When it comes to food in today’s society, we are bombarded with choices. Most of us know what is good and what is bad for us, but we sometimes gravitate towards the easy as opposed to the healthy. The best guidelines for eating are if you can’t kill it or grow it, likely is not good to put in our bodies. Obviously, chickens can be killed and therefore by this standard we should be able to eat chicken wings all day long, but this of course is not a healthy choice. When it comes to fruits, vegetables and legumes we really can do no wrong, but when it comes to animal products we must choose the parts that are lean in fat and high in protein.
So what does this mean? Can you kill a pizza pop? NO! Can you hunt a hot dog down? NOT! Can we grow a fish stick? OBVIOUSLY NO! The closer to its natural state something is, the more “natural” it will be for our bodies to eat, digest and extract the necessary vitamins and minerals we need to live and grow properly.
Humans have been hunters and gatherers for thousands of years. Previously we lived in a feast or famine world and we were required to expend great amounts of energy (calories) to hunt and gather our food and survive. If the seasons were short and unfruitful we went without and if the animal population was lean we in turn ate very lean (famine). Conversely, in a plentiful season the opposite was true and we ate liberally.
A very short time ago in our history a movement called the agricultural revolution occurred and we began to manipulate our surroundings. We learned to plant gardens and keep livestock for food and the division of labor has compounded our reliance on this system. We no longer need to expel energy to find our food and typically the people in western countries live in the season of feast that never ends. To make the matter even worse, we are now given a plethora of processed and synthesized food choices that contain an entire alphabet worth of ingredients from preservatives to flavor enhancers to fat emulsifiers, many of which no human was ever meant to eat. Show me a monosodium glutamate tree!
So what do we do? Are we doomed? Of course not, but we need to consciously make good choices when it comes to what we put into our mouths, after all you wouldn’t put gas filled with dirt and oil in your car? So why do we become complacent with our own bodies? As I said before, most of us know what healthy choices look like but we make excuses, we take the easy way out, we buy prepackaged single serving meals, we hit the drive through and blame time for the reason why we make these choices. Perhaps some people really just don’t care. My guess is that if you have read this far maybe you do!
The Plan
Here’s what we need to do:
Our diets should contain 4 to 5 smaller balanced meals per day. As a rule, we should never go hungry, yet never be completely full. The body views digestion as work, but if we take in too many calories in one sitting, we overload the digestive and metabolic systems and we quickly begin to store calories in the form of fat. We should try to eat a diet that avoids high glycemic index foods, for example: candy, cake, ice cream, chocolate or highly processed foods. Instead these items should be replaced with complex carbohydrates which add fiber and phytonutrients to our diet. These can be in the form of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and brown rice. In general, simple nutrient rich foods with very little processing can help our bodies to function optimally!
We also need to consume plenty of water throughout the day (3+ liters). Water is not only involved in many bodily functions it also helps keep digestion regular and keeps feelings of hunger at bay.
So lastly, when preparing a meal try to have a high quality protein source, a complex carbohydrate and fruits and/or vegetables in each meal.
If you are having a hard time deciding how much to eat of each, divide your plate into four quarters.
The first quarter should be a high quality protein source. The second quarter should be a complex carbohydrate or starchy vegetable and the last two quarters should be comprised of vegetables and fruits . I highly recommend that vegetables take priority over fruits in most meals though.
-Be healthy, be happy!
So what does this mean? Can you kill a pizza pop? NO! Can you hunt a hot dog down? NOT! Can we grow a fish stick? OBVIOUSLY NO! The closer to its natural state something is, the more “natural” it will be for our bodies to eat, digest and extract the necessary vitamins and minerals we need to live and grow properly.
Humans have been hunters and gatherers for thousands of years. Previously we lived in a feast or famine world and we were required to expend great amounts of energy (calories) to hunt and gather our food and survive. If the seasons were short and unfruitful we went without and if the animal population was lean we in turn ate very lean (famine). Conversely, in a plentiful season the opposite was true and we ate liberally.
A very short time ago in our history a movement called the agricultural revolution occurred and we began to manipulate our surroundings. We learned to plant gardens and keep livestock for food and the division of labor has compounded our reliance on this system. We no longer need to expel energy to find our food and typically the people in western countries live in the season of feast that never ends. To make the matter even worse, we are now given a plethora of processed and synthesized food choices that contain an entire alphabet worth of ingredients from preservatives to flavor enhancers to fat emulsifiers, many of which no human was ever meant to eat. Show me a monosodium glutamate tree!
So what do we do? Are we doomed? Of course not, but we need to consciously make good choices when it comes to what we put into our mouths, after all you wouldn’t put gas filled with dirt and oil in your car? So why do we become complacent with our own bodies? As I said before, most of us know what healthy choices look like but we make excuses, we take the easy way out, we buy prepackaged single serving meals, we hit the drive through and blame time for the reason why we make these choices. Perhaps some people really just don’t care. My guess is that if you have read this far maybe you do!
The Plan
Here’s what we need to do:
Our diets should contain 4 to 5 smaller balanced meals per day. As a rule, we should never go hungry, yet never be completely full. The body views digestion as work, but if we take in too many calories in one sitting, we overload the digestive and metabolic systems and we quickly begin to store calories in the form of fat. We should try to eat a diet that avoids high glycemic index foods, for example: candy, cake, ice cream, chocolate or highly processed foods. Instead these items should be replaced with complex carbohydrates which add fiber and phytonutrients to our diet. These can be in the form of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and brown rice. In general, simple nutrient rich foods with very little processing can help our bodies to function optimally!
We also need to consume plenty of water throughout the day (3+ liters). Water is not only involved in many bodily functions it also helps keep digestion regular and keeps feelings of hunger at bay.
So lastly, when preparing a meal try to have a high quality protein source, a complex carbohydrate and fruits and/or vegetables in each meal.
If you are having a hard time deciding how much to eat of each, divide your plate into four quarters.
The first quarter should be a high quality protein source. The second quarter should be a complex carbohydrate or starchy vegetable and the last two quarters should be comprised of vegetables and fruits . I highly recommend that vegetables take priority over fruits in most meals though.
-Be healthy, be happy!
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