Be Mindful of Your Eating (Part 2)

Download: The Short Guide

To make the bloodstream pure and healthy we have to eat clean, wholesome food; drink pure water; and get fresh air regularly. A healthy diet of clean foods will nourish the body and supply it with the nutrients it needs to build and repair itself. Eating refined or even moderately processed foods, or foods in the wrong proportion, causes the body to function poorly and improperly. The body will never be at its peak when our food choices are less than optimal. An inadequate supply of the important micronutrients and phytochemicals needed by the body is, in the view of natural health practitioners, a major cause of many diseases. How much time do you spend thinking about your cells and organs?

If you're here, then probably you're ready to be honest with yourself about your relationship to food and your overall wellness. The first place to start is how you feel generally, especially in the minutes and hours after eating. Let's go thru a typical day:

…you wake up and start your morning: How do you feel? Dragging or ready to tackle the day? Do you need coffee?

…time for breakfast: What do you reach for? Is it meaty, salty, fatty, like meat, eggs, and potatoes? Is it sweet and crunchy, like milk and cereal? Is it fresh and refreshing, like fresh fruit or a smoothie? After you eat, how do you feel? Energized and raring to go? Sluggish and heavy? Something in between?

…now the workday begins: How soon after you get to started with your work are you needing a pick me up? What do you grab? Something protein packed like nuts and seeds? An apple; some peanut butter? Are you heading for the vending machines? Reaching for more coffee?

…lunchtime: What're you doing for lunch? Are you grabbing a sandwich; slice of pizza? Are you having a salad? What's in it and on it? Are you skipping lunch altogether? What about a lunch snack or even lunch dessert? How do you feel? Full and ready for a nap? Energized and ready to charge through a few more hours?

…quittin’ time: You made it thru the workday! Are you ready to crash or geared up to enjoy your off-time? How hungry are you? Do you already know what's for dinner or are you planning on grabbing something fast?

..time for dinner: What's the plan? Is it another meaty, salty, fatty meal? Is it golden-fried savor-iness? Is a comforting dish of cheesy goodness? Will your plate have anything bright and colorful, or include vibrant deep greens? How do you feel? Energized for some relaxing you-time? Happily full and ready to crash while the tv watches you?

Your own ideas on food and wellness drive your meal choices. The foods you choose (consciously and more often unconsciously) will sustain you well or only take you just a part of the way in your day, and in your life.

Understanding that our diets are at the foundation of our personal wellness is the first big step in getting healthy (or healthier if you're part of the way there). Understand that the organs, tissues, and cells making up our bodies are meant to operate off of a richly diverse mostly plant-based sources of macro and micronutrients to give us energy, to build and heal our bodies, to support our hearts and minds. Physical, emotional, and mental wellness rely on these nutrients to keep us at our best. When we're depleted, physically, emotionally, mentally, our bodies are telling us they're running on empty and need refills of the full complement of amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals (e.g. calcium, potassium, iron, chromium, folate, sulfur, copper, etc.).

Go small: think micro (and the macro will follow). Plant-foods are valuable sources of protein, carbs, and essential fats. How should we get our nutrients? Via whole-foods, the way our bodies were designed to receive them: fresh (organic is best) fruits and vegetables; whole-grains; legumes; nuts; seeds; pure water. And when we supply our bodies in this way, with a clean diet of organic nutrients, we have the added benefit of supporting the other critical function- waste elimination. If we just pack food in, especially the wrong kind of foods (refined, moderately to ultra processed, etc.) then not only are we making our bodies work harder to get the necessary nutrients, we're also burdening our organs and elimination channels with bearing a heaving waste load. Our bodies need to metabolize the components in our environment, our food, and from our everyday internal functions. In fact, we are designed for regular and constant elimination, even at the smallest cellular level where the metabolic functions of our cells and organs producing waste byproducts that must be eliminated. So when we are not regularly eliminating waste; we're actually retaining the junk (toxins, mucus, inorganic matter, etc.) our bodies don't need and throwing off the careful balance that we were optimally designed for. And it's making us sick. Eating a clean whole-foods diet ensures we do our bodies a favor with this excellent dual-system: bring in the good and take out the bad. Synthetic, inorganic, colloidal sources of nutrients and healing elements only perform a portion of this dual-system, and it does it poorly. If we eat the right foods, we have the added benefit of supporting healthy elimination.

Synthetic sources of nutrients are not utilized well, if at all, by the body. Consider people who take calcium supplements, or potassium pills, or iron pills. These clog the system or create an oxidizing environment where the body is unable to assimilate the manufactured supplements. One key factor here is the whole food sources for nutrients come complete with the natural enzymes required by the body to activate nutrient absorption. 

Instead of over-the-counter vitamin and mineral supplements, the smart choice is on whole foods and whole herb sources for essential nutrients. Looking for all-natural sources for calcium and other vital minerals like magnesium and potassium? Consider dark leafy greens like kale or moringa, and herbs like irish sea moss or comfrey. For B-vitamins, there’s whole grains and herbs like catnip. For Vitamin C, there’s citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruits, and lemons as well as herbs like hibiscus and rose hips. And did you know there’s even a plant source for Vitamin D? Mushrooms and nettles can help support healthy Vitamin D levels. There are smart ways to incorporate a nourishing plant-based diet along with adding in herbal formulas like this Vitamin Tea offered exclusively through our online herb shop.

If you’re ready for the next step, partner with a master herbalist to help you build your customized wellness plan : from identifying important health goals to the strategies that are your path to success.

Nutritional Health Frequently Asked Questions

• Is the keto diet good for me?

  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)

• What diet does Rihla Wellness recommend?

  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.

• How long do I have to be on this diet?

  When you begin your wellness program, you are giving your body the best start to resetting your health. As you continue to focus on healthy eating and the herbal medicines supporting your body, you will learn what foods and meals will help or harm your body, and what to do about it.

• Are vitamin pills and supplements good for me?

  Your body is designed to get its nutrients from the foods we eat. And, your body absorbs nutrients the fastest from whole food sources. That’s why Rihla Wellness emphasizes diet and herbs in its wellness programs. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to confirm the quality and effectiveness of most vitamin pills and supplements.