I talk a lot about nourishing your skin and hair with plant power and trying to showcase how amazing herbs and oils are for your body.  Reducing the chemical load you expose your body too is another key factor to a long and healthy, vital life.  It has, however been a bit since we talked about nourishing our bodies from the inside out.

Your skin, nails and hair need proteins and micronutrients to grow and heal and glow.  If the foods we eat are less than stellar quality-wise then we can surely expect to see it in our eyes, our TEETH, skin and hair.  The dietary choices we all make is a very personal one and all have their merits and their concerns.  I am 100% supportive of your journey as an individual finding your way through the crazy web of diet choices.  From Vegan to Paleo, Raw to the Standard America Diet, we all are bombarded DAILY with food choices that are driven by the media, social pressures, our religions, our health concerns, our budgets, our environment concerns, our love of animals, cooking shows and even culture.  Its mind boggling to me how many labels we have associated with food, and the strong feelings/opinions there surrounding diet choices.

That being acknowledged, we are also mammals who need to eat.  We live in bodies that are desperately needing proteins, micro and macro nutrients, minerals and vitamins, FATS and good ole calories to give us energy.

I am going to say it again here regarding our food that the CHEMICAL LOAD we ingest has a very large and serious impact on the health and vitality of our organs and all the bodily systems that we need to keep healthy and balanced.  Our immune system, our cardiovascular, HORMONAL, nervous and adrenal systems, and on and on, are all effected by the food we eat and the environment we live in.

The more toxins, petrochemicals and carcinogens, radiation and endocrine disrupters we are exposed too (the ones we can control along with the ones we cannot) all play a part into our metabolism, our mental health, our energy levels, how we think, our MOODS, our ability to heal and most definately how we age.

All this is a LOT to take in and, well, digest 🙂 TRUST ME I KNOW.  And like all the rest of our health and happiness, its a work in progress, to understand our bodies, and what types of dietary choices best suit us individually, as a family and as, humans.

I do want to stress a few seemingly obvious but MAJOR points:

• Less is more and try and look at food as quality vs. quantity.  Take a quick inventory of your pantry or daily meal choices.  How much is convenient, packaged food.  Again, like everything else you see me going on about, the more you can reduce the additives, the colorings, the preservatives, and the PLASTIC, the better!
• Without counting calories or servings of greens (so exhausting) was the bulk of your food choices WHOLE and FRESH vs frozen, canned, or from a drive-thru? Our busy daily lives play a role too, and eating fresh and whole, unprocessed foods takes a big chunk of time to prepare, store and take with us.  It takes planning, shopping and organization. It takes meal prep, but its worth it!
• Do you COOK at home?  Learning to cook your own food, from simple fare to Chef cuisine, can really change your health.
• Do you really know your bodies cues? Can you tell IF you are really hungry or just anxious or bored?  Do you know when you are full before you are STUFFED.  Do you know when you are dehydrated, over sugared or caffeinated?
• Do you enjoy a wide range of tastes and foods?  Americans like to avoid tastes like BITTER and SOUR (not kids, kids LOVE super ultra sour candied things but thats another post).  Sweet, Sour, BITTER, creamy and salty all have a purpose and effect our digestion.  The whole point of “eating” and “chewing”  aside from the enjoyment and social aspects, is to break down the foods into particulates our bodies can assimilate and use for energy, immunity, cell regeneration, removal of toxins, hormone regulation, brain nourishment, and to all around make all the functions work.  All the tastes, even bitter, have an important role.

So you’ve heard me suggest to take inventory of your body product choices, things you use ON your body and I am going to make the same suggestion for what you put IN your body.

Taking inventory of your surroundings is a good place to start.  Its a good idea to take a peek every once in a while even if you already are on a good track.  The conveniences and downfalls of everyday modern living sneaks in easier than we think and before we know it we are loading back up becasue we all live super busy, stressful lives.

We al know about STRESS.

I’ll be getting to that topic really  soon.  REALLY soon.  Its a big one.

Bon Apetite

~in health and happiness

Annie