I find that the less often a person uses their fork, the more likely they’re consuming foods that are highly processed and convenient.
Your fork tends to find foods that are whole, real and living, especially if they are coming out of your own kitchen where you actually do have control over the quality of the ingredients that pass your lips.
There’s a mound of scientific evidence pointing to the power of food as medicine. So we can’t ignore it!
When we give our body Living, real food, it gets the raw materials it needs to heal and run smoothly.,
So often we get focused on macronutrients, (carbs, protein, and fats) which are found in everything we eat, even if it’s from McDonalds, but we forget about the importance of micronutrients. You know, our vitamins and minerals.
The things we need in order to make the essential enzymes that orchestrate all of our bodily processes.
Without these enzymes our machinery basically grinds to a halt and ceases to function, causing disease and eventually death.
These vitamins and minerals are not found in processed foods, at least not in their natural state nor in the synergistic way that only real food gives.
We have a running start at treating and preventing chronic illnesses by eating a whole, organic, real, unprocessed diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, small omega-3 containing fish like sardines and herring, and lean grass fed animal protein.
These are basically the foods that our ancestors gathered and hunted. We have not evolved much since then so our bodies basically need the same nutrient dense food for fuel and optimal health that we needed back then.
The foods that most Americans eat are inflammatory, affecting our guts, joints, immune systems, metabolism and brains-you get the idea, EVERTHING!
So, how can you easily tell if a food is a Living food? It’s actually very simple. It will spoil or change at room temperature in 7-10 days. (the exception is a dehydrated food).
The fact that the food is changing means that it is still living and full of enzymes that our body needs to operate at a peak level.
An example: Tortillas and breads should become moldy in about 7 days at room temperature. If they don’t, they are no longer a living food and have been made inert by added preservatives, chemicals and/or heat.
Dead foods do not help to keep our bodies energized and disease free and they “dumb” us down.
They can be found, in abundance, at your friendly big grocery store chains and in the myriad of fast food establishments.
You probably even have some tucked away in your kitchen as well. Yes, confession, I have a few, but only a very few! 🙂
Go into your kitchen. Look through your cabinets and throw away anything that contains ingredients listed below. And when you go to the grocery store, make sure to read the ingredient labels of all foods you purchase to avoid reintroducing these substances back into your home and body.
- High-fructose corn syrup (and corn syrup) This is a manufactured byproduct of corn (which 90% of is genetically modified in the US).Take a look at your Wheat Thins, breakfast bars, cereals, ketchup, BBQ sauce,
- Trans Fats.(aka as hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oil) Do not be fooled by the packaging that states there are zero trans fats or the nutrition label that says zero trans fats. You must read the ingredient label to see if there is hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils in the product. These fats cause heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. (Read your Skippy and Jiff peanut butter ingredients. Take a look at your Mission Flour Tortillas.)
- Food additives, preservatives, and artificial sweeteners: The average person consumes pounds of these compounds every year. Aside from being harmful themselves, they often bring with them many other poor quality ingredients. So try to stay away from the following:
- Artificial Sweeteners: Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal), saccharin (Sweet n’Low), sucralose (Splenda), acesulfame-K (Sunette, Sweet-n-Safe, Sweet One)
- Food Additives: Potassium bromate, propyl gallate, sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, monosodium glutamate, natural flavors, maltodextrin (you’ll be surprised how many products have this little sweetener and interestingly enough, it is not counted as a sugar).
I always encourage eating as much organic and grass fed as your budget can bear, but even if you do nothing else, simply eliminating foods with any of the above ingredients will go a long ways toward improving your health and the health of your loved ones.
It’s simple, really. Just start eating whole real, fresh, organic food as often as you can, and watch how you look and feel so incredibly better!
Now, you’ll notice how I said ‘simple’ and it is, but easy? Sometimes that can be a bit of a challenge, especially if we’re not comfortable in the kitchen or have time constraints (which seems to be a lot of us!).
One of these days, I’m going to have to put together my dinner hacks which help me be to able to eat halfway decently when there’s limited time.
Two things to help you out in the meantime.
1. Use my website to be inspired with new recipes
2. And this great book, The 28 Day Pegan Diet to help you put together some wonderful quick healing meals
To tantalize you a bit and perhaps get you back in YOUR kitchen, here’s a delicious AND healthy lemon cheesecake recipe that’s perfect for Easter, Mother’s Day or any day! It’s dairy free and fairly high in protein!