Let’s start with a little experiment. Go to your fridge or pantry and look inside. How many foods have packages and labels, and how many are fresh? If you’re like most people, the packaged items far outweigh the fresh ones.
Now start looking at packages. How many tell you they’re healthy, natural, low-fat, or sugar-free? How many labels feature ingredients you can barely pronounce?
Next, go to your medicine cabinet. How many over-the-counter and prescription medications do you have on hand? How often do you rely on them to treat ailments like headaches or digestive disorders? How many do you need for more serious issues like hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, or other problems that are common in this day and age?
Now that you’re done, it’s time to discuss why your system is fatally flawed. You’ve been spoon-fed a diet of false information from food and pharmaceutical companies that have an agenda to make sales. You’re the unwitting pansy eating it up. How can you change your mind-set about food and medications in order to live a healthier, happier life? Here is some food for thought.
Food Foibles
As much time as we spend preparing and eating food, it’s surprising how many of us lack a basic understanding of what we’re consuming, and how it affects our bodies. A diet high in processed foods, even ones that claim to be healthy, can upset the gut flora and cause inflammation that triggers chronic conditions.
The simple solution is to get rid of processed food in your home and start eating fresh foods in proper portions. Populate your diet with fruits and vegetables. Add whole grains, meats, and dairy products that haven’t undergone processing. Add proper amounts of healthy fats. Consider purchasing local, organic, and free-range foods. Avoid refined sugars found in many processed foods.
You’ll not only see improvements to health when making these dietary changes, but you’ll start to feel better. You’ll likely have an easier time losing weight. You’ll also improve your immune system, and potentially reduce risk factors for heart disease, diabetes, cancers, and even degenerative diseases like dementia.
Medication Mistakes
The pharmaceutical industry sells instant gratification. Your head hurts? Your stomach is upset? Your blood pressure is too high? Take a pill to cure your ills.
The problem is most medications treat symptoms rather than causes. Instead of taking a pill, wouldn’t you rather avoid the headache in the first place? Wouldn’t you rather prevent cancer instead of having to treat it?
Change the way you approach what you put in your body. You are what you eat, in a very real sense. When you consume a healthy diet of fresh, natural foods untainted by chemical processes, your body is going to reflect the change. The result will be fewer ailments and less need for medication.
