Your Digital Diet

The Whole Food diet came around in the 1980s. Simply, it means the more unprocessed “whole” foods you eat, the healthier you’ll feel: 

• Eat chicken breast over nuggets 

• Eat a fresh peach over a fruit cup 

• Eat whole grain over Wonder Bread 

The idea is that the less process your food goes through (grinding, preservation, refining), the more your body needs to work in order to process the food. This work is critical for your body, as it aids in digestion and is natural protection from over-eating.

This framework of unprocessed/processed can also be applied to your digital diet: 

• Read a book over watching its movie

• Read a WSJ article over consuming news tweets

• Listen to a long-form podcast over morning radio 

The less refined the information you’re receiving, the more your brain needs to “work” to process it. 

This work is the learning process, and improves your brain’s attention span and stamina. Your brain will learn how to digest more complex material and will crave the vital micronutrients not found in super-refined sources of information, i.e. context. 

Aim for an 80/20 diet, where 80% of the information you’re taking in comes from  healthy sources: books, long-form articles, documentaries. Indulge in short form occasionally, around 20% of the time. 

A Whole Food diet will keep you physically healthy, a Whole Digital diet will keep you mentally healthy. 

PK