Sid, you have made some great points about making changes slowly—sounds like you and your wife ARE on a similar path that Steve and I are on—it’s nice to make that connection

I also agree with you about allowing indulgences…this can lessen the chance of a regression in making a change such as the one we are discussing.

My wife and I continually go through the simplification process with respect to food. We’ve taken a similar approach to the one you suggest. We’ve picked one area of our eating and altered it. It started with us becoming semi-vegetarians. We both eat seafood and animal products like eggs and dairy. Additionally, I eat poultry. After a few years and some reading, we gave up hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrup. Most recently, we’ve been slowly adding a hormone and antibiotic free criteria as well as trying to buy produce locally when available.

As you point out. There’s no reason to change everything swiftly. With each step, both of us have felt better and have become healthier. For instance, I was beginning to develop acid-reflux. Cutting out hydrogenated oils almost completely eliminated the problem.

I would also suggest to anyone thinking about attempting this is to allow indulgences. If you have something you really like, but want to give up for the sake of your health, don’t go cold-turkey. Slowly cut back. If it is bad for your body, you’ll likely discover that you’ll lose the taste for it eventually. If that doesn’t happen, you find a point where you’ve cut back enough that the harmful effects disappear.