Your are what you eat .... foods for a healthy existenceIt seems a person must have a Doctorate in nutrition to understand what to eat nowadays. There is just so much information and it is a maze for even the most dedicated "health nut." The definition of a healthy diet varies from Raw to Cooked, Vegan to Paleo, Gluten free to Whole Grains. Depending on your blood type, your body type or your ayurvedic profile; one man's prescription for nutrition may be another's undoing. We have gone through entire decades where Fat has been demonized, Carbohydrates misrepresented, and Protein either undervalued or over consumed. Reading books like The Omnivores Dilemma one is left with one question...What Can I Eat?
When we at Living Legacy Wellness Center meet with our clients, we discuss the fact that every body is in fact created uniquely. That there are many areas that we may focus on with one person that just don't seem as important to another individuals overall health. Happily, there are some absolutes. These are food choices and helpful hints that can revolutionize the way you nourish your body and work universally regardless of diet plan is currently trending #1. Eat REAL food. This means get familiar with fresh ingredients. Learn to cook or prepare simple meals from scratch. Sometimes this is more time consuming than our usual habit of fast food, eating out or putting a pre-packaged meal into the microwave for a quick zap. It does become easier with time, it is a more rewarding dining experience and exponentially more healthy. With this in mind buy your fruits and veggies, meats and grains, nuts and seeds in their purest form as often as possible, raw and fresh rather than frozen, canned, pre-packaged or processed.We were created to consume foods that are natural, from the earth and that grow in their season. Bleached, enriched, fortified along with a list of 20 ingredients that you can't even pronounce does not constitute REAL food...it is REAL poison #2 Invest in ORGANIC as often as possible. Doing this removes a ton of chemicals, hormones and antibiotics from your food and, therefore, your body. Yes there are a lot of tag words to define quality, but only a couple of them mean anything. If something is certified USDA organic, you can bet that it will be at least 30% more expensive than its "natural" counterpart, however; studies have revealed that people who consume organic products absorb an average of 60% more nutrition from their food...now that's a handsome return on your investment. In addition, it is possible with a little effort to find local produce through co-ops and farmers markets that sell items that are not USDA certified but are in fact organic, and also much more affordable. This gives the consumer a chance to delve even deeper into rule #1, know where your food comes from. Meet these farmers, ask if they use pesticides and chemicals on their crops, ask to visit their site and see for yourself. Once you are satisfied, become a loyal customer and help to keep them in the business of producing organic food at a reasonable price. For others .... you're in luck, even Costco has begun carrying the Monster portion of organic products at a fraction of the price of high-end stores. In addition to Organic, Free Range and Grass Fed/Finished should be priorities for ALL animal products. If you choose to eat flesh foods, only consume the cleanest and purest available. Not only does this ensure that the animals are humanely handled in the tradition of small farming, but it removes the early introduction of antibiotics, hormones and other growth injections via the meat into the human body. Purchase Wild fish with both fins and scales rather than farmed fish or shellfish to avoid higher levels of heavy metals. Many health food stores now carry Raw dairy products as well. This is a hotly debated subject and worth further research to decide your beliefs on the matter. For fear of bacterial contamination many avoid these products, but in its raw state, dairy (whether from cow, goat or otherwise) is easier to digest and provides healthy pro-biotic qualities as well as a much higher nutritional content. #3 Seriously GO GREEN. Leafy Green Veggies were the original super food and they still reign supreme. Chop them, steam them, juice them, Sautee them; throw them in a mineral broth, add some to your smoothie. Get them from the ground, or from the sea...just consume a variety of them in as many ways as possible as much as possible. Packed with vital vitamins, minerals, nutrients, fiber and healing properties every generation, each decade, each diet can agree on one thing, GREEN is the color of energy and the foundation upon which we do more than exist, we THRIVE. Challenge yourself to include deep green leafy vegetables in every meal in one form or another. Showcase Greens as your main course and demote what used to be the focus of your meal to a side dish or compliment instead. Buy a juicer, a Vitamix, a mandolin, anything that will help you incorporate more greens into your daily repertoire. Create a system: shop, wash, chop and separate your veggies in one evening into time-saving portions to be used for juices and salads throughout the week. Go Green and then Go Greener, enjoy immediate alleviation of so many common health complaints. These foods specifically are why Hippocrates said "let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food." |
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