If you are what you eat and you do not eat whole foods how can you expect to be whole. Dieting isn’t going to change your life for the better. It’s going to consume you, rip you of having time to enjoy life, and it’s going to take a toll on your health. Why not change the way you eat and learn to enjoy food? The American diet consists of “hurry up and eats” foods. These foods have been tested and retested and it has been found that they are killing us by breaking apart our bodies.
Eat whole foods remove processed foods from your life. Processed foods have added sugars, salts and other chemicals used to preserve the food that will do more harm than good when stacked on top of each other. What does it mean to be stacked on top? Food “A” has sugar, salt and preservatives in it, by itself it’s not a big deal but when you add food “B” you add more sugar salt and preservatives therefore exposing your body to twice the amount. Think about it this way if you eat to plain glazed donuts you have eaten already too much sugar and if you add a glass of orange juice you have just sent your body into sugar overload. Feeding the already over actively yeast in your body because sugar feeds yeast. The quick breakfast with Vitamin C has just become a sugar nightmare for your pancreas to deal with. If you then consume more carbohydrates for lunch like a sandwich and chips you have again loaded up your body’s yeast system and the here comes an afternoon snack of popcorn, or cookies or even crackers, more carbs and more sugars. And by dinner time you need more energy so you throw in corn or potatoes for dinner. Now most of these foods alone will not harm you but a day full of carbs will not only add pounds but compromise you pancreas and send you crashing to sleep. Foods that are processed have more sugar, more salt, and more chemicals than food cooked from scratch. OJ is good for you isn’t it, and the sandwich has meat and the what about the vegetables for dinner? Wrong… the whole orange is better, the lunchmeat has preservatives and the two are vegetables but both loaded with starch which is sugar to your body. Yes popcorn is a healthy snack, but did you load it with butter and salt? What if you ate diet cookies, their not good either because they can often be loaded with more “other” stuff and you will then overload your body with the other stuff. Yes, it’s a vicious cycle to your body, one that can lead to stroke, heart attack and diabetes without realizing the risk.
According to the article “The Skinney on 6 weight loss options by Jill Weisenberger, M.S., R.D., C.D.E., Lifescript Nutritionist, published June 24, 2011 popular diets have restrictions that can damage your health. Low fat diets which are often followed by people with gastrointestinal disorders responsible for poor fat absorption rob you of variety of foods and then robe the vital nutrients your body needs. Your body needs some fats to help absorb the vitamins and healthy phytochemicals it needs. Instead of following a low fat diet change the types of fats you are consuming by adding healthier fats such as, fish, nuts, avocados, olives and vegetable oils such as olive, canola, sesame and nut. But keep them to a minimum. For more information on recommended servings of healthy foods visit choosemyplate.gov .
One of the hottest talks out there is about Gluten Free Diet. Unless you have been diagnosed by a physician and recommended that you follow a gluten free diet do not totally restrict yourself from gluten. This type of diet provides little benefit and leaves you more susceptible to nutrient deficiencies of iron or B vitamins and these foods cost a lot more. If you have been directed to follow this type of diet beware of the fact that processed foods are not fortified and are often loaded with sugar, salt and fat to make the product taste good. Buy whole foods to deal with this type of restrictions. Always consult a doctor before you make a restrictive change such as removing gluten from your diet.
The American Heart Association has recently changed its recommendations on salt intake to advice that we should only consume 1500 milligrams of sodium a day. Take a look at the salt content of the foods that you eat currently and if you make no other change to your diet or you want an easy place to start, this is the one you need to partake in! A slice of restaurant pizza often has 1500 milligrams of salt. Sodium chloride or table salt is approximately 40% sodium. By learning just how much sodium is in salt you can take identify the foods you eat that high in sodium and began to make changes to your diet.
1/4 teaspoon salt = 600 mg sodium
1/2 teaspoon salt = 1,200 mg sodium
3/4 teaspoon salt = 1,800 mg sodium
1 teaspoon salt = 2,300 mg sodium
How about a vegetarian or vegan diet? A plant-based diet has many health benefits: It lowers cholesterol levels and reduces the risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, gallbladder disease, type 2 diabetes, and colon and prostate cancers, says dietitian Mark Rifkin, R.D., president of Preventive Nutrition Services in Baltimore. But it has pit falls too, such as deficiency in protein, iron, calcium, zinc, iodine, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins D and B-12. Foods for this type of diet are often the same as the American Diet loaded with fats, sugars and oils that are not good for your body.
Then there is the popular diet of Low Carb’s that a lot of people have lost weight on. It does cause rapid weight loss but when you return to your normal eating patterns all the weight comes back and more. Typical of the yoyo effect that dieting has on you. Even though this diet can lead to weight loss you are eating foods that are typically high in cholesterol and unsaturated fats. Without carbs you then have astrological issues cropping up.
All of these diets lead to weight loss but unhealthy life styles and effects that can cause medical issues you will not have by just adopting a healthier eating routine. Put down the boxes and packages of “quick” cooking meals and pick up fruit, vegetables, whole grains and learn to cook. Use the time in the kitchen to teach your children about how to cook and in the long run you will have a better relationship with them and they will have a brighter future.
There are many internet websites with how to information on cooking with whole foods, the grocery stores are getting on board too with sales on healthier foods, in-store samplings as well as nutrition information on products they sell. Never has there been a time when making changes to your life could be so simple.
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