This blog entry is about Andrew Wilder, (not to be confused with the heavily-bearded alternative medicine guru Andrew Weil).  Andrew Wilder runs the healthy eating blog ‘Eating Rules’.

In my profession as a personal trainer I have learned to be a sceptic.

The fitness and food industries are so riddled with commercial interests that my default assumption when I come across a new blog, a new theory, or an announcement of new scientific discoveries is that the information is hogwash and not to be taken seriously.

That is why it is so refreshing to find a source of information that I find trustworthy.   The reason I find him reliable is that he doesn’t take things at face value.   He takes the extra time and effort to think about the information that we are presented by industry.

Take food labels for instance;  Andrew guest blogs that things are not always as they seem with the labeling of food products.  Corporations can game their food labels to make their food appear healthy when it is not.

Now let’s look at the latest ‘scientific breakthrough: ‘Coffee reduces Death Risk!’.

It sounds good on paper, it makes a great headline, and probably brings in the readers.  But Andrew is rightly suspicious of these spastic pronouncements.

In fact he has written a sort of layman’s guide to reading between the lines of scientific reporting.   <—  This is my favorite article on his entire site and is something I refer to often.   If you only have time to read it or the rest of my blog post please go read it!  It is vital information.

Given, Andrew is not an MD, nor is he a dietitian or nutritionist, in fact, he is a lighting designer and an internet consultant by trade.  But I don’t mind this lack of a title.  It is clear that he has done his homework.   What’s more, he really lives what he teaches.  And like all good teachers he knows how to break down the information into useful bits.

Here is a printable Cooking Oil Comparison Chart he created.  A great way to, at-a-glance, decide which oils to use for cooking, which to use for dressings, and which to avoid altogether.

(note: The Cooking Oil Chart was team effort between Andrew and Andy Bellatti.)

‘Eating Rules’ is also a fantastic resource for holistic nutrition recipes.   I’ve counted over 100 in total.  Here are some of my favorites:

• How to Make Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs :  This truly is the best way to make hardboiled eggs!
• The Salad Dressing Formula:  I always make up my own salad dressings and with this formula I actually get great salad dressings each time!
•  How to make Fluffy Quinoa:  and my quinoa has been reborn!

Again, the name of his blog is Eating Rules.  I recommend it to my clients and anyone interested in making more effective eating choices.

I’ll leave you with the 3 Eating rules that are a distillation of Andrew’s food research.  I hope Andrew won’t mind me quoting them here for the benefit of my readers.

1. When you eat grains, eat only 100% whole grains.
2. Don’t eat high fructose corn syrup.
3. Don’t eat hydrogenated oils, trans fats, or anything that’s been deep-fried.

Thanks Andrew!!! Keep up the good work!