Principles of Eating
Here are some principles I have created to use as a roadmap when deciding what foods to choose. All together, they can be overwhelming, but if you focus on one at a time they are a easier to swallow.
1. Take a moment before eating to appreciate your food
This can be done by saying “grace,” giving thanks to the food and the people who brought it to you, or just taking a few deep breaths before beginning to eat. This will help with principle #2.
2. Eating is meant to be an enjoyable experience
Rest and digest-the body can not digest food under stress-either short term or chronic. In addition, thoughts of guilt and shame when eating set you are affecting the way your body receives food and the way it will be digested.
3. Quality of food is just as important as the quantity of food
Choose foods that are the best quality you can buy them: naturally nutrient rich (not enriched and fortified), organic (when possible), and meats that are pastured or grass fed animals.
4. Foods should be eaten in their most natural, traditional form
As Michael Pollan says, “If your grandmother wouldn’t recognize it, you shouldn’t eat it.”
5. Vegetables with some fruits should be the basis of every eating opportunity
Any vegetable any way you prepare it is better than no vegetable at all.
6. Don’t fear the fat!
Fat has very important roles in food and the development of your many structures in your body. Saturated fats, although conventionally thought of as a villain, is really a superhero! The true villains are liquid vegetable oils such as canola oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, you get the picture.
7. When eating grains, nuts, or legumes (beans), they should be prepared in a way so your body can digest them
In addition, grains should be eaten only sporadically.
8. Dairy products that are pasteurized and homogenized should be limited
Pasteurizing and homogenizing dairy strips most of the good qualities. When you are choosing dairy products, raw is good, low temperature pasteurized without homogenization is acceptable, but ultra-pasteurized, homogenized milk is just ugly.
9. Fermented foods and beverages should be consumed on a regular basis
Fermentation brings dead food alive and enhances the probiotics and enzyme production capabilities in the gut. They are good to eat on a daily basis, but start slowly.
10. Eat until you are comfortable and satisfied-no more, no less
Begin your journey today
“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art” La Rochefaucauld
Let us help you get started on your journey to perfect your art of eating.