You Are What You Eat

“I got plenty of sleep, but I’m still so tired.” “I have a headache, and I have no idea why.” “My stomach is killing me.” “I am 10 years old and have already acquired type 2 diabetes.” Yes, that old American saying is undeniably true. As I’ve mentioned briefly in a previous post or two, your food is your fuel. It is meant to provide nourishment to our bodies so that they can function at the optimal level. If you put bad things into your body, it will let you know. I’m not just talking about performance during a workout or an athletic activity, but during your everyday life. If you are eating processed, sugary foods that do not belong in your body, you are feeling it. Unfortunately, the average person living in this country doesn’t know the difference, because he/she has grown up eating the unhealthiest diet of them all: the American diet.

The problem is not entirely with the American people, but mostly with the food industry and the government. These food companies are constantly lobbying the government to subsidize them to produce the cheapest food possible. In other words, the big food corporations are making sure to use the money given to them by the taxpayers to produce “food” that will yield the most profit for them. At the heart of the matter is the growing if vast amounts of corn; it’s one of the cheapest crops out there. These companies then genetically modify this corn to serve whichever purpose is appropriate for the product they’re concocting, be it a sweetener (high-fructose corn syrup), a thickening agent (modified corn starch), or the ever-so-poisonous preservative called trans fat (hydrogenated corn oil), etc. Even many of those foreign ingredients whose names you cannot pronounce stem from the production of corn. In addition, the government uses corn to cheaply feed the animals from which our meat and eggs come. This is where ecol i originates; these animals are being fed food that does not belong in their bodies (kind of like us Americans and all of the diseases that plague us). Of course, this just skims the surface of how corrupt the industry is. For more information on the issue, I recommend the movie Food Inc., as well as Michael Pollan’s bestseller, The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

Because the people who decide what America eats are so corrupt, they often disguise their cheap, well-preserved, products with misleading labels. I will not get into all of the tricks the food industry plays on you, but I will tell you that they take you for an ignoramus who will believe anything they tell you. Do your research: read the labels. The only foods that truly give your body what it needs to maintain a healthy immune system are foods that come from nature. If you are always fatigued, crotchety, sick, etc., stop wondering why. Now you know why: it’s your diet. It’s the food they are feeding you to keep them rich and you craving more. Forget about medicine to make you better; that’s just treating symptoms instead of the real problem. Educate yourself on what is really good for you, and I promise you that if you begin to convert yourself to a diet of whole foods, you will feel better than any medicine could ever make you feel. Consequently, your mind will be clearer, you will be happier, you will be more energized and productive, you will rarely be sick, you will look more vibrant, and you will add years to your life. How do you think our ancestors had the energy to survive everyday? Oh yeah, there was no McDonald’s.

So you’re probably thinking something along the lines of,  I get that something has to change, but how do I educate myself? Have no fear, for I am here to direct you to self-empowerment. I recommend that you explore two blogs. The first is Mark’s Daily Apple, a blog by “primal” fitness/nutrition expert and author of The Primal Blueprint, Mark Sisson. The emphasis there is trying to emulate what our hunter/gatherer ancestors would have done in terms of what we eat and how we use our bodies (before we messed things up). The second blog I recommend that you visit is Healthy Eating Naturally, a blog by natural food enthusiast and author of 101 Tips: Healthy Eating Naturally, Emily Davidson. The blog is full of information, recipes, and personal insight when it comes to a regular people living healthy lifestyles. The book, in particular, is probably one of the most valuable things that ten dollars can buy these days with its easy-to-understand advice and explanations of the why and the how of a healthy diet.

Just remember that you always have the power to change your lifestyle. It takes some time, effort, and research, but there is no greater reward than feeling the way we’re supposed to feel: truly alive and well. That’s something worth my passion.

Eat well = stay well,

Griffin

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