We're eating ourselves sick: 3 steps back to health

We all want to be beautiful, slim, agile, fit, healthy, and happy. Ideally, for as long as possible. This isn't an unreasonable desire. It's the essence of a fulfilling life. But something is fundamentally wrong. That's what leading nutritionists like Professor Andreas Michalsen from Charité Berlin say. His diagnosis sounds simple: We're eating the wrong things. Too much of it, too often, at the wrong time, and too quickly. Certainly, we now have enough for everyone, but special interests, lobbying, greed, and an unscrupulous industry have steered us for decades in a direction that is harmful to us and our planet.

Fortunately, there are well-founded new findings – which have revolutionized my life several times over. We need to relearn how to eat more naturally.

The problem: We didn't fail, the system let us down.

We all resort to diets, light products, vitamin supplements, or protein bars at some point, hoping to finally find the key to our health. And yet, chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular problems, and obesity continue to increase instead of decreasing. This isn't individual failure. Michalsen describes an environment that constantly "overwhelms" us—a "diverse, always-available overabundance" no longer aligns with what our bodies truly need for health. His solution, therefore, isn't another strict rule, but a return to what he calls a "natural eating rhythm": less constant snacking, more breaks, and foods that remain as close to their natural state as possible.

What the industry sold us and why we believed it

We all remember simple messages that have become deeply ingrained: lots of bread, lots of grains, little fat. Eat as often as possible. Breakfast is a must. For decades, this was presented to us as the healthy way to eat. Much of it still sounds reasonable today, but it was often too general, too one-sided, or simply driven by self-interest. Some of the most persistent nutritional myths remain to this day.

Myth: "Fat makes you fat"

The phrase sounds catchy – and Bas Kast quotes it exactly like this in his book *The Nutrition Compass*: "Those who eat fat will get fat." This statement has been deeply ingrained in our consciousness for decades. But his point is: This blanket statement has fueled an entire "fat phobia" and made matters worse rather than better. Because, as we now know, fat doesn't automatically make the body fat. The main problem was the side effect: "Those who abstain from fat inevitably consume something else" – often easily digestible carbohydrates or sugary "light" products. The result wasn't automatically better health, but often quite the opposite.

Myth: "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day"

This statement, too, was long treated as an established truth. In fact, it is not scientifically tenable in such general terms. Not everyone benefits from eating immediately after waking up. What matters far more often is what we eat, our daily rhythm, and how our individual metabolism reacts. Michalsen shows that it's more complicated than a dogma. If one assumes three meals a day, a hearty start to the morning has advantages—he calls "Eat breakfast like a king..." a scientifically supported recommendation. However, with intermittent fasting, the logic shifts: "This diminishes the importance of breakfast." And in practice, this often means that with the 16:8 diet, "you will generally skip breakfast."

Myth: "More meals and smaller portions are always better"

Michalsen refers to a randomized study in type 2 diabetes in which 54 people, with the same calorie intake, either ate six small meals or concentrated their energy into an early eating window (practically: breakfast and lunch / dinner-canceling). After 12 weeks, the eating-window group showed, among other things, better blood sugar levels as well as benefits in terms of fatty liver, blood lipids, and weight. His conclusion is unequivocal: "Eating without breaks" is, in the long run, "the worst of all dietary recommendations"—because these very breaks between meals can be important for blood sugar regulation (glucose metabolism), metabolic health, and natural repair processes in the body. Those who eat constantly hardly give their bodies any real breaks.

What research really shows today

Fortunately, there are now insights that untangle many things, and these insights, as Michalsen and Kast consistently demonstrate, point in the same direction: away from the nutrient ping-pong and towards real food. Michalsen calls it a mistake that "the big picture" was neglected for so long – when in fact, a foodstuff "in its entirety" is "more than the sum of its parts." Bas Kast puts this into a simple practical rule: "Eat real, natural food. The more natural, the better." Sounds easier than it seems, doesn't it?

Timing matters: Why meal breaks are so important

Michalsen describes intermittent fasting as a practical principle for everyday life, for example, 14:10 or 16:8. And he makes it clear why breaks are crucial: "Eating without breaks" is, in the long run, "the worst" recommendation. In studies, he sees, among other things, better blood sugar levels and improvements in fatty liver and blood lipids with the 16:8 approach. And that's with the same food intake. He also reports that in many studies, "the depth and quality of sleep at night" improved, and even elevated blood pressure can "slightly" decrease. And there's something else very practical: A longer break from eating gives the gut time. He calls this the "housekeeper reflex," the self-cleaning process that occurs when no food "floods in" for several hours. This is precisely why many researchers today are talking not only about calories but also about eating rhythms. Our ancestors didn't eat around the clock. And our bodies still remember these biological patterns.

Natural food has a different effect than isolated nutrients.

A capsule can be useful, but it's not a food. Bas Kast succinctly summarizes the basic idea: Our bodies "prefer real food to pills." This is because in real foods, nutrients don't come in isolation, but as a package, and the interactions between them are often crucial. Andreas Michalsen emphasizes precisely this point: For a long time, nutritional science focused primarily on individual nutrients, neglecting "the big picture"—"a serious mistake." Today, it's clear that a food "is more than the sum of its parts" because its components can either enhance or hinder each other. This also explains why "enhanced" industrial products are often misleading: Michalsen cites marketing claims like "valuable calcium" or "healthy vitamin C." But that doesn't automatically make a sweet, highly processed product healthy. The practical consequence is simple: The more natural a food is, the better. Kast puts it this way: "The more we consume a food in its original, natural form, the more beneficial it is for us."

And yet: There are exceptions where supplements are truly necessary. Michalsen, for example, explicitly states: "Those who follow a vegan diet must supplement with vitamin B12." However, the guiding principle remains the same: Real food as the foundation – and supplements only where they truly make sense.

Conclusion: What is now possible

Here's the good news: It's not too late. And it's not as complicated as the industry would like to believe. Even small, well-founded changes – consistently implemented – can profoundly transform our lives. The path to achieving this can be broken down into three simple steps:

1. Let's dispel myths: Enough with blanket rules like "fat makes you fat," "breakfast is a must," or "eat small meals constantly." What counts isn't a single slogan, but the overall picture.
   
   
2. Get back into a rhythm: Give your body real breaks again. Less constant snacking, clearer eating windows (e.g., 14:10 or 16:8) – so that your metabolism and digestion have time to do their job.
   
   
3. Natural food as a foundation: Foods you can still recognize as such – individual ingredients instead of industrial constructs. This means: vegetables, legumes, nuts, good olive oil, fish/meat of reasonable quality, eggs, fermented foods – and overall, ingredient lists as short as possible without flavorings, emulsifiers, or "light" tricks. Supplements only where they are truly necessary.

Understanding how the body works, and becoming more mindful of shopping, cooking, and eating, not only transforms your health but often your entire relationship with life. If step 3 fails in practice, it's usually not due to a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of choice. That's why at auteniQ you'll find tested, transparently selected foods that cover precisely this foundation: natural products, transparent ingredients, and no unnecessary additives. If you want to get started, begin simply: for the next 14 days, swap out just one thing (for example, your standard oil for a really good olive oil) and build from there.

"It starts with the right knowledge. Add enthusiasm. And then anything is possible." – Alexander, Founder and CEO of auteniQ

Inspiration and sources

Prof. Dr. Andreas Michalsen: Healing with the Power of Nature
Bas Kast: The Nutrition Compass