What Have You Eaten Today?
What have you put in your mouth so far today? Do you know the origin of that food or drink?
If you or someone in your family experiences excess weight, low energy, indigestion, pain, inflammation of the joints, chronic back pain, depression, anxiety, trouble sleeping, diabetes, ADHD, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, frequent sinus infections, chronic ear infections, and a number of other common diseases and conditions, you may be surprised to learn that the foods you are putting in your body (or not putting in your body) are likely the cause.
Feeling Good is Your Birthright
Over the years I’ve been amazed at the number of people I’ve encountered who accept pain, indigestion, gas, bloating, and insomnia as ‘normal.’ “I am just that way, I have never been able to sleep well” or “I have always had excess weight around my waist, it is just my body type” or “I have pain every day. That is normal for me. I’ve learned to live with it.” I am here to offer the suggestion that you can change your ‘normal’ by changing what you eat coupled with how you move your body to achieve the result of actually feeling good, maybe for the first time in as long as you can remember. Most people have never taken the course entitled ‘Taking Care of My Body 101’, because it doesn’t exist. We can attend a class on how to train our dog; how to get our financial life in order; how to cultivate a flower garden, but have we ever really studied one of the most important subjects to sustain a joyful and healthful life – how the foods we put into our mouths affect our everyday life and long term health?
I have personally experienced what a healthy diet does for myself, my spouse, our children, our friends, and patients with conditions including IBS, constipation, chronic inflammation and chronic pain. I have witnessed it firsthand.
Natural Nourishment
Fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and whole grains come in a beautiful natural, colorful, eco-friendly package (their skin) with nutrient-rich vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids. When you choose to eat organic foods of this nature, you are creating for your body a perfect system to readily absorb the full spectrum of nutrients upon which your body needs to thrive. Overly processed food is robbed of its natural occurring vitamins and minerals, often leaving you with a sugary or salty bowl of empty calories and an insatiable craving for more, not to mention plenty of unwanted excess body fat. That is because processed and refined foods have been stripped of their essential nourishment. When you eat processed foods, you are putting foreign matter into your system and basically creating a cleanup crisis whereby all your body’s resources are called upon to fix the mess. Once the toxins and unusable calories have been addressed, often there is not much of value left for your body to utilize. This leaves you hungry for more empty calories, perpetuating the cycle. When you choose whole, organic, raw foods, you are naturally giving your body plenty of nutrients and fiber to keep you happy and healthy and satiated. The bottom line is: It’s all about awareness and education.
Establishing a New Routine
I love seeing smiling patients walk through the door with improved energy and mental clarity after just a few weeks of utilizing new tools and information they have learned in our program. Once we have established a new routine, we work together to continue the momentum of conscious daily living. Patients recount how their husbands, wives, partners, children, friends, parents, and co-workers can’t help but notice their progress as they continue to pave the way to a life of vitality, lightness, strength, and balance.
In summary, eating the proper foods combined with regular physical movement will help create wellness and prevent disease for yourself and your family. Small adjustments in your daily habits like drinking a glass of water upon awakening and choosing a piece of fresh organic fruit in place of a processed snack of chips or cookies will take your health up a notch as you move toward a happier, healthier, more energetic you. It truly is possible!
Stay tuned for more Nutritional and Lifestyle Tips.
Melanie D. Larinde, Ph.D. in Holistic Nutrition, uses a comprehensive and straightforward approach to wellness, integrating science with common sense to achieve vitality and balance in her patients’ lives.
