What is lifestyle nutrition?
Lifestyle nutrition is nutrition that provides you with the nourishment you need to function at your best and most energized level in today’s busy world. Lifestyle nutrition can change your health in ways you might not have imagined.
The information we have today about the quality of food informs us about the importance of making wise choices. Advocacy groups like the Environmental Working Group and Organic Consumers brought to light the damaging effects of polluted air, water and chemical toxins that can damage our food supply. My mission is to share this information with you in ways that make it easy for you to make wise choices when you select foods at the market.
It doesn’t matter if you are 20 or 40 or 60 or 80 or 100 - what you eat every single day affects every organ, tissue and cell in your body. When you really understand that, you choose your food more mindfully. You won’t be swayed by stories of how expensive it is to eat well.
You will understand that eating well is your birthright, and the fruits, vegetables and grains that are grown cleanly, without pesticides and chemical fertilizers will keep you from suffering or spending huge amounts of money on medicine and medical care.
I stood behind a man in the check out aisle at the grocery store last week. He placed the following on the belt: 3 pouches of dried potato mix, 1 package of low quality hamburger with antibiotics and growth hormones, 1 package of gravy mix, 1 can of green beans, 1 package of Little Debbie donuts. It cost him $28.45 If this is how he typically eats, where is the nourishment? We know where the harm is in this way of eating: substandard meat; salty vegetables and preservatives and chemicals too numerous to list in the potato and gravy packs and donuts.
This kind of grocery shopping is a reflection on the degree of attention this person places on his health, or may show how unaware he is about the benefits of healthy food choices.
Let’s say instead this man bought 1 package of grass fed beef for $6.99. Additionally he bought 3 organic sweet potatoes $3.00 and 1 pound of green beans $3.00. And instead of the donuts he bought a box of organic shredded wheat with no sugar $4.00 and a quart of organic milk $3.00. That comes to $20 total, putting $8 and change and a whole lot of nutrition in this man’s shopping cart. Unfortunately for this man and many others, a lack of information or awareness of the damage caused by the foods he bought, he will somehow hold onto that impression that eating well is too expensive and time-consuming.
The next step in practicing lifestyle nutrition is to consider where you eat. Nutrition habits link to overall lifestyle habits, and you are most likely to eat the highest quality food when you prepare it yourself. You cannot know where prepared food was purchased or who cooks it. You cannot know what ingredients were added to it. When you buy fresh and prepare your food with ingredients that you buy you have far more control over quality, taste and nutritional benefit.
Now some people avoid buying and preparing their own meals because they feel they don’t have the skill. They may have fallen out of the habit because it felt easier to buy ‘prepared’ food, or they never ate at home much when they were young. The truth is, buying and preparing your own food takes practice at first, but in a short time it becomes an easy habit. The motivation to continue this new habit is how much better you feel, with more energy, and with more money in your pocket.
When I wrote my book Food Becomes You, I wrote it for anyone looking to develop lifelong habits of simple eating of quality foods. The book includes shopping lists, menus, recipes and a recommended list of tools to make your kitchen work efficiently. You’ll also find stories of people who changed their food and how much better they felt.
Nutrition and lifestyle are intricately connected to one another. With quality food, you can live a healthy lifestyle, be more resistant to illness and have more energy. Why not give it a try?
If you need help, my book is an easy start. Simple cooking lessons with me in your home where we prepare whole grains, soups and tasty main dishes are also an option.