Basic Rules of Living

Q:  You're known to be a strong fitness advocate, having lost more than 100 pounds in recent years. As president, how would you advocate better fitness nationally?

There are two basic elements to health: good nutrition and activity. We've got to help this country to start realizing that whole, natural foods are critical to health. I often tell people a couple of basic rules of nutrition:

One is, if it wasn't a food 100 years ago, it probably isn't a food today.

Secondly, if it comes through the car window, it isn't food. So much of what people eat today is a chemical product that has been processed, and when you really look at what it is and read the label, you'd be better off eating the box and throwing the contents away, because the box would at least give you some fiber.


Q:  Is there a way of promoting healthier lifestyles from a federal level?

One thing is that the marketplace is moving. Every food company with whom I've spoken has told me that the growth of their marketplace is in the healthier food choices.

We're not going to solve it all overnight, but we can start making a genuine transition to healthier, more whole-food products, doing more to subsidize fruits and vegetables, rather than just the processed food, and creating the appetites in children by exposing them more to fruits and vegetables at the marketplace, and the schools, and their homes and neighborhoods.

-- Mike Huckabee