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<\/a><\/p>\nIn another time I lived in the interior of Venezuela – 50 miles from headhunters in 1 direction and 50 miles from a grocery store in another direction.<\/p>\n
Milk for my family was delivered \u00a0weekly by a Spaniard who owned an area dairy. \u00a0 \u00a0 I got to know him and his cows very well. \u00a0It wasn’t that I considered him to be so interesting or entertaining. \u00a0I was afraid of getting milk infected with tuberculosis. \u00a0I had 2 toddlers and I was doing everything I could to keep them healthy.<\/p>\n
Most of us, when asked, will admit to eating a nearly perfect diet. \u00a0Delve deeper, and you’ll find that everyone’s diet is different. \u00a0You’ll also find many of the diets are not healthy…some are not even safe.<\/p>\n
It’s hard to know which is the correct diet. \u00a0There are thousands out there. Many are touted as being the best. \u00a0We can go into a large book store or library and find an extremely generous \u00a0selection of cookbooks, each promoting a different way of eating. \u00a0Top off that with the TV Food channels and the internet and everything \u00a0becomes confusing.<\/p>\n
So, what do you do as a reflexologist when your client partner begins to discuss diet or ask questions about digestion issues?<\/p>\n
I offer \u00a0a few sane suggestions for your own diet as well as that of your client partners, friends, neighbors, and anyone else trying to eat better:<\/p>\n
Eat whole foods that are fresh and locally grown. \u00a0I realize that you may have heard\/read \u00a0this before but I offer new twists on the same old sentence.<\/p>\n
Eating locally grown food is important. \u00a0It’s important to not only know that the \u00a0food is locally grown, but it’s important to know which farm the food came from.<\/p>\n
Can you afford a CSA? \u00a0If your household is too small, split a membership.<\/p>\n
Eating locally grown or raised foods includes<\/p>\n
fresh vegetables<\/p>\n
fresh fruits<\/p>\n
whole grains<\/p>\n
beans<\/p>\n
fish<\/p>\n
lean red meat<\/p>\n
dairy products.<\/p>\n
When you eat whole, fresh, locally grown foods, you’ll be eating food which experiences less processing, packaging, and shipping.<\/p>\n
Foods grown in your area can be picked later, and eaten sooner. \u00a0Overall, this means a better product.<\/p>\n
When I think of fresh foods, I think of health promotion. \u00a0It’s much better to eat an apple from nearby than to eat pears, apples, strawberries \u00a0or whatever from South America or China.<\/p>\n
And, if you know the farm this food comes from, you’re even better off because you’ll know about the pesticides used. \u00a0You’ll never be able to learn what pesticides were used on food that came from Chile or China, or any other foreign location, no matter what the label tells you. \u00a0Our government sends\u00a0 few to no inspectors to faraway places to \u00a0verify what they say they do.<\/p>\n
When you eat whole, fresh, locally grown foods, you’ll be eating \u00a0better quality food offering the opportunity to protect your heart, stabilize your blood sugar, boost your brainpower, \u00a0and generally improve your health.<\/p>\n
Farmers shipping their products long distances focus on growing foods \u00a0that travel well as opposed to products that taste better.<\/p>\n
Begin your quest for locally grown food at a farmers market.<\/p>\n
Don’t be shy. \u00a0Ask your grocery store produce manager where the food comes from. \u00a0It goes without saying that we need pure foods if we can get them. \u00a0Organic, \u00a0non-GMO, \u00a0etc., are important.<\/p>\n
At the very least, buy organic when you can. \u00a0Here again, it helps to know which farm the food comes from. \u00a0The term “organic” doesn’t mean what it did in times past. \u00a0Many farmers \u00a0claim to sell organic foods today that could not make that claim in the past. \u00a0This is because the government has relaxed the organic designation guidelines.<\/p>\n
If you’re on a budget, it’s important for some foods to be organic. \u00a0Foods needing to be organic include:<\/p>\n
apples<\/p>\n
bell peppers<\/p>\n
celery<\/p>\n
chard<\/p>\n
cherries<\/p>\n
domestic blueberries<\/p>\n
imported grapes<\/p>\n
kale<\/p>\n
lettuce<\/p>\n
nectarines<\/p>\n
peaches<\/p>\n
potatoes<\/p>\n
spinach<\/p>\n
strawberries<\/p>\n
Foods that do not necessarily need to be eaten in the organic state include:<\/p>\n
asparagus<\/p>\n
avocados<\/p>\n
cabbage<\/p>\n
cantaloupe<\/p>\n
eggplant<\/p>\n
grapefruit<\/p>\n
kiwi<\/p>\n
mango<\/p>\n
onions<\/p>\n
pineapple<\/p>\n
sweet corn<\/p>\n
sweet onions<\/p>\n
sweet peas<\/p>\n
sweet potatoes<\/p>\n
watermelon<\/p>\n
We eat many foods over time. \u00a0 \u00a0I’ve only listed a very few items. \u00a0However, the 2 lists offer insight into what constitutes a food needing to be organic and a food that may not.<\/p>\n
Staying away from boxed and canned foods is important. \u00a0They are often filled with additives which are not good for the human body. \u00a0Many boxed and canned items aren’t even foods. \u00a0They’re products which have been manufactured to eat. \u00a0 In the 21st century, just because something is sold in a food store to eat doesn’t mean it’s a food.<\/p>\n
Food shopping in today’s world not only involves selecting items which are foods – whole, fresh, and local – \u00a0but also being careful where you buy these items. \u00a0 Just because a store claims to be health oriented doesn’t mean that everything it sells is nutritious or even safe.<\/p>\n
Approach each item with a questioning attitude. \u00a0Read the label. \u00a0If there are a lot of words which are hard to pronounce, return the item \u00a0to the shelf.<\/p>\n
Your grocer is in business to make $$$. \u00a0Food is put on the shelves to sell. \u00a0 \u00a0Just because it’s on the shelves doesn’t guarantee that it’s healthy or even safe.<\/p>\n
This doesn’t mean that eating can’t be fun. \u00a0It can be. It’ll be even more fun once you know \u00a0exactly what you’re \u00a0eating.<\/p>\n
If you can, buy your breads from a local bakery which uses organic whole grains.<\/p>\n
Become knowledgeable about your dairy, meat, and fish products. \u00a0If at all possible, stay away from fish that are farmed.<\/p>\n
If you eat meat, eggs, cheese, try to get products \u00a0coming from animals that are free range, organic fed.<\/p>\n
Purchase eggs coming from cage free hens.<\/p>\n
Ham, bacon, and smoked fish should have no synthetic nitrates or nitrites.<\/p>\n
Meats should be hormone free, free range grazed, and antibiotic free.<\/p>\n
I realize that not everyone has access to these foods. \u00a0We can’t eat what we don’t have access to. \u00a0I also realize that these foods may be expensive. \u00a0We also can’t eat what we can’t buy. \u00a0Everyone faces choices when it comes to food shopping. \u00a0Staying away from processed foods can free up some funds for fresh, whole, local.<\/p>\n
It’s okay to be a food snob only wanting the most nutritious, healthiest food available.<\/p>\n
Thanks for reading this blogged book.<\/p>\n
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www.hungerisnotadisease.com<\/a><\/p>\n