This video is of me showing what I feel is Real Food VS NOT Real Food.
Real Food Feeds and Nourishes You
Real Food is food in its most natural state; it is unprocessed or with very little processing.
Real food does not need a label or fancy packaging. A lemon is a lemon. An onion is an onion. It is a whole food that is life-sustaining.
Whole Foods are: “Foods that have been minimally refined or processed, and are eaten in their natural state. In general, nothing is removed from, or added to, the foodstuffs in preparation. Wholegrain cereal products are made by milling the complete grain.” Definition is from www.encyclopedia.com
Our bodies were designed to digest Real Food. The best Real Foods to me are called Superfoods.
You might have your own definition of Real Food which will depend upon what you want or need in your life. You may crave energy. You may want strength. You may need balance or healing. Some people would consider beauty or love essential food for their lives. Eating whole food will help with all of what we want to have in our lives, learn why below.
5 Huge Benefits of Real Food
1. Full of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals to build and nourish the body.
If you research supplements carefully you will find that the better more expensive supplements provide a wider and more sophisticated complement of ingredients. They are actually trying to get the combination and chemical structure closer and closer to the whole food state. You might ask at some point: why not just eat the food?
2. No added fat
Too much fat makes you fat. The high levels of fat added to processed foods and junk food is the ‘bad’ kind that now has been shown to increase heart disease, obesity.
Real Food nuts, on the other hand, have fat in them but it is often the ‘good kind’ that has been shown to help weight loss.
White sugar (and similar high processed sugars) makes you fat, creates anxiety and depression, increases diabetes, heart problems and rots your teeth, and suppresses your immune system.
Processed foods almost always have sugar added to them since they know it is addictive and they want to eat as much as possible.
Most real foods (except meat) have carbohydrates in them, usually in lower quantities, but even if there are higher amounts of carbohydrates, such as in fruit, it is more slowly absorbed into the system because of fiber and other whole food elements so the sugars are not absorbed so quickly. We call these smart carbs. This means you get energy but without the problems.
4. No added salt
To much salt is hard on the kidneys and creates high blood pressure. It ends up being one more toxin the body must deal with.
Real foods have a minimal amount of naturally occurring sodium which is actually good for the body.
Most processed foods have added salt to increase the flavor (even if it is very sweet) so you will eat more and eat more often.
5. Real Food Looks, Smells and Feels Great
I love strolling through the produce department of the supermarket or health food store is fun. Seeing mountains of reds, greens, oranges and yellows is not just a feast for my eyes, but for my nose as well. Even my body resonates with this offering of Real Food nourishment. I fill my shopping cart with these vibrant fruits and vegetables.
Going to the farmers market is more fun! It is vibrantly alive with tables filled with vibrant green lettuce, bright red tomatoes, cherries and apples, fuzzy peaches, yellow beans, sweet blueberries, juicy raspberries, and fresh pickling cucumbers. Just thinking of all of this wonderful fresh food is making my mouth water.
Paying at the grocery store is not as much fun: waiting among lines of moms, teenagers, and businessmen with their carts piled high with packages and cans.
7 Guidelines to Get a ‘Real Food’ Program Going
- Don’t eat food products containing ingredients that are unpronounceable.
- Shop at the farmers market or grow your own food if you can. It will be fresher and have the most nutrition with no preservatives.
- Eat Mostly plants, particularly, lots of greens.
- Do not eat food products that make health claims. Mostly these processed food claims are untrustworthy. Remember those margarine claims about it being so good for us? Then we found out it was giving people heart attacks.
- Pay more for the best nutritious food you can find. This will sometimes mean buying organic. Much of the population who are overweight are eating way too much. They would do better health-wise by eating less food with a higher nutritional value and by eating Real Food that will be giving the body what it is truly craving: more nutrition.
- Learn to cook your own healthy meals. It’s fun! You do not need to be a rocket scientist to make simple healthy meals like I do.
- Eat a wide variety of Real Foods. Try adding new vegetables or fruits. You will get a wider spectrum of nutrition.
This article contains excerpts from my e-book. Green Means Lean