By Pattie Mihalik

newsgirl@comcast.net

When I was a kid, I loved hearing my dad talk about his childhood.

One of the stories he told was about the apple tree in his neighbor’s backyard.

One time my dad climbed the tree and ate so many apples he had awful stomach pain because they were crabapples.

He ate so many, he said, because he was hungry and had nothing else to eat.

From the other stories I heard from my parents, I know they struggled during hard times to put enough food on the table.

My mother said if my dad weren’t a hunter they would not have had any meat. She admitted there were times when she only had a quarter for groceries because the mines were flooded and my dad couldn’t work for weeks.

They never put their hands out for help.

How ironic is it that in just one generation our family doesn’t struggle to find enough to eat. We struggle because we have too much to eat.

In two generations, it gets worse, My daughter admits she sometimes throws away fattening food because she doesn’t want to be tempted to eat it.

I grew up in a home where one of the biggest crimes you could commit was wasting food. Even when economic times improved and there were no worries about affording food, my mom was fierce about never wasting so much as a piece of celery. She would be rolling over in her grave to know my daughter is deliberately throwing food away.

I never waste any food. But I am consumed with worries about food. I worry because I eat too much, not because I have nothing to eat.

Like so many people who grow more health-conscious as we age, I am consumed with wanting to eat healthy. When we see so many people our age falling over like pins in a bowling alley, we want to “eat healthy” so we can avoid that as long as possible.

The biggest irony now to the food situation is that most of us know more about nutrition and healthy eating than did past generations.

Yet, we are fatter with more health-related issues than previous generations.

I’m like millions of other people who say they would like to lose 10 pounds. But believe it or not, health is my focus, not weight.

I believe food expert Dr. Mark Hyman says good health starts at the end of your fork. Because I have seen many do it, I believe we can cure some of our aches, pains and illnesses by making lifestyle changes, starting with the food we eat.

Since I believe Dr. Hyman when he says, “We eat ourselves into diseases,” I’m working on cleaning up my act.

I never thought I could give up things like potato chips and chocolate cake, but I’m focusing on avoiding things that are bad for my health such as excessive artificial sugars, high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils.

Because of that I spent an hour and a half in the grocery store reading labels but walked away with only a small bag of groceries when I read what was in the food I would normally buy.

Like most people, I pick and choose what food advice I will accept. Dr. Hyman writes that most peanut butter contains high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils. Is nothing sacred?

I’ll switch to a healthier peanut butter, but I’m not giving up all my comfort food.

After reading Dr. Hyman’s latest book, “Food — What the Heck Should I Eat?” I’m more confused than ever about what is good food and what is a health trap.

My friend Andy says it’s easy to know what to eat. “Just eat what you like,” he says.

There was a time when for me, eating what I liked best would be eating a huge bowl of spaghetti.

By paying attention to my body and to what happens after I eat certain things, I’ve learned eating like that makes me sluggish and sleepy.

The strange thing is concentrating on the fruits and vegetables I love hasn’t taken the fun out of eating. But knowing what to cook is getting harder.

The other day one daughter sent a text saying she was making cauliflower steaks on the grill. The other daughter said she was making buffalo cauliflower that tastes like chicken wings. Much of that “new eating” has to do with an emphasis is on what is supposed to be good for us.

You can see why I envy my Italian grandmother’s generation that never believed in portion control or in turning down favorite foods.

My grandmother lived to the ripe old age of 92 and ate like a truck driver until she died.

But she never ate processed food, ate very little red meat, never had artificial sugar and thrived on everything made from scratch with the greens and vegetables in her garden.

She never heard of antioxidants, the glucose index, avoiding gluten or counting carbs.

So, with all our new understanding of nutrition, what have we gained and what have we lost?

I don’t know how long I’m going to read the food books I bought before I decide I’ve had enough and tuck them away somewhere.

I do have to admit the books made me realize all the foolish food I ate, thinking it was good for me.

Maybe I’ll get a little bit smarter. Maybe I’ll even get a little bit healthier.

Or, maybe down the line another food expert will come along and point out how everything we are eating now is bad for us.

Who ever thought what to eat would be so confusing?

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.