Today in class we talked about digestion. We discussed how
our bodies are uniquely designed to handle whole food
products, fruits, vegetables, meats, sweets, you name it.
We are designed to handle whole foods, not isolated
nutrients, like protein powders and amino acid supplements.
My goal is to teach theses students how to make healthy
choices (as well as the occasional high fat sweet), how to
make their decisions based on science, not on advertising.
My goal is to create nutrition ambassadors to send out into
the world and spread the good words-eat food, not pills (no
small mission for me).
After having spent a few weeks building up to this topic,
and managing to complete most of it with the class still
awake, a student, right before class ends, asks "what about
those master cleanses? The honey and vinegar combinations
that help get rid of all the toxins in your body."
I wanted to shoot him-I am hoping he was one of the folks
who wasn't paying attention.
But maybe he was. Perhaps he was listening, and just
wasn't able to comprehend the complexity of how our bodies
operate. When one can't manage to understand complexity,
one goes to the easy fix, right? After all, these quick
fixes are simple to understand-all you need to do is look
at their advertising: "drink this for 24 hours and you'll
feel like a new person." Or,"take this pill every 3 hours
along with our specially patented drink and you will remove
all the toxins you're body has accumulated over the last
ten years."
We all want a quick fix, whether it is for our finances,
our bodies, our diets. But quick doesn't mean correct. If
you think about it, all the diets you read about are
popular because they promise quick fixes, quick weight
losses. No one will promise you a permanent weight loss
(which surprises me, considering what else you are
promised), because diets don't work. Let me rephrase that,
all diets work, while you are on them. The problem is
eventually you go OFF your diet, and the weight returns.
It is important to realize making healthy, permanent
changes for our diets, and our bodies takes time. Small,
incremental changes we can live with are what will stay
with us. Half a bagel instead of a whole bagel, a small
latte instead of a large mocha, walking up two flights of
steps and then getting on the elevator. Slow, steady -
non-dramatic changes are the ones we can build on.
As for cleansing our bodies? The best way you can keep your
body healthy is to eat well, exercise and enjoy life. You
know the basics about the fruits and vegetables, lean meats
and poultry. What you may not know is that quality of life
is also up there on the top of the list. Having your
occasional dessert, glass of wine or beer-these are also
important. None of these choices are toxic. However, not
knowing where to go to ask your questions, not trusting
yourself to make the right decisions-well, that could kill
you.
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links to nutritional resource websites, visit=>
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