We have all heard the saying, 'you are what you eat," and we would probably all agree that is true. Of course, we read into the nuance of the statement and agree that how you fuel your body and what you fuel your body with becomes who you are. So, if we universally decide that this is true, wouldn't we do almost anything to ensure that what is going into our bodies would be of the highest quality?

We would want to ingest:

• Nutritious foods
• Minimally processed foods 
• Food made from the things that grow and roam instead of concocted in a lab room

We would say 'no' to :

• Unpronounceable ingredients
• Chemicals
• Cancer-prone substances

Nothing would get in the way of purchasing those products and finding ourselves making sacrifices in other areas of our lives because eating quality foods is often expensive but always worth it. 

We understand that no one wants to spend a god awful amount of money on food they eat every day. We want to propose a new way to think about what you buy for food - a way you are familiar with and have likely already implemented in other areas: quality over quantity. We always want you to get the biggest bang for your buck, no doubt, but maybe we need to reframe what that bang is. What if the bang is quality, not quantity? Here is a short excerpt from a study done by researchers in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health. 

 "A calorie is a calorie" is an oft-repeated dietary slogan, and not overeating is indeed an important health measure. Rather than focusing on calories alone, however, emerging research shows that quality is also key in determining what we should eat and what we should avoid in order to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Rather than choosing foods based only on caloric value, think instead about choosing high-quality, healthy foods, and minimizing low-quality foods.

• High-quality foods include unrefined, minimally processed foods such as vegetables and fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, and healthy sources of protein – the foods recommended in the Healthy Eating Plate.
• Lower-quality foods include highly processed snack foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, refined (white) grains, refined sugar, fried foods, foods high in saturated and trans fats, and high-glycemic foods such as potatoes.

Unfortunately, we have some conflicts around our values and realities. We say, and we believe that "you are what you eat," but yet we also at the same time find ourselves saying things like this, 

"It was very expensive. It costs twice as much as the one I drink and only has 20 g of protein for 140 calories. My protein drink has 30 g of protein for only an extra 10 calories." 

From our research, the person who wrote this is consuming a protein mostly comprised of artificial ingredients, fillers, and flavors that may contain some protein but will certainly not be absorbed by the body due to its unrecognizable makeup. 

Their statement above is true. It is also relative. Very expensive is not a measure of value. It is a value of money. And an unclear one at that. But that is beside the point. 

Many of us share the conflict of interest underneath this person's statement. We want something made well and from the highest quality resources, and we also don't want to have to pay for what it takes to make it that way. We cannot have both. If you want something made well, you will have to pay the price for what is created.

No one wants to walk around wanting to eat shitty food, feeling shitty, and looking shitty. We also don't want to use an entire paycheck to fill our fridges. At ICONIC, we help you find a middle ground by providing protein-rich products made with high-quality ingredients that work with your body to give you the biggest bang for your buck, whether weight loss, gainzzz, or maintenance. You will always get what you pay for at the end of the day. No food is free, and if it is cheap, you will pay for it in other ways. 

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-weight/best-diet-quality-counts/