As I peruse the grocery store shelves, “health” foods bombard me: manuka honey, goji berries, kava, to name a few.

These “health” foods testify to America's fraught relationship with food. Soda companies have lobbied a balanced diet can include regularly drinking tens of grams of sugar; now they sell sugar-free diet soda. Fad diets, often questionable or contradictory, now line our magazines and our un-skippable ads. Poverty now increases your chances of both hunger and obesity.

We cope in different ways. Some (“mindful mommies”) turn to alternative medicine; others turn to “health” foods they don't quite understand.

Just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean it'll save you.

I understand the inclination. I had, I still sometimes have, the vague hope that simply changing things up will fix my problems. However, we need to sweat the big stuff, not just in money, but also in health and habit. Practically, we cannot expect to fully transform our food systems, at least not immediately. However, we can try, really try, to eat only when hungry; to exercise more regularly; and to sleep more consistently. Difficult, I know, oh I know! Though that should benefit us magnitudes more than manuka honey, goji berries, or kava.