So, we touched upon what real food is, and what it isn't. What does that mean for some of us who have been raised in families where meals came from a box or out of a drive thru window? Some people have grown up not knowing the difference and why it's such a big deal. Well, the body is kind of in this ruthless survival mode. All. The. Time. If you grow up in a way in which you are not feeding or can't feed your body what it needs, it doesn't just magically absorb what it needs out of the air. (That would solve a lot of problems though if it did.) Your lovely little body will start looking for what it needs internally and start breaking down your bones and tissues to fill the nutritional gaps and keep you alive. This comes at great cost to your health.
Backing up just a little, let's say your mother when she was pregnant with you didn't know how to eat properly. As a baby, you will take from (or be given) whatever your mom had stored up in her body in order to sustain your life. So, mom is nutritionally deficient, and her body is taking whatever she has left to feed you. You are going to be nutritionally deficient, because you are already not getting what you need to have body stores at optimal levels. Typically these will be things like iron and B vitamins- D if you live in the northern areas. We already know how important it is for mom to get what she needs so you are born without defects or impairments. Here you are, on your birthday, suit and all, either being breastfed or given formula. Either way, the breast milk may not be as nutritive as it could be because stores are already depleted, or you're being fed a synthetic concoction that may or may not contain what you need or be tolerable to your brand new self.
Fast forwarding now through your life- and you haven't really been getting a rich nutrient dense diet. What do you think has happened? You're alive, that's good. Probably you've had a lot of colds and infections, periods of depression, maybe some skin problems, fatigue, GI issues like constipation, or possibly the other direction, most likely some other things. Internally most likely your liver is working overtime to clean up the mess of unhealthy fats, sugars, and chemicals- the free radical gremlins are having a grand old time wreaking havoc however they can. Even the soda you are drinking is speeding up the breaking down of your bones. What you might see is a slow general decline in your health- a lot of systemic inflammation and symptoms that will earn you varied diagnoses from irritable bowel syndrome to fibromyalgia and everything in between in western medicine.
How do you move away from this pattern and towards a better one? It's fairly straight forward. Pack in as many nutrients as you can at every snack and meal. Nutrients from real, whole foods, lots of vegetables first and foremost. Fruits are good too, but the veggies are really important. And lots of different veggies. Maybe you try one new vegetable a week in a couple of different ways to see what you like. Swapping out iceberg lettuce for green lettuce or spinach would be a good way to start- even sneaking extra veggies into your spaghetti sauce or lasagna. You can even sneak them into your smoothies in the morning. If you're not a smoothie person, maybe you change your idea of breakfast and have a brown rice bowl topped with steamed broccoli and some kind of curry sauce and a healthy fat source like coconut oil or avocado. Maybe you make muesli and top it with greek yogurt and honey. I frequently have left over dinner for breakfast. You can make conscious choices in order to replenish your stores of vitamins and minerals. You could find a good multi vitamin, omega 3, and a good probiotic to help with this task. Omega 3 fatty acids are important because of their role in brain function and in an anti-inflammatory capacity among other things. The probiotic will help to replenish any gut bacteria that has been damaged or lost due to antibiotics and poor diet habits. Our gut bacteria is so important to the manufacturing, digesting, and absorption of nutrients.
Do you have to be perfect starting right NOW?!? No, you don't. But any changes you make in a positive direction will serve you well and be another step towards healing. A lot of times these changes begin with some soul searching over self worth. Feelings of anger and self loathing can make us feel like we aren't worth the trouble of making life changes. Maybe we feel lonely and this is how we "fill up". We get into a spiral of eating unhealthily to fill a pit of bad feelings, and the unhealthy food causes more bad feelings- sometimes we are not even aware of it. Sometimes we have to look outside of ourselves to find the resolve. As a mom of three, I didn't have time to feel sick and tired. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. And I didn't want my children growing up with a mom who couldn't enjoy life with them. That was the fuel to my fire.
The equation goes like this: if you have nothing in the way of nutrition, and you add nothing to it, you will have nothing in the end. Right? Simple math. If you have nothing but strive to add to it, it is actually possible to kick start the healing process and reverse symptoms and certain conditions. You actually have control over most of the situation, and that is what I'd like for you to know.
To view a much more realistic version of the food pyramid designed by the kids at Harvard, please click here.
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