Be Mindful of Your Eating (Part 1)
Download: 7-Day Food Journal
Either you’ve never given much thought to what you eat, or you know you need to do better. But what does millenia of wholistic healing say? Traditional healers throughout natural medicine’s history established some powerful precepts for health that ring true today:
eat a clean diet,
use fresh herbs,
get fresh air,
exercise,
build and safeguard wellness habits.
From the records discovered among the ancient African, Middle Eastern, and Asian civilizations, to the peoples of Asia minor, and their contribution to modern medicine's foundations-these principles continue to hold to this day.
What is a clean diet: it’s one that does not toxify or clog up the feeding and eliminating pathways in the body; it’s one that promotes energy, balance, and healing. A clean diet supplies the body the vital nutrients needed to maintain healthy systems, provides energy, supports mental/emotional health, and, very importantly, instills confidence in facing each day.
You might be asking yourself: don't I already eat well? The reality is, superior nutrition is about more than just energy or mood; it's about driving, through food, all the critical round the clock processes, at a cellular level, that ensure all our body systems function at the highest level.
Whatever you consume is what you feed your brain, your heart, your adrenals, your gut, your reproductive parts, your joints, etc. So when we're not regularly, as a matter of routine habit, intentionally consuming rich, diverse sources of assimilable nutrients, we're putting ourselves at risk and jeopardizing our short and long-term health in a very real way.
The reality is health is the summation of choices we make (or that our parents, grandparents, etc. have made) across time. We should capitalize as early as possible on the time we have to maintain and strengthen our health & well-being, because prevention is the easiest way to do health.
One of the things I like to do in thinking about my food choices is to be mindful of how and what I am feeding my eyes, my blood, etc. Am I feeding my cells gummy worms, pizza, chips, cookies, hamburgers, fries? Then I need to think about what that does to my mood, energy, focus, motivation, discipline as a result.
Eating mindfully is all about connecting what we consume to the very real, very significant effect it has on our physical, emotional, and even spiritual health.
Starting right now (yes, now!), we’re going to dedicate a couple weeks to exploring the connection between our food choices, our mood, our sleep, and our energy levels- as important markers of wellness. Download the 7-Day Food Journal linked at the top of this post and take the first step toward mindful eating.
I am so excited for you to begin!
Diet Frequently Asked Questions
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The ketogenic diet, or keto diet, is a very popular diet trend. This type of diet puts the body in a fasting state to produce ketones and launch the ketosis process. There is more than one way to reap the benefits of fasting, which include weight management, insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular health, cognitive focus, and stress management.
Researchers such as Dr. Mattson have found that “ketosis, a build-up of acidic ketones in the blood, is a state that the Atkins diet, the ketogenic diet and other carbohydrate-restricted diets aim to achieve. Taken to extremes, however, ketosis can damage the liver, kidneys and brain and is especially dangerous to people with various chronic disorders like diabetes and heart disease.” (NEJM)
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There is no specially named diet that you need to follow for optimal health. Instead, it’s most important to learn the foods and dietary practices that support your health goals.
Research consistently shows that a diet rich in dark leafy greens, colorful vegetables, antioxidant-rich fruits, beans and lentils, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and virgin plant oils offer the best and most absorbable sources of the nutrients and plant-chemicals your body needs for health.