For years I was a girl who survived on Splenda-sweetened coffee and a sports bar for breakfast. Then I read a few health books that blew my mind and I vowed never again. Check out The Whole 30 and Food: What the Heck Should I Eat, but be warned: reading these will change your life and the contents of your pantry forever.
The main gist of the story is this: we are putting a lot of random stuff in our food here in the US that most countries in the world don’t allow in theirs. There are ingredients that were invented to do things like extend shelf-life, make foods more palatable and even have an addictive effect to the consumer (you know, so you’ll buy and eat MORE!). The result is not that we Americans are a healthier bunch thanks to all of these added ingredients. In case you haven’t noticed, obesity rates are higher than ever here in the US, as are diabetes and cardiovascular-related illnesses, even allergies and food sensitivities.
The advice that I’ve tried to follow in my quest for health is to eat real food. The ingredient label for a sweet potato is : sweet potato. Brussel sprouts: brussel sprouts. You get the gist. Am I perfect at this? Absolutely not. Do still eat an occasional nutrition bar? You bet. But even the ingredients of those look a whole lot different than the ones I used to eat. I can pronounce all the things on the label and can even visualize what those items are. No mystery as to what a “cashew” is.
I have to tell you that my body just feels better doing this. I don’t have joint pain like I used to. My skin looks better. My face breaks out almost never whereas in my previous days it was pretty regular to have random pimples. Again, I’m not saying everything in my pantry perfectly follows this, but Real Food is what I’m working on and striving toward. Little by little, poco a poco.
