5 minutes reading time
(980 words)
What is healthy eating anyway?
Almost every day I hear people tell me, but I eat healthy, so why am I ________? Curious as I am, I always ask, what does eating healthy mean? Or what does that look like to you? You would be surprised to how misinformed so many people are when it comes to understanding what truly eating for health means. Here's the kicker. Most people describe what healthy eating is because of something they read on the cover of Cosmo, or read in a social media post. Heck some have even taken advice from friends and even their doctor. Unfortunately, the majority of the time, you aren't getting the truth, or at least not the whole truth. So today, I thought I'd talk about healthy eating. No, I don't mean that blasted food pyramid, or "MyPlate" or a plate filled with a rainbow of colors (after all skittles would count if that was the case right?). I mean real, healthy eating. So keep reading and let's do this!
Healthy eating simply means eating foods that provide all the nutrients you need to be healthy. Pretty simple, right? So what are the "nutrients" you need to be healthy?- Essential amino acids
- Essential fatty acids
- Adequate vitamins and minerals
- and an energy source
Wait what did you say? Hold on a sec … keep reading … First, the three macronutrients (macro simply refers to the fact that we eat a lot of these nutrients) that we eat are protein, fat, and carbohydrate. Protein and fat are essential. What does that mean? We've all heard the word "essential" and over the last couple of years, essential has referred to workers who were "essential" and needed to continue working during the pandemic. So how does "essential" fit into what you need to eat? "Essential" means that your body can't make the nutrients you need without you eating or drinking it. So for example, "essential amino acids" come from protein. "Essential fatty acids" come from fat. The body can't make amino acids or fatty acids unless you eat protein and fat. So that makes protein and fat essential nutrients for us, that must be consumed.
Did you know?
Carbohydrates are NOT an essential nutrient.
Carbohydrates are NOT an essential nutrient.
Yep! That means you do NOT need to eat carbohydrates. Let me guess … you're thinking "but without carbs I won't have any energy to do anything!"
Oooh, you're a clever one, and thanks for asking about energy! Remember above I mentioned something about our body needing an "energy source"? Lucky for us, our body can use carbohydrates, fat, and/or protein as an energy source. So if you don't eat carbohydrates, your body will use fat and protein as your energy source. If you don't eat fat or protein, your body would be forced to use carbohydrates as your energy source but let me say this …. things won't end well!
I know if I tell you that eating refined carbohydrates like flour, bread, rice, donuts, cookies, crackers, legumes, grains, oatmeal, starches, sugar, and pastries were "not essential" for you to eat you'd roll your eyes … no one's taking away your bread right? But what if I also told you that you don't need to eat fruits or vegetables either? WHAT???? Yeah … I just said that! Now of course that doesn't mean you CAN'T eat them, but carbs are carbs and there are NO carbohydrates that are essential for your body. Carbs can only be used as a potential energy source, but remember carbs turn into glucose when eaten and too much glucose in your body is TOXIC, which is why your body reacts immediately to get the glucose out of your bloodstream as if it's attacking an invader. So, if you don't eat carbs, your body makes EVERYTHING it needs from protein and fat (that you eat or that you have on your body). And FYI, protein and fat are a cleaner and more sustainable energy too.
BOTTOM LINE: Eating healthy means simply eating foods that fuel your body with the nutrients it needs to produce the energy you need. Like a car, some take diesel, some take gasoline and others use energy. While all of us are born able to use all the macronutrients appropriately, over time our bodies adjust and we can no longer adequately use all of them. That is when we become carbohydrate intolerant or allergic. When that happens, we become ill … we gain weight, we get sick, we start managing our diseases, and polypharmacy (taking meds to treat illness and symptoms of other meds) becomes inevitable. We live longer yes, but don't you want to enjoy those years feeling good? In good health? Able to enjoy and participate in all of the things you worked so hard for? If you haven't thought about it … give it a minute or two and think about it. Sick and tired of being sick and tired? Then it's time to start thinking about how ready you are to make the changes you need to get off those medications, stop the pain, reverse your chronic diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, PCOS, or even cardiovascular disease. Oh, and once you start getting healthy, you can't help but lose weight. So if you're serious about improving your quality of life and health, and need some help to make it happen, schedule a call with me, and let's chat about it.
The ball is in your court babe!
Whatcha gonna do?🤷🏼♀️
If you don't make time for your health,
by Author
you'll be forced to make time for your illness.
