subject: Holistic Nutrition [print this page] Food must be one of life's richest pleasures, yet we often ignore holistic nutrition and fail to understand its very purpose and go completely off track. We focus on imbalance, allowing sugar addiction and other food cravings to adversely affect our lives. Fundamentally, food is a source of energy, enrichment and nutrition and dietary plans should be designed accordingly. We are eating certain types and quantities of food and drinks to enable our bodies, being the machines that they are, to function correctly.
Our bodies are very complex and it takes an amazing interaction between all the various organs to make us operate. This miracle of nature can be somewhat hardy, but just as with any other well-built machine, it will start to fail over time if it is not treated correctly.
Due to our ingenuity and thirst for knowledge, our scientists have been able to determine how our body works with optimum efficiency and how we can live our lives with the goal of productivity, enjoyment and longevity in mind. If we pay attention we know that we should be ingesting certain types and quantities of food and drink, but the problem is that we rarely listen!
Holistic health solutions require us to lead a truly balanced dietary approach, with a fundamental condition being moderation. As a species, we are lucky to have such a huge variety of foods available and once again our creativity has given us very many different ways of preparing and eating. Even though we have all these options and know full well that we need to eat well if we want to live a long life, we tend to shortcut and eat or drink all kinds of food that we know are generally bad for us.
Holistic nutrition determines that we must not eat convenient foods, just because we think that we do not have enough time. We now know that without a balanced diet and good health, nothing else matters and we should go out of our way to rectify the situation, before it is too late.
A wide variety of foods should be consumed, high in nutrients, with whole grains, organic fruits, vegetables, raw organic dairy, organic poultry, wild fish, lean organic meat and an assortment of beans and seeds. Processed sugar and highly flavored artificial foods and drinks should be avoided.
To start planning a healthy diet, take a good look at what you eat for at least a week. Write down everything and if you can, add nutritional values as found on labels, alongside. Remember to be honest about your portions, as this can make a significant difference. When you look back and analyze your diet, you will likely see that you are eating way too much fat and an inordinate amount of sugar. You must consolidate in both of these areas, as you are leaving yourself open to a variety of health problems and a general lack of productivity in your daily life. Don't forget to add in all your snacks as well and you will surely see how you need to zero in on the benefits of holistic nutrition!
