Perhaps you saw the March 23 2010, Good Morning America health story, a sort of an expose of a growing problem it calls “Orthorexia Nervosa.” If GMA is to be believed, there is a growing list of victims ruled by fear of eating unhealthy things and paralyzed by having to analyze the food content of everything going in their mouths. This is actually a rehash for the most part of a story line ABC was developing at least as far back as 2008.

Most stories of this ilk are more about pop culture than real medical problems of course. Still, it is worthwhile discussing the whole idea of whether we spend too much time managing our food consumption habits, and what the best solution really is.

Having committed to the lifestyle of eating six small meals a day and exercising regularly nearly every day, I have had many occasions to speak or write and to answer questions concerning that topic. And, it has been my experience that there really are some people who are so obsessed about their nutritional needs and process that their efforts to eat perfectly can take on a life of their own and actually keep them from enjoying their journey to better health. Like most things, it is probably best to be diligent but not obsessive about such things as workouts and meals and rest.

One thing that I usually do to avoid excessive planning and research is to eat simple, fresh whole foods, rather than blended foods or preserved foods. It’s not that I necessarily prefer the taste and appearance and effects of the fresh whole foods either. It is just that when I do eat naturally grown or raised foods I don’t have to spend a great deal of time worrying about what goes into them. And, because the supplies of fresh whole foods are a bit more limited than the choices on the inside aisles of the grocery store, I tend to eat basically the same things, day after day, week after week. That helps a great deal, because if I have analyzed a meal on one occasion and I eat the same thing regularly, I just don’t spend much time looking up caloric and nutrient contents or worrying about portion sizes.

Another thing that has helped a lot is recognizing the “90% rule.” Simply put, that means that if I am doing healthy things 90% of the time, I’m probably doing enough that the other 10% of my time can be consumed guilt free by indulging in what I wish. I grant you that regular and gluttonous consumption of saturated fats and white sugar and flour is not a good idea, but indulging in those things on a rare occasion is unlikely to land you in the emergency room any time soon.

When it comes to meal replacement shakes and supplements, I’ve realized two things. First, there is no avoiding reading the contents label because virtually every meal replacement shake or bar varies in content and quality from others. And, second, that there can be much peace in buying the best product you can possibly get, even if it on occasion means sacrificing a bit of taste or texture to get it. When it comes to meal replacement shakes and bars, there is no company better than Labrada Nutrition at getting it right in both taste and content. The products aren’t cheap, but they are good and good for you. The EAS division of Abbott Nutrition makes excellent products as well. You cannot go wrong buying the products of either one of these companies. However, you CAN go wrong if you use the products incorrectly, so be sure that you’re using the shakes for meal replacements and the bars for emergency meal replacements, because the bars, while very tasty, are certainly not on par with the shakes when it comes to great muscle building nutrition!