You Are What You Eat 4:100

In my previous post, I wrote about how you "Don't Need to Eat Perfectly to be Healthy." I wanted to start with that premise, and then come back to this one. This is the 4th blog post in a series of 100 I will be writing! I wanted to cover 100 tips, secret tips, from what I have learned in 20 years of study and running a natural health business. 

Photo credit, Elias Morr- unsplash

Looks beautiful, doesn't it! Color, freshness, vibrancy. Plants have life, and if we want life, we need to eat them! We need to eat foods with vibrancy, color, freshness, and energy to have that same energy and vibrancy! I want to tell you a little story, well two little stories really......
My husband has a friend from grade school, whom we see from time to time. He has very pale, or fair skin. (This article is strictly based on observation, and not backed by science).

We, at one time, went to a family gathering at this friend's home, and there was a large spread of food, as most gatherings often have. For years, I brought my own food to everywhere we went. I did not in this instance, maybe I had a drink, or a couple of snacks but not a meal. When I went up to the table (we were outside) to get my meal, I noticed how there was NOTHING colorful on the table. NOTHING. I mean, nothing. Everything was either white or brown. There were not even a few, orange carrots, or a platter of fruit, even apples with skin would have been something. 

The foods consisted of breads, pastas, potatoes, meats, cheeses and chips, and an assortment of those categories. I do not even think there were vegetables in the potato salad. It was a dismal display and I was very disappointed, as I usually eat an array of vegetables, with a little bit of the other stuff. I remember looking around and seeing the rest of this man's family and noticing how they were all pale/ fair, too. Now you may say, well fair skin must run in the family, and it probably does. However, I thought- isn't that strange, their skin reminds me of their food, colorless. 

In another observation, I had a midwife, who was a vegetarian, and she drank juiced carrot juice, every day. (Or nearly everyday). Her skin was tan/ with an orange hue to it. She was an energetic, happy woman.

​All I am saying is that there is something in the foods we eat, and if you eat foods with a lot of nutrients, and colors, you will see that manifest in your physical body. Before you get swept away with the thought that food, or what you eat does not matter, I urge you to reconsider. It is the same with cigarettes, or alcohol, or coffee. You may be tempted to compare yourself to someone who eats poorly, smokes, drinks and lives to 90 years old. They are truly and anomaly and were born with a sturdy disposition, and strong liver. Most people can not get away with abusing their bodies with food and other things. 

Photo credit Coco Tafoya, unsplash.

Again let me reiterate, you are what you eat. You must definitely are, and you are also what your mother ate, and your father, and their parents and so on. So take care and treat your body right, for not only yourself and your children's children. 

Before I leave you, I want to also drill home a common misconception that people have, and that gets them caught in bad eating habits. I have heard many people say that because it is a holiday, they will splurge and then get back to eating properly afterwards. I believe in treating myself, but only with healthy food choices. I never binge on unhealthy foods, with the thought that I will get back on track. I am not talking about a little piece of desert, or maybe a second helping of potatoes. I am talking about a full on decision to eat and drink whatever you wish, and then make up for it later. 

Truly, it will take you weeks to make it up, and more than likely you will have begun a downward spiral that is hard to break and very hard to get back on track. As the holidays are approaching, I start thinking ahead and setting my mind towards eating the same as I do now. Too many times in the past, I would splurge at Thanksgiving, which would carry me through December, and of course with all those holidays, I would wind up run down and sick in January and February. 

Mind what you are eating today! Start today. Think ahead for this winter, and cold and flu season. Healthy eating, with limited amounts of sugar should be your number one priority for staying well. 

Have a blessed, and fruit and vegetable filled day!