I love all things food — growing it, preparing it, and, of course, eating it. I also love to share what I have learned about food to help people eat better and to start them on a road to better health. I truly believe that the food we eat leads to health or disease. The choice is yours. There’s no middle ground. The problem is that there is a disconnect between what we eat and health. Because when we eat a cheeseburger loaded with cholesterol, fat and salt and don’t have immediate health consequences, we don’t associate the two. But they are connected. I’ll say it again. EVERYTHING we eat leads to either health OR disease. It’s time to start thinking about that every time you eat so that you can lead your body toward better health. I love this meme!
It’s time to start thinking more deeply about our food choices. Every bite counts. Of course there are times when we eat things that aren’t best for our body. I do that. I’m not perfect. It’s important to recognize times when perhaps we didn’t make the best food choices. Then move on and promise yourself you will do better next time. It makes me sad when people joke about how much unhealthy food they eat. It’s not funny. It will most likely lead to a disease later. Here are a few memes to show you what I mean.
I know these are funny, but they prove my point that we don’t take eating healthy seriously. We poke fun at losing weight and eating foods that help our body — all the time. Perhaps we do this because we don’t want to face the truth about our food choices. Better to laugh it off than face reality.
This food journey is difficult in society today. When we realize that the foods we love are damaging our bodies, it’s like being betrayed by a good friend. Let me give you an example. I love potato chips. I cannot lie. And I do snack on them even though they are not good for me. My thinking was that I eat so many veggies everyday that its okay to eat something not so healthy and it will all balance out. I am wrong in this thinking. I should ALWAYS choose health.
I am in the process of developing a nutrition and healthy eating course and was doing some research on foods people should avoid. One of the foods I recommend people stop eating is canola oil. It is ubiquitous. I bet it’s in over 50% of the foods in the grocery store. It’s GMO and there is really nothing healthy about it. And guess what my delicious chips are fried in? Of course — canola oil. I try to do better sometimes and go with pretzels. I was afraid to look at the ingredients. I mean, pretzels are such a better choice over chips, right? There it was right on the ingredient list….canola oil. Darn! Even in my healthy pretzels contain nasty canola oil. So even though I feel pretty savvy when it comes to avoiding unhealthy foods, I am clearly not perfect. So I am going to avoid chips and pretzels unless I read the label to see they don’t contain canola. And when I do choose to eat them I will make healthier choices by reading labels carefully. Last night I chose to make air popped popcorn with amino acids sprayed on. It is so much healthier and just as delicious. But I have to train my mind to choose healthy foods. It’s not always easy. And I’m pretty knowledgeable about what to eat and not eat.
Let me give you another example. I ate out recently, and with my newfound knowledge of canola oil and wanting to avoid it, I asked my waitress questions. Please don’t be afraid to do that. It’s your right, as a customer, to know what they serve you. I usually go with a falafel salad, but I knew the falafels are fried. I asked the waitress what they fried them in and she said soybean oil. Well, not canola oil, but I know that soybean oil is over 90% GMO and I don’t want that in my body either. So I went with a beet salad with dressing on the side. I didn’t ask about the dressing because I knew I would use just a smidge. I recommend always asking for dressing on the side because restaurants tend to drown salads in dressing. So, I didn’t get the falafel salad I planned to get, but my second choice was just as good. I chose health over disease causing food. You can do that too!
I challenge you to pay attention to every morsel you put in your mouth. It’s all about respecting our body, being aware of what’s in your food, and recognizing that the food about to enter your mouth is either going to make you healthy or lead to disease. Start asking questions: How was it prepared? What are the ingredients? Is there anything in this foods that could lead to health problems? It can all get confusing, but it is worth the time and effort. One thing that’s not confusing is EAT WHOLE FOODS, organic if possible. There are no secret ingredients in whole foods. What you see is what you get. That makes it so easy to eat healthy.
If you want more information about eating a healthier diet, please send me an email. I would love to hear from you! jenny@myenergyshift.com
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