The Food Fads

I'm almost 50. (hooray and all that) I've seen some food trends come along, tarry a while, and fade away. Remember fat free?

That one lasted a while. I mean really. Half and half without any fat? Just call it water.
Anybody remember when eggs were bad for you?

Now they're good for you. Same eggs. Different fads.
And coffee. Remember when it was the devil's own drink?

We used to call them diets. You know: Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Adkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers again. I stopped listening to them after Dr. Atkins died.

He had a good thing going though ~~ steak for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Oh yeah!
When the food gurus realized we'd wearied of the "d" word, they pulled the ole switcheroo. They're no longer diets; they're food trends. So now your facebook friends, totally normal people you've known since junior high school, will spring this on you:
"You must go gluten-free!"
"You must go dairy-free!"
"You must go paleo!" (Paleo? Let's eat like cavemen?)

So, although I wish to offend no one, and I whole-heartedly support everyone's desires to amend their own and their family's eating experiences, I'm here to say that I reject all food fads. I realize that a tiny portion of the eating population has valid allergies to gluten, sugar, cow's milk, or whatever, but this constant onslaught of vindictive attacks on our perfectly ordinary foodstuffs must stop. When people post blaring memes instructing me to dump my milk down the drain and never sip it again, I become suspicious that all this food brouhaha is a smoke screen, a marketing guise designed to manipulate me into changing my purchasing habits. I see this in my friends. They're clearing out their pantries each year as they do their closets. "What's the food fashion this season?" seems to be the stylish question to ask.

[If you are quietly, thoughtfully, moderating your eating regimen because you've established specific health concerns, this is no criticism of you.]

It is a matter of moderation, I believe. I ignore people who say I must do away with some food absolutely and never eat it again. I know some of you will be distressed that I would dare to say such things. I'm sorry. I am.  But someone has to call this what it is: food insanity. Can't we just eat in peace? Eat in moderation? Stop demonizing perfectly good food? If you have a food intolerance, and you've found some relief by altering your diet, I'm happy for you! I do not understand why, however, a diet change for a few should become a new dictum for all.  Because just as soon as we all give up our dairy/flour/eggs/coffee/potatoes, some guru with a degree will come along and tell us we were wrong all along. And undoubtedly, he'll be selling a new trend.