shooting up antibiotics, cows grazing on corn and straight-veining hormones, oranges enriching themselves with calcium? Aisles in the supermarket are filled with "foods" that more closely resemble experiments in shelf-life extension than edible offerings.

How did we get here? The answer lies in our recent history since World War II when many of our advances in food technology brought the promise of what could be achieved; we forgot to ask "what should be achieved?" Government programs designed to promote efficiency and profitability drive the innovation of the food science industry. Genetically modified organisms are at the forefront of this insanity today. I should not forget to mention here that our hardworking farmers can lose their entire crop for copyright infringement if a genetically modified organism is found to have pollinated their crop. As there is no way to prevent pollination, it happens all the time.

Do not let the simplicity of the Rainbow Gourmand Diet deceive you. It developed with tremendous attention paid to the sciences of physics, chemistry, biology, biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, psychology, pathology, nutrition. Simply put it's founded from nature and has been tested since the beginning of man's journey on this planet. We developed from it and it from us and we have yet to prove that we are smart enough to out think the brilliant simplicity of nature.

I hope that this article awakens an awareness and motivation in you to learn more. Thank you and Be well.