Obsessions can consume you entirely. Some are healthy when in reasonable limits, and some can lead to crazy downward psycho spirals like in Fatal Attraction. Luckily for me, I don't have to worry about the Fatal Attraction type. As of late, I have been super consumed (teehee, literally) with becoming more educated in the world of Superfoods, Raw food dieting, Veganism, and just plain old eating healthy. I have been watching documentary after documentary on these topics. My two favorites are The Beautiful Truth which is on Netflix or Youtube. This documents one boys assignment for a school report, finding out more about The Gerson Therapy, a Therapy developed in the Mid 1900's by a Dr. Max Gerson. My other favorite is FoodMatters. I just finished reading a book, 7 Days on the Raw Food Diet, and I am currently tackling, The Gerson Therapy.
Whoa. Let us back up the trolley a bit. Where did this new obsession begin you ask? Well honestly I have always had that nagging, subconscious feeling for the last few years, that we are what we eat. Or another way to say it, is we are a product of how we essentially take care of our being. At times it seems so simple. Take a garden for instance. The better natural fertilizer and dirt we use, the better the "product". Composting for instance, is a very natural way to produce better results in growing healthy plants. If you are a crazy ingredient list reader like myself, and wonder what 75 percent of the ingredients are and even how to pronounce them, that in and of itself should be a dead giveaway of the heinous things we are putting in to our body.The real reason I started giving this a harder look, was the recent close-to-home experiences that continue to add to a long list of family diseases and deaths. My mother-in-law passed away one year ago from Melanoma cancer. And this fall, we found out that my step mom has a terminal brain cancer.My mother is now a ten year cancer survivor, both grandmothers had breast cancer and heart disease is riddled in and out of the family tree. To take a step back and look at the pictures of family members dead or alive that have or are battling diseases seems a heavy load to carry. It has been filled with many tears, long sleepless nights, and creeping paranoia of one's own destiny. This fear of the cancer epidemic has led me to one thing. You are what you eat.
Now do not get me wrong. I love a good box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, a nice big bag of Doritos and a diet coke. But holy canoli, they are all littered with ingredient lists filled with long words, man made sugars and preservatives that are hard to digest, and literally quite like poisons and toxins that are introduced in to our digestive system. In America, we have foods on our shelves and in our homes, that are actually banned in other countries. There are also beauty products as well that we use everyday that are also banned due to certain ingredients on the label.
So where do you even start with trying to eat healthy? Research. I have really enjoyed the different books and films documenting they endless ways to lead a healthier lifestyle. Daunting as it may be at times to rifle through pages of books and hours of documentaries, it so far has been a fun adventure. But where to start? My advice. Simplicity. Slowly, and something you can fit in to your reality. The Raw Food diet I spoke of earlier. Yeah, not a reality to be for me. Kudos to those that have adapted to it and have made there reality!! Veganism, I thought perhaps it may be something I could do someday. But with a meat and potatoes husband roaming about, tricky to stay on track, "me thinks" (Yoda reference....ok Star Wars people! Ha ha!). So far, what have I been doing? Simple. Eat healthy. Expect "relapses". For the last 10 days, I have tried to juice at least one of my meals a day, eat a huge spinach and kale salad with veggies for lunch and a quinoa or rice dish with veggies for dinner. Have you "relapsed" you ask? Oh yes. What I have come to figure out, is that I definitely need a meat source of protein. So right now I am allowing eggs, fish and an occasionally chicken breast in to my meals at least once a day or once every other day. And I try and allow a splurge meal once a week. Well, I had Wendy's today, a chicken sandwich and it has not sat well with me at all. So lesson learned! I think I will stick to Subway Splurge or something like that!
I go in to this new journey with this in mind. I am not perfect. Take each day at a time. And pray a lot! I have had to ask God for the strength to use some self control when I want to run, no sprint to the nearest vending machine for a bag of potato chips!!!! I encourage everyone to become a little more educated in what you are putting in to you body. The other thing that I really did not touch on is feeding your family. My biggest challenge yet to come because honestly I do not have the energy to tackle this in my own home yet, is encouraging my children to become more adventurous in eating more healthy.
Baby steps.
Whoa. Let us back up the trolley a bit. Where did this new obsession begin you ask? Well honestly I have always had that nagging, subconscious feeling for the last few years, that we are what we eat. Or another way to say it, is we are a product of how we essentially take care of our being. At times it seems so simple. Take a garden for instance. The better natural fertilizer and dirt we use, the better the "product". Composting for instance, is a very natural way to produce better results in growing healthy plants. If you are a crazy ingredient list reader like myself, and wonder what 75 percent of the ingredients are and even how to pronounce them, that in and of itself should be a dead giveaway of the heinous things we are putting in to our body.The real reason I started giving this a harder look, was the recent close-to-home experiences that continue to add to a long list of family diseases and deaths. My mother-in-law passed away one year ago from Melanoma cancer. And this fall, we found out that my step mom has a terminal brain cancer.My mother is now a ten year cancer survivor, both grandmothers had breast cancer and heart disease is riddled in and out of the family tree. To take a step back and look at the pictures of family members dead or alive that have or are battling diseases seems a heavy load to carry. It has been filled with many tears, long sleepless nights, and creeping paranoia of one's own destiny. This fear of the cancer epidemic has led me to one thing. You are what you eat.
Now do not get me wrong. I love a good box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, a nice big bag of Doritos and a diet coke. But holy canoli, they are all littered with ingredient lists filled with long words, man made sugars and preservatives that are hard to digest, and literally quite like poisons and toxins that are introduced in to our digestive system. In America, we have foods on our shelves and in our homes, that are actually banned in other countries. There are also beauty products as well that we use everyday that are also banned due to certain ingredients on the label.
So where do you even start with trying to eat healthy? Research. I have really enjoyed the different books and films documenting they endless ways to lead a healthier lifestyle. Daunting as it may be at times to rifle through pages of books and hours of documentaries, it so far has been a fun adventure. But where to start? My advice. Simplicity. Slowly, and something you can fit in to your reality. The Raw Food diet I spoke of earlier. Yeah, not a reality to be for me. Kudos to those that have adapted to it and have made there reality!! Veganism, I thought perhaps it may be something I could do someday. But with a meat and potatoes husband roaming about, tricky to stay on track, "me thinks" (Yoda reference....ok Star Wars people! Ha ha!). So far, what have I been doing? Simple. Eat healthy. Expect "relapses". For the last 10 days, I have tried to juice at least one of my meals a day, eat a huge spinach and kale salad with veggies for lunch and a quinoa or rice dish with veggies for dinner. Have you "relapsed" you ask? Oh yes. What I have come to figure out, is that I definitely need a meat source of protein. So right now I am allowing eggs, fish and an occasionally chicken breast in to my meals at least once a day or once every other day. And I try and allow a splurge meal once a week. Well, I had Wendy's today, a chicken sandwich and it has not sat well with me at all. So lesson learned! I think I will stick to Subway Splurge or something like that!
I go in to this new journey with this in mind. I am not perfect. Take each day at a time. And pray a lot! I have had to ask God for the strength to use some self control when I want to run, no sprint to the nearest vending machine for a bag of potato chips!!!! I encourage everyone to become a little more educated in what you are putting in to you body. The other thing that I really did not touch on is feeding your family. My biggest challenge yet to come because honestly I do not have the energy to tackle this in my own home yet, is encouraging my children to become more adventurous in eating more healthy.
Baby steps.
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