At the turn of the century America’s relationship with food changed dramatically with fast or convenience foods becoming a staple for many. Woman alone account for a substantial percentage of convenience foods purchases with sales exceeding 4.5 billion dollars annually. When natural and whole food substances are transformed from raw food products into canned boxed precooked or instant foods many of the vitamins minerals and phytonutrients are lost. In addition the use of hydrogenated vegetable oils food additives preservatives fillers artificial flavorings and color have transformed something that was once good for you into something that has very little to no nutritional value left.
When you walk down the aisles of the supermarket many of the choices available are not “whole” foods nor natural. They are not filled with the vitamins minerals and phytonutrients we need to thrive. Instead they are preprocessed presweetened and laden with artificial flavors colors and preservatives. They have very little if any nutritional value left within them. Take a moment to inventory your eating habits. How many of these foods do you eat? Kraft macaroni and cheese: box-o-chemicals Betty Crocker potatoes a gratin: box-o-chemicals hamburger helper: box-o-chemicals Spam Vienna sausages Franco-American Spaghetti-O’s Cheese Wiz all chemical laden. This is only a small list of products available to American consumers that we happily and whole-heartedly consume.
The truth is our bodies were not designed to handle these non-food. There are no keys in our genetic make-up designed to utilize these products. Instead of promoting health they promote disease. While nutritionists contend that soft drinks white flour and other calorie-rich nutrient-poor foods can fit into a good diet in theory they are correct. However they regrettably ignore the fact that most Americans consume great quantities of these nutrient poor foods and only meager quantities of healthful foods.
The good news is that many American women are becoming more proactive about their health and well being. A great place to start any kind of health program is by adopting a healthful diet. Many health enthusiasts have led people to believe that in order to be healthy the solitary route is to eat only organic foods or to become a vegetarian leaving many with the feeling that it is an “all or nothing” proposition. In the big picture of things yes they may be right in their assertion but making the transition from the typical American diet to one a more healthful one may seem like an insurmountable task. Many quit before they even try. If you are raising a family you might not be able to financially afford to live this lifestyle. This however shouldn’t exclude you from peak and optimal health.
Like so many woman I am constantly on the go and have to translate the concerns of proper nutrition to meet a fast food lifestyle. An important key to health and healthful dining is to become an active chooser when it comes to our food choices. Being an active chooser is easy. It is the art of shopping selectively picking healthful alternatives over nutritionally poor ones. This can be accomplished even if you are on a budget!
When creating a healthful food plan for yourself or your family here are a few guidelines you can use to help you as you transition to a healthful diet and lifestyle.
First we all need to drink at least 8 – 8oz glasses of water daily. Water not soda coffee or other beverage is a necessary component in maintaining health. Other than it’s role in the many biochemical processes our bodies perform another of its functions is to help to remove toxins from the body. A high quality vitamin and mineral supplement is also another must. Americans currently spend in excess of 2.5 billion dollars annually on vitamin and mineral supplements. Certainly these individual must think they are getting some value out of them. Supplements however should not replace good foods. They should instead help compensate for the many demands placed on a woman’s body as well as make up for nutrients you are not getting from your regular diet.
When selecting foods we should eat from a variety of whole unprocessed foods…the more variety the greater the pallet of vitamins minerals and phytonutrients we will be ingesting. Try to ensure that you eat at least one leafy green salad and a piece of fresh fruit daily. While this is still below the recommended standards it is a great place to start. Reduce or eliminate preprocessed prepackaged chemical laden food as well as foods that are high in refined sugars including white bread and white rice.
When preparing meals I always ask myself is any of the food I am serving fresh? Fresh fruits and vegetables have enzymes in them that are essential to good health. Fresh fruits and vegetables are the best followed by frozen ones with canned foods following poorly behind. Food processing of any kind destroys vitamins and phytonutrients so frozen foods while still having some nutritional value are nutritionally inferior to fresh. Canned foods have little to no nutritional value left. Limit canned food purchases to items such as tuna tomatoes and beans. ...
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