Junk Health Food

My Advice:  Be Wary... Be Very, Very Wary

I was inspired to write this after shopping in a health food store a couple of hours from home. I am a people watcher and a health educator. I can't help but notice the things people buy. The person in front of me at the checkout had a cart loaded with what I call Junk Health Food: [I observe from a space of love... wanting so badly to reach out and do some community education... but only when asked Paula, only when asked! :) ]

• organic, refined, white flour bread and rolls
• chips of every kind
• natural soft drinks and fruit juice flavored drinks
• organic, sugary cereals
• organic pop tart™ type toaster pastries

Be wary of anything that comes in a box, bag, can, jar, etc.  If it is a packaged food product, made in a factory and not your home, be a savvy shopper and consumer. Just because it is sold in a health food store does not mean it is cell nourishing food.

WHY?

1.  Most food products are manufactured for the corporate bottom line, not your health.

This means that the cheapest ingredients go into the "product" so the company manufacturing this product can make the highest profit margin.  Profits before people is the name of this game.

Now keep in mind, there are companies out there creating quality products.  Real food, in packages, that are healthy alternatives to what you would make in your own kitchen.  These products are sold on the shelves of health food stores, food coops, and in the healthy section of grocery stores.

BUT, just because a product is on the shelves in these healthier places, do not assume that the product is healthy (see below on being self-responsible).  Even products you have found to have healthy, 100% whole food ingredients; be aware... the ingredients can be changed.  Big corporations love to buy out these smaller "health conscious" companies because the healthier products are money makers.  Most people do want healthy food and healthy bodies so the sale of organic, whole, non-GMO foods has soared. Corporate America wants their piece of this pie. But... as soon as a larger corporation owns the food, the food label, the product suddenly changes.  Cheaper ingredients are now used to make the very same products. This "ingredient switch" pads the bottom line of the large corporation, not your health!.

You have to be the responsible one in the grocery store... this means reading labels very, very carefully.  (This is what I teach in my book and in my workshops; self responsibility around your own health restoration... you healing you!)  Read the ingredient list, on anything you are contemplating purchasing, that comes in a package.  Your health, your life, depends on this.

Ask yourself questions about the product:

-Is every ingredient in the product a whole food? (organic? non GMO?)

-Could you assemble all the ingredients, in your own home, to make this same food item?

Answering yes to these questions? Then move forward, feeling comfortable that the food will nourish, not deplete, the health of your body cells.  Depleting body cells means you are depleting you; creating degeneration in your body.

Answering no to these questions?  Put the "product" back on the shelf; your health and your life depend on this.

2.  Most manufactured products are full of fake stuff:

Fillers (to enhance textures without using real food, i.e. whole food ingredients. MOST Greek yogurts are one of these filler enhanced foods, read more here: 13 Health Foods That Are NOT So Healthy),

Preservatives,

Artificial colors and flavors,

Fake sweeteners,

GMOs

Fake fats...

the list of fake things, that go into factory made food, is never ending.

Bottom Line:  Fake ingredients, factory made substances, do not belong in the human body.  They do not create cellular health. Cellular health IS created when we eat whole food.

   Fake Food     vs      Real Food

Have I convinced you to nourish each and every one of your beautiful body cells with 100% whole foods?  

Be well; feed your body well.    You will lose weight, feel better every day, and restore your body's natural health!

Dispelling THE Food Myth

So you ask, "What is this myth you are referring to Paula?"

Why it is the myth our medical culture continues to perpetuate:

The food you eat has nothing to do with your long term health. Health is all about your genetics.

So, the wise ones among us use their common sense around this issue and say:

"Hey, we know that. Common sense says that food is the huge impact on our short term and long term health."

I questioned this food issue my very first day in the hospital, clinical setting as a student nurse. I could not figure out why we were feeding my patient, a man who had his 3rd heart attack, these foods:

• instant mashed potatoes with margarine and canned gravy
• pressed turkey loaf slices with more canned gravy
• overcooked, previously frozen, carrot cubes with peas and corn
• a plop of canned pudding with some sort of fake, whipped cream topping to adorn it

I was no nutrition genius at 18 years of age but I was quite certain that nothing on this man's lunch tray was in any way going to heal his damaged heart. 

31 years later and I am still convinced institutional food, fake food products, are killing people!

Another food issue arose when I was in my 40's and it was recommended I have a colonoscopy because of my age. I asked if this was necessary as I ate a 100% whole food diet. I was told yes, it was necessary.

So I then asked: "OK, if I ate McDonald's food three times a day or ate as I do now (100% whole food) what would the impact be on my colon?"

The answer was: "Nothing, your colon cancer, colon disease risk, is based on your genetics and what you eat has no impact."

I opted to not have that colonoscopy and went home to resume my healthy eating habits.

Let's play around with some food information for a minute or two....

 Packaged Food        VS.         Real Food

Which food choices do you think will feed your body cells in a healing way?  

Take Away Points:

Medical care decisions, preventative included, are a personal choice.

1. Keep feeding your body with the magic of nature: real food!

2. Your body cells depend on densely nutritious foods to replicate in a healthy manner. Replication is happening every day. Your food does matter.

Happy Halloween!