Eat to Live...and Live Well!

There is much to be said about the old adage, "you are what you eat." This old cliché is quite true. In fact, most diseases or illnesses can be directly traced to the type of nutritional intake you provide to your body - including the food and beverages that we consume, as well as the nutritional supplements we take. The fact is, we need food to live, but it is the type of food that we need to pay attention to. Food can make us well or make us sick, depending on where we get it, how it is processed, and how much we consume. Consider these "Rules for a Lifetime of Healthy Eating," and you will feel your very best.

Eat local foods in season. The chances that you will ingest chemicals, etc., that you aren't aware of grow with each mile further that your food comes from. If you choose organic foods from local sources, you know where your food is coming from, how it was grown and processed, and what's in it.

Life in food gives us life. What this means is simple - eat your foods in their most natural forms. The more "life" left in your food (in other words, the less it is cooked, chemicalized, radiated, or processed), the more life you will get out of it.

Plan ahead and carry food with you. Life is not still. We are always on the move and constantly exposed to situations where we are forced to eat "outside our element," which is why fast food drive-thrus are so popular. To eat healthy, plan ahead and carry your food with you. You'd never go on a trip without packing your own clothes that you know fit you and provide you with comfort - consider your own foods just as vital. Take something along with you that you know "fits" your body's needs.

Eat small, frequent meals to sustain energy levels. What if you over-filled your car's gas tank once a month and then tried to drive around? Your engine would flood, and your car would eventually starve. Your body is the same way. You convert your food to energy - and you will have more of it if you ration it out throughout the day.

Eat when you are hungry; stop when you are satisfied. Again, consider the flooding car engine. Your body works hard to digest the food you take in, and you will compromise your health and well being if you force it to digest more than it needs…not to mention it will have to find places to store the excess (and we all know where that extra storage ends up appearing.)

Avoid high-calorie, low-nutrient foods. You'd never fill your gas tank with half-gasoline, half-water just for the sake of filling it up. Your body deserves foods that will provide energy and nutrition in a well-balanced fashion.

Choose organic whenever possible. People have a way of corrupting the world around us and depreciating the value of natural things. The best food is food that the Creator intended us to eat - the food that comes straight from the world we live in and not from a can or a bottle or our freezer.

Eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible. This is probably something your mother or grandmother tried to tell you when you were little, but we all grow up thinking they don't know what they're talking about. The truth is, broccoli and spinach will always be better for you than macaroni or chocolate ice cream. Fruit and vegetables are full of fiber and nutrients you need for healthy living.

Drink pure water. Remember that just because you buy water in a bottle does not mean it is pure. The best alternative to going out and harvesting your own natural spring water is drinking water that has been put through reverse osmosis. And drink it often…at least ½ your body weight in daily ounces is what you need to function properly. Currently, one well known brand of bottled water that is put through reverse osmosis is Dasante, which is also enhanced with minerals.

Eat a lot of fiber. Along with fruits and vegetables, be sure you are getting enough fiber. Without it, you cannot eliminate the things that will make you sick.

Relax while eating. There is so much damage that we do when we make our meal times the most hurried times in our day. Rushing through a meal can cause you not to chew your food properly, and not to give your stomach and other digestive processes enough time to do their jobs so that nutrients are absorbed and dispersed to your best benefit. Don't eat and run - eat and rest.