Eating healthy and taking care of yourself is essential to obtain optimal wellness. Most people roll their eyes or moan when confronted with these ideas, but, in reality, taking care of yourself is not as hard, time consuming, expensive, or dull as most would have you believe. In fact, once people decide to choose a healthy life, they notice more energy, increased self-confidence, more time to do things that really matter, and they spend less time in the doctor’s office or hospital.

It is less expensive to buy organic foods and shop for most items at a health food store than it is to buy candy, soda, chips, pizza, alcohol, and cigarettes. Not only do people consume less food on a healthy diet (you really can’t just eat one Pringle), they help their bodies to become stronger and more able to fight disease, which makes their health costs lower as well. The foods are not dull or tasteless either. It does depend on what you like, but, in general, unprocessed and whole foods right from the garden (or produce section) are the tastiest and most satisfying. If you don’t like fresh snap peas, maybe you’ve not had them done right!

In our current society of hustle and bustle, we often go for the cheapest and quickest foods to get rid of that nasty hunger sensation. But what does that do to you? Really? Most people don’t know and they don’t care. They will care more when they discover they have heart disease or diabetes or the variety of other conditions caused by this type of lifestyle.

Patterns get established and it is so difficult to stay away from the burgers or sodas for long. Tastes get perverted (yes, that is the word for it) to like too much fat, sugar, and salt in our diets. Foods don’t taste as good without additives. In reality, they don’t taste as good because cheap food is cheap food and you wouldn’t eat it if you weren’t fooled by the extras added in to either make it look, taste, or smell better.

A McDonald’s thin hamburger is grayish to begin with, never mind that it has comparatively loads of fat to its small size. Try just the burger without the cheese, ketchup, mustard, onions, or pickles. Pretty bland. That cheese (if you could call it that) is what they call ‘cheese food’. They cannot call it ‘cheese’ because of the processing. This ‘cheese food’ makes up most of the sliced cheeses in supermarkets. Look at the labels. The ketchup has corn syrup (sugar) and sugar added, sometimes red dye as well. These additives are added to make an inferior product taste good enough to sell at a cheaper price so the public will buy it. The better the starting ingredients quality, the better it tastes and the healthier it is for you.

It is best to limit the use of anything processed (processed meaning things were done to it; it is not directly or closely linked to the whole, natural food; usually these foods are in boxes or bags), but whole grain rice with spices and herbs in a box with no unnatural additives is much better for you than the usual Rice-a-Roni, mac and cheese, and the like.

Read those labels well. If you cannot pronounce or understand what an ingredient is, do not consume it. If a product says ‘enriched’, this does not make it a better product. In fact, things are enriched when they have had those enriching items taken away. Processing foods uses heat, cold, light, drying, or crushing which all serves to deplete vitamins and minerals in the food. To replace these essentials means the food was already compromised.

Look for foods that are as close to their natural state and as fresh as possible. The best foods are fresh straight from the earth. The next best is fresh from the produce or bulk section. Then comes frozen, dried, and canned, respectively.

You may wonder how the Standard American Diet (SAD diet) affects your health besides flavor and price. Processed foods, as mentioned above, typically contain less vitamins and minerals than the original foods that made them up. If you eat food mostly from packages or boxes and are not reading labels, not only are you not getting valuable nutrients, but also you are consuming items that may be depleting nutrients in your body.

Sugar depletes B vitamins from your body. Preservatives and additives put an extra burden on your liver, whose job it is to break these compounds down so your body can get rid of them. What your body cannot get rid of it will store in fat, so that these chemicals will not be running around causing harm where they do not belong. Fat, sometimes bone, is the best storage place for these toxins. Fat is found not only right under your skin but also lining your nerves and in your brain. These may not be places you wish toxins stored.

We commonly hear that fat and cholesterol are ‘bad’ from the media. We do need fat and cholesterol to live. Fats and cholesterol help make your skin, all your cells, hormones, and your brain and nerves. They are also a good source of energy when needed. It is not good to severely limit these items from the diet.

It is the quality of the fats that you consume that makes the difference. Animal fats are called saturated fats and it is these fats that should be limited (like beef, pork, poultry, hot dogs, cheese, milk, etc.). Saturated fats store pesticides, toxins, hormones, and other nasties from the animal. They also contribute to atherosclerosis, heart disease, and many other conditions.

Other fats, like those found in nuts, seeds, olives, and avocados are beneficial to health. Fish is also a beneficial source of fats. The fats that are ‘good’ are the monounsaturated and the polyunsaturated. Some fats that are also good for your body are called essential fatty acids, or EFA’s. Your body cannot make these fats, therefore the essential aspect. You can find these helpful fats in flax seeds, fish, evening primrose oil, borage oil, and some other oils and foods.

These ‘good’ fats lower cholesterol, decrease inflammation and pain, and are useful in many conditions like PMS, depression, ADHD, arthritis, and many more. If you eat fat mainly from fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, and fish you will do well.

Speaking of fats, another healthy tip is that butter is much better than margarine, if you are going to use either. Margarine contains fats called ‘trans fatty acids’ which helps it stay solid at room temperature. These trans fats contribute quickly to atherosclerosis and heart disease. Trans fats are also found in many processed foods like chips, fries, and some diet foods. Please read labels. Do not eat any foods that say ‘trans fatty acids’ or ‘hydrogenated’ or ‘partially hydrogenated’. Hydrogenation is the process that forms the trans fats.

Sugar and salt are other items that the SAD diet tends to be overabundant in. Both of these items are added because they can hide other flavors and the taste of them makes people want to eat more. Sugar, as mentioned previously, depletes the body of B vitamins. These vitamins help the chemical reactions happen in your body, are essential for your blood cells to function, and are involved with nearly every process that goes on in your body. Your thyroid, adrenal glands, and brain just won’t work right without them.

Sugar also affects minerals and other elements essential in your body. In this way, people who eat too much sugar tend to feel moody, depressed, and anxious, and may later develop diabetes, intestinal problems, or heart disease.

Salt is an important inclusion in the daily diet, but best received solely from the salt already present in natural foods. Adding some occasionally may be beneficial, but the amounts consumed in the daily diet of most people is overkill. Sodium should be in a ratio to potassium, which is also found abundantly in natural foods. The average person eats too much salt and too little potassium, the opposite of what the balance should be. This can lead to heart arrhythmias, leg cramps, weak feeling muscles, joint pain, muscle twitches, high blood pressure, and many other changes.

You wouldn’t believe how much salt is added to processed foods. You entire daily supply could be found in a burger and fries, and there is actually some added to milkshakes and other foods that may not appear to warrant it. If a food has over a few hundred milligrams (mg) of sodium, it is probably too much. If the sodium is measured in grams (g), watch out!

The best way to eat healthily and avoid the above pitfalls is to read labels, eat foods as close to their natural state as possible, and eat in restaurants that you trust. Ethnic foods are usually good and many of them are more health conscious in their food preparation. They tend to use fewer additives and focus on flavoring with herbs and spices. Always ask about their menu and avoid establishments that use MSG, hydrogenated oils, lard, prepackaged processed foods, lots of sugars, or lots of salt. Usually, good choices are Indian, Thai, Chinese, sushi, and even some Mexican restaurants.

When eating out or at home, try to prepare most meals with an abundance of vegetables and a little meat (preferably fish). Eat fruits that agree with you as snacks. Try fruit with some nut butter. Trail mix, dried fruits, and nuts are also good choices.

Try to limit your use of dairy products (milk, cream, cheese, butter). If yogurt agrees with you, it is generally a very healthy addition to your diet. Make sure it has live and active cultures. It may have fruit or juice added but no extra sugar or other nasties. Nancies yogurt and Brown Cow are excellent choices. There are also good soy and rice yogurts available.

Try soy, almond, rice, or other milks if you would like to use these. Each brand is different; so don’t stop if you don’t like the first one. Most popular are Silk, Eden, and Pacific. There are many others that are good. If you do drink milk and it agrees with you, try to use milk with no added rbst, hormones, antibiotics, etc. You may need to choose an organic milk to accomplish this.

Use eggs in moderation. Do not eat fried foods. Steaming is best, followed by baking, poaching, broiling, and lightly sautéing. Boil or fry only if necessary, as this destroys many vitamins and frying adds fat.

Use spices for flavor. Do not add salt. If you need some salty taste, try a low sodium tamari or soy sauce, some Braggs liquid (found in health food stores), or a little sea salt (which is not processed and has sea minerals). Also, you could try olive oil, vinegar, molasses, maple syrup, or other natural products as condiments.

Find items sweetened with natural fruit juices, fruit, stevia, rice syrup, or other natural sweeteners. Sugar is not too bad in moderation and if used occasionally. If using or eating sugar, try to eat organic, succanat, raw (turbinado), molasses, honey, and make sure any products do not list sugar or corn syrup as the first or second ingredient. There are natural alternatives to sodas, candy, and chips. Many of them are very good. Do not give up if you don’t like one product. They all taste different and make it a point to find some favorites.

Try to avoid any genetically engineered foods. They seem to be everywhere now, but try to buy produce that is guaranteed not modified. Since these products are so new, we really have no idea how changing the genetic code may affect us. It may not do any harm at all, but until the jury is in, it is recommended to avoid these.

Last, but certainly not least, a healthy lifestyle also involves taking care of your body in ways besides nutrition. It is necessary for everyone to exercise. Not only does it keep you in shape, it also keeps your muscles, heart, blood vessels, lungs, and other organs functioning their best. Humans are meant to move. Sitting all day at a job is very unhealthy.

Change positions, do some chair yoga, or stretch every hour. Take a walk on your breaks. Walk everywhere you can. Take the stairs. Take the long way around. Park farther away from the door and walk the extra distance. Find an activity you enjoy and do some form of movement daily. Walk every day for 30 minutes around your neighborhood or out in nature. Take time to enjoy sports or leisure activities that involve movement. Gardening, yoga, biking, swimming, golf without carts, and some forms of yard work are all good choices.

Take time everyday to be peaceful, with no worries, and watch a sunrise, a sunset, a plane in the sky, your child or pet playing, or just breathe. Take your children or pet to a park and actively play with them. Jungle gyms are a lot of fun. Skip rope. Take time to enjoy a sedentary activity that you enjoy and that educates you, whether it’s reading, meditating, catching up on world events (as long as it doesn’t stress you out), or being with a loved one and talking. Make sure you try to get enough time with friends and family as well as time alone.

Doing all of this may seem to take an endless amount of your day when time is hard to come by. Be creative. Doing dishes can be meditative. Routine tasks that don’t take much thought can be done with peace and happiness. Try to make every act a thoughtful act done with intention and happiness. If something is impossible to do happily, ask yourself why you are doing it or how it could be more fun. Ask others for help when you need it.

Take care of your body daily in ways of personal hygiene, and keep tabs on your body and notice any changes. Report any new lumps, bumps, skin changes, hair patterns, or anything unusual to your doctor. You know your body the best, so you are the first line of defense in your health.

Seize this responsibility and enjoy taking excellent care of yourself and knowing all about the being that is you.

If you would like more information or to schedule your consultation, e-mail call (928) 204-1986.

The above article is to be used as information only and is not intended to be used in place of appropriate medical advice.  Each person is an individual and the above opinions may not be suitable for you.  Please seek the advice of your physician if you have questions.