Whole Natural Foods

Besides exercise, the other important aspect in obtaining optimal health is nutrition. This is what we eat. It is important to eat whole natural food, the food our bodies were meant to eat.

The food we eat today is essentially dead. It is void of the nutrients that are needed to sustain life. Our food has changed a great deal since the introduction of farming and grains some 10,000 years ago. However, there have been no major changes in our DNA in more than that time. This means that our bodies have not yet adapted to eat this kind of diet. There are basically eight changes to our diet that detrimentally affect our health: (Colgan, Nutrition For Champions, 2007)

1. Introduction of cereal grains and processed carbohydrates;
2. Introduction of animal husbandry;
3. Introduction of refined sugar;
4. Introduction of salt;
5. Introduction of processed vegetable oils;
6. loss of fiber;
7. loss of micronutrients;
8. Increased Acidity

Early 20th century studies by Price and Pottinger has shown that the hunter gatherer diet to be the most beneficial in maintaining life and health. (Schmid, 1997) The food we eat needs to be whole and natural as nature intended it. We should avoid foods that come in packages. Instead we should make our own foods using natural organic and macrobiotic ingredients. These are grown locally when the season allows, and are free of pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and other unnatural food additives. It makes no sense to buy organic apples in the USA that were grown in New Zealand. These may be free of pesticides, but nearly all the nutritional value has been lost during the time of cold storage required to ship it, and they were most likely picked to soon to achieve the maximum nutritional value. When possible eat food directly from the source.

Colgan, D. M. (2007). Nutrition For Champions. Vancouver BC: Science Books.

Schmid, R. N. (1997). Traditional Foods Are Your Best Medicine. Rochester: Healing Arts Press.