Nature is extraordinarily amazing, particularly with regards to health and nutrition. Evaluating various animals will show that they have an innate sense of what to eat or avoid during various changes in their lives. Sickness. Season change. Breeding. Child bearing. They just know.
Health is certainly a lot more complex for humans, however, especially in the United States. Though we may have the lifestyles and freedoms that are sought after by others the world over, Americans are also often overweight, unhappy, and unhealthy. Throughout the years our instincts seem to have disappeared when it comes to the consumption of food. It is difficult to rely on instincts when the supermarkets are filled with brightly colored, processed, and sugar-laden foods with “healthy” or “natural” claims on the packages. It is difficult to rely on instincts when marketing of these products is geared towards letting you believe that they are good for you. It is difficult to rely on instincts when each one of the hundreds of diets on the market claim to be the best, and all of them have conflicting information. Almost everyone is on one diet or another. People are always talking about calories, fats, protein, and restricting themselves from the “bad” foods. And you know what? There is literal research proving that many of these dietary conflicts are correct. Some studies prove that meat is essential, while others prove that it is not necessary.
So what do we do? How do we know what to eat? How do we get back on track towards that intuitive eating?
The truth is that each person is significantly different in mind, body, and spirit. Our uniqueness is what makes the world so beautifully diverse, and also what allows one person to thrive on a diet that is terrible for someone else. Dietary claims are often generalizations that do not leave room for individuality. The true way to discover what “health” looks like is to begin self-exploration and self-understanding. The key to health is making sure that you understand your own personal and individual needs.
Your body is an incredible machine that, with attention, can provide the healthy answers for you. It can literally send you messages about the things you choose to put in your body. When you eat the wrong foods you can experience headaches, nausea, fatigue, insomnia, high energy, anxiousness, depressions, agitation, and more. When you eat the right foods you can feel energized, happy, interested, calm, bright-eyed, alert, and more. Unfortunately those instincts are typically ignored or clouded by outside influences like the media or product labeling. When you begin to pay attention to your body’s natural responses, however, you can begin to gain back the instincts to eat the right foods for YOU and your health.
www.realliferealfaithmagazine.com
Page 10
MIND BODY HEALTH
Get to know YOU