When looking to improve your health it can be hard to know where to start. A great place would be with nutrition. What many people don’t know or have forgotten is that nutrition is a two-sided discipline. It concerns not only what you eat but also when you eat.
Food has been a central figure in health for as long as we have recorded history. It is a symbol of prosperity, temptation, hospitality, and has been an influencing factor in the spread of populations across the globe. I have gathered new and ancient nutritional wisdom alike from some of the greatest thinkers the world has known, all of which has now been validated by modern science.
Here are ten quotes that perfectly summarize everything you need to know to clarify your understanding of diet and nutrition to help you down the road towards a happier and healthier life.
You’ve probably struggled to stick to diets, or been discouraged by your own “lack of willpower”, or felt guilty for eating. You don’t have to feel this way because it’s not you that is failing the diets. The diets are failing you. Ditch the diets.
Despite the heart-healthy labels, Cheerios are not good for you. In fact, almost all processed foods are bad. In order to make something shelf-stable, nutrients are removed and replaced with refined carbohydrates which are a form of sugar. Sugar makes you fat. Focus on regularly eating healthier, whole foods.
If you are regularly eating healthy foods then you don’t have to live in fear of “cheating”. It’s okay to enjoy the occasional treat and to not feel guilty about it. The goal is simply to keep it occasional.
That even goes for dieting. Humans aren’t made to diet all the time, nor to eat junk food all the time. Find a healthy balance of restraint and indulgence. Find pleasure in both. There is peace in moderation.
Pharmaceuticals are amazing, but they can become crutches that mask symptoms instead of solving root problems. If you are taking medication to help you out, don’t be afraid to give your health an extra boost with other means like improving your diet and fasting.
Your food determines how you feel day to day, not just when you are sick. Regularly eating healthy, whole foods will boost your energy, improve your mental clarity, and help you sleep better!
Your body is a powerful organism. When treated properly and given the nutrients it needs it has the ability to prevent and heal almost anything. In fact, the practice of fasting has been shown to reduce the chance of age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis, to reduce the potency and side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, reduce inflammation, and even reverse type-2 diabetes!
Cutting down portion size, cutting out snacks, not eating when you aren’t hungry, and intermittent fasting are by far the most effective tools for weight management.
Ever notice how when you are sick you don’t feel like eating? That is because your body wants to focus it’s energy on healing, not digesting. Fasting is the body’s healing state. It literally gets rid of worn out parts, repairs anything that is damaged, and creates new better-working and cleaner building blocks.
One forgotten or lost principle of nutrition is that when you eat matters just as much as what you eat. You should spend as much or more time in the fasted state, otherwise your body doesn’t have enough time to complete the digestive process and turn its focus to other things such as detoxifying and healing.
With these new insights, we hope that living a healthier life will come easier to you.
Featured photo credit: LifeBox Nutrition| lifebox.diet via pinterest.com
