I’ve been learning a lot about food for the past few months. I’ve learned what GMO is and how our country makes food. I’ve also learned about the importance of eating real food.
What is real food?
The dictionary says that “real” means “something that is not fake or artificial”. Food means “something that nourishes or sustains in a way suggestive of physical nourishment”. Therefore real food is food that is minimally processed and maintains its natural integrity. Let me give you some examples. An apple is real food. A packet of oreos, on the other hand, is not real food. Steak is real food, while Twinkies are not. So is bread real food? No, it isn’t.
Why is wheat bad for you?
This could be debated but the thing about bread is that the wheat in most breads are highly processed. Most breads have “enriched flour”. The flour that you buy in the supermarket nowadays is wheat that has been ground and later the factory adds bleaching agents in order for the flour to be white. Those bleaching agents are harmful for our bodies. Also, “vitamins and minerals” are added to the flour for it to be legally called “enriched flour”. Part of making the flour is refining the wheat. When the wheat is refined you strip away pretty much all of the nutrients the grain had in the first place. This is how much is taken away when the grain is refined:
- Half of the beneficial unsaturated fatty acids
- Virtually all of the vitamin E
- Fifty percent of the calcium
- Seventy percent of the phosphorus
- Eighty percent of the iron
- Ninety eight percent of the magnesium
- Fifty to 80 percent of the B vitamins
In the end, bread is just not good for you because it contains little to no nutrients that your body really needs. So why consume something that is actually harming you? I haven’t even talked about how wheat contains gluten which a lot of people are unknowingly sensitive to. Gluten intolerance isn’t some “Hollywood fad”. Grains in general can be harmful because they give you an insulin rush which later crashes and leaves you feeling tired. You can read more about grains here: (
http://wellnessmama.com/575/how-grains-are-killing-you-slowly/). (The title of the post is a little depressing, but it has some great information.)
Why is it important to eat real food?
Our bodies are designed to consume real food. We weren’t designed to lounge in front of the TV and shove handfuls of Doritos into our mouths. And we most certainly weren’t designed to go through the McDonalds drive through and order ten pounds of food with no real nutrients but being careful not to forget that Diet Coke. Real food has the nutrients that your body needs.
Have you ever had a bag of chips or candy and said that you were “only going to eat one”. Yeah, it happens. Then an hour later you have an empty bag, a guilty conscience, and an unsatisfied appetite. The thing is, you can’t just eat one. Your body is looking for that nutrients and it isn’t getting it from the chips, so you just want more. Real food satisfies your body. It has natural vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Eating processed junk won't give you the nutrients your body needs and will leave you feeling gross and groggy.
How I eat…
I aim to eat as much real food as I can. I try to eat Paleo. Paleo is a lifestyle change of eating real food. It just has a fancy title. With Paleo you steer clear of grains, sugars, beans, and processed junk. I do “cheat" every once in a while. I don’t like to think that I’m being deprived. But, honestly, after I cheat I pay for it later. My stomach isn’t so happy. With Paleo you can eat fruits, vegetables, some nuts and seeds (peanuts are not nuts, they are legumes), and meats. You also try to cook with coconut oil instead of vegetable oils. Paleo is a little more than changing how you eat. There are other things that are part of being Paleo. But, I'm not going to get into that today. Here's a great post about Paleo: (
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/10/04/the-beginners-guide-to-the-paleo-diet/).
Should you eat real food?
Yes! I challenge you to try to eat real food for at least two weeks and see how you feel. I’ve been eating this way for almost a year and I can say that I’m never going back. I feel better overall. I recover from my workouts faster, and after I eat I don’t feel so weighed down. Also, my skin has never looked better! Try researching Paleo online and see what you find. And, if you do Paleo and it doesn’t work for you, that’s ok. At least you tried it out. If you want to check out some pretty neat blogs and websites from people that eat real food check these out:
I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know what you think about eating real food and your experience with eating healthier.
~Amanda
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