When it comes to health and managing our health the ultimate goal is BALANCE. It is a daily struggle for most of us as life is just that obstacles and choices to make. Some days we have done the work and that balance comes easier and some days it doesn't.
As a health practitioner, this is something I have to look at with my patients. The balance or lack of balance stems from our perceptions/what we have been taught or habits. What have we been taught from a young age are usually our habits, this can make it hard to recreate this concept. We normally take on the habits of our parents or caretakers. This often can leave us with bad habits based on what we have been taught. Why am I telling you this? Because it is often unrealistic to expect a massive change unless you are doing massive work on what you understand to be true. THIS IS WHAT CAN HOLD US BACK! I am going to make a broad statement and say that most have the concept that health is painful and eating gross food. When in reality eating for your nutritional health does not have to mean eating salads all day with no dressing and gross foods. Understanding how to eat for your needs is a large part of bringing balance to life.
I would say 9 out of 10 people are completely lost as to what healthy eating means. The early 1900's started the trend of misinformation of animal foods being bad and causing heart disease. Fat made you fat and unhealthy. It was all about the fruits and vegetables. Well, it was not long after in the 1930s-40s we started to spray everything with roundup which then took plants from being good to a toxic loaded bomb. We now have plants that are hard to digest that is loaded with toxins and everyone believes this is "healthy" eating. People are confused as to what to eat and the most figure seems we need to move more and eat less than if they starve themselves it will fix any issues. This has left us very diseased and unhealthy.
I am seeing more and more parents torn over what "Eating healthy" means and how to feed their children. So let's discuss facts about healthy eating and unhealthy eating. If you are feeding your body food that has been processed and processed, and it is to the point that any beneficial aspects are pulled out and it is sterilized, you are not eating healthy food. We have allowed our worry about bacteria to push us to the point of sterilizing our foods. A sterilized gut is a very unhealthy gut, the "good and bad bacteria" both do good things for the body as long as they are in balance.
Things to consider when picking food, 1st Quality is free-range, naturally fed, Organic. and freshness. 2nd Is it processed? how much is it processed? Has it been sterilized? Stripping it of all its natural bacteria and nutrients I may need? As an example let's talking about Milk, Pasteurized milk is sterilized and stripped of good nutrients. Drinking pasteurized milk often can cause more issues than good, with arthritis. Plants grown in soil that is stripped can not provide you with the minerals and goodness you need to support your body with nutrition.
Organic is key for low to no chemicals and for the food to be nutrient-loaded. Fermented foods open up the nutrients so it is easy for the body to digest and easily access the nutrients, plus helping to add good bacteria and acidity needed. Meats, you need free range and feed natural foods. You do not want to overcook your meats if you are worried about bacteria and parasites either buy better quality and or make sure your stomach is acidic enough to destroy parasites and bad bacteria from getting in the body. Essential amino acids are heat sensitive and if you overcook them you destroy 6 of the 8 essential amino acids. Getting your food from a food source, animal or plant, whole foods make nutrients bioavailable. When things are not in their natural state and high dosed it can cause a lot of issues in the body. We are in a time where if you are getting Vitamin E you want it with the max milligrams you can, well if it is only a specific tocopherol of vitamin E rather than all forms and in its natural form it is harder for the body to process and can cause other imbalance in the body. High milligrams are a doctor-driven way of doing things. Just like probiotics high dose, when most need a good gut wall first before putting in a high dose of probiotics. Rather than taking it from a pill get it from foods that have probiotics like yogurt, kefir, kimchi, and more. Your body knows what to do with a natural whole food of Cod liver oil rather than high dose cholecalciferol.
Balance is about seeing where we stand and what we need to work on, and applying small steps to bring balance. It applies to all aspects of our lives. If I am always stressed and on the go, I need to take time in my day to meditate do something to help my body relax. Stop to do breathing before I eat to help get it to rest and digest. If I am always relaxing I should find a way to push myself to go for a walk daily, exercise, or learning something to build myself. Diet-wise if I have an abundance of sugar find something you can enjoy that is packed with nutrients. Love chocolate? Start to move towards doing darker chocolate made with quality ingredients. If I am eating out and eating deep-fried foods I can find places that take pride in quality foods and how they prepare them or how they cook their foods.
Simple steps! Keep imporving those steps
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