The Beginning

The Beginning of your journey to natural health should be the foods you eat.

Commercially prepared foods (dried cereals, boxed dinners, frozen dinners etc.) all must contain some kind of additive to preserve them and give them a long shelf life. Most all of these also contain an additive to enhance the color of the food supposedly making it more enticing. These long-lasting preservatives are chemicals that your body can’t use for nutrition and so may alter the way it processes the nutrition that is in the food. A little bit of chemical today may not harm you, but over a lifetime, the consequences of the build-up may be chronic dis-ease.

The two that are most prevalent (and most damaging) are Monosodium Glutamate and hydrogenated oils. Your body doesn’t know what to do with that fat molecule with a hydrogen molecule fused to it. It can’t break down the fat and use it for fuel, so it floats in your bloodstream, clogging arteries, or gets packed in the liver, clogging it up. MSG has been proven to destroy brain cells. It is used to enhance the flavor of foods, but it is an excitotoxin, which, when exposed to neurons, can cause them to become overstimulated and die. For more detailed information, just do a Google search for MSG
There are many, many, additives in processed foods and I won’t go into all of them right now. Instead I’ll give you a few hints and tips to keep you and your family healthy.

Prepare your meals from scratch! Yes, I know that you don’t have time. You’re busy! Your job and commuting to and from it takes up at least 10 hours a day, taking the kids to all their extra-curricular school events, your social life on top of just running the household is a monumental task. Here are some tips to help.

1. Get the whole family involved in the events of daily living . . . house cleaning, laundry, cooking . . . everything.
Parents shouldn’t be servants! Getting the family involved helps them learn responsibility. Of course it takes some of your time to teach them to do things, but it lightens your load when they’ve learned the simple things.

2. Spend a little extra time preparing the grocery list. Make a general menu before you go shopping. Buy in bulk and prepare main courses that can be frozen when prepared so you cook once, eat twice (or three times). Get the children involved in this “bulk cooking” project. Even those too young to chop and dice and peel can learn to measure, stir etc. Make it a game! Teach your family to take care of themselves!

3. Join a co-op to buy natural foods in bulk. This doesn’t help with the time factor, but does help with the budget.

4. Use recipes that include herbs and spices! If you don’t have, any go exploring to find some. Any type of herb or spice provides your body with the “little extras” that help your body extract nutrients from your food and most provide nutrients, antioxidants etc. Use a variety of herbs and spices. The more variety there is in your diet, whether it be fruits, vegetables or seasonings the wider range of nutrients you receive and consequently the better your health will be.

I could go on and on, but those will get you started. Remember, your health is your responsibility! A little time learning to protect it today is the first step toward living Naturally!