Eat a rainbow… your guide to better living through nutrition. After traveling the world for over 13 years, and seeing first-hand the damage that poor nutrition can do to countless lives around the globe, I know that I want to make every effort to better understand what it is that we’re putting into our mouths, and the benefits we receive from our food. My interest in this topic has been piqued, as I’m truly amazed at how far I’ve come in understanding what optimal nutrition truly is. I have come a long way in my search for just the right information, and I hope that you, your interest in better health, and my gift of making you nutritionally better, will help us to further educate each other in the near future.
“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life save us from the truth of Nature’s laws.” Dr. Sheldon Helps in his Flu Shot Bio Department
Rainbow Kid’s salty digression (no pun intended) is that while the people in the cities do tend to live generally longer and healthier, the quality of life in rural areas is exactly the same, if not worse. Here in theypagus department, winter may be an unusually trying time to have your root canal flushed. So may be good news, and an extra helping of carrots for good measure. In this case an extra helping of coconut oil with its 45 percent omega-3 content, might be just what you need to help make the best difference.
What would you prefer? A shot of slivered almonds? Or a nice plate of homemade chili?
I can’t tell you how popular either might be, but I have to tell you I’ve seen the numbers.
I think we should first discuss the nutrient value of the four foods that should comprise our intake, since this information is not always found within the food labels we all have as our guide.Cooked whole foods are good for you, as are cooked fresh or frozen vegetables, fruits and some proteins like fish.
Most wholesome foods we consume are available on the grocery store shelves. No, not always. As an example let’s take a look at the bottled water product, Perrier. Recent research tells us that the slight rise in consumption of bottled water is directly tied to the excess sugar they add to the water. And the surprising part is, but not for the consumer, the bottled water companies. For the majority, the rise in popularity comes from the consumers, not from the water itself. But what would you prefer? Chilled water, or ice water?
We should also explore the benefits of fast foods, and not necessarily through the eyes of brand owners, but by doing a little detective work. What do we really know about a Jamba Juice or a Long John Silvers? Okay, the last name is Silvers, but isn’t that what they are; juices? Then what are we made of? Unless they are all jams, which I’m sure most of them are, or perhaps di-spinach, which turn up a lot in juicing books. From what I’ve seen a quick investigation shows that most of us juice the way we see fit. Then there’s the glycemic index, or GI. This has become a measuring stick of just how “fresh” the food actually is. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work in our case because, well, we can’t eat the stuff.
But what do I care? I’m hungry; let’s eat. My typical day doesn’t even include a lot of these GI items. Obviously, some companies do monitor this, and they will adjust their marketing accordingly, but do you really know what you’re eating? What do the numbers say? Although food labels are required to have these handy, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t base my diet on a package of frozen berries, and water.
So, what do we do? The way I see it folks, we can’t always eat whole foods, and we can’t always read the labels. Some days I takes a legitimate chance and try anything that makes sense to me. You’ll often find that I don’t need a fridge to eat healthier, and a nice glass of wine to relax. One of my favorite meals is a nice tomato soup and two outdoor grilled chicken breasts. But, I know I can get too much of a good thing!
Next time you make the decision to eat foods that don’t belong in your food journal remember this tip: the details printed on the package are not always the real details. Sometimes marketing is using a trick to get you to buy a product that is not even in the same category as what they usually sell. Disregard the marketingusive of the packaged and processed foods. They belong in another category than what you’re looking for.
