I can't think of a better first post than to write about my journey to better health! So here goes nothing.
My journey primarily started when I moved from Bainbridge Island Washington to Orem Utah in January of 2012 and now made all the choices regarding the food I ate. I remember just exploring that area when I first got there and I found a sunflower market and it was apparent that it was much better quality food than at a Walmart or Albertsons, so I started to do all my shopping at sunflower market and really just began to become aware and ask myself questions like, "where is this food coming from" "what's in all this stuff" you know all those curious questions. From there I started doing research on the basic nutrient profile of the foods I was eating and learning about how these foods and nutrients interact with the organ systems and the body in general. It was fascinating and fun to me because I could do some research and try out a new food, see how I felt, and then either keep eating that food or try something else. And it was this constant process of researching, reading food and nutrition related books, trying out new foods, and really fine tuning my diet. My awareness kept expanding as this whole process was unfolding because true learning is from experience. I could read all the nutrition books in the world, but until I actually TRY it out for myself, I know nothing. I continued fine tuning my diet and became aware of things like organic vs nonorganic, how digestion works in the body and what foods are hard on digestion, fermented and probiotic rich foods like kefir, etc and I slowly started adding in organic foods and by this time after 3-4 months my taste buds were beginning to become more refined and I could taste the more subtle flavors in food. Not to mention I felt better and had more energy. And honestly I never ate a terribly unhealthy diet at any time in my life, I always had a decent diet, but I wasn't aware of how food affected my body and mind until this time in my life.
In May of 2012 I moved down to St. George to experience a change in environment and live with my cousins, and there were periods of time where I didn't eat as healthy or as clean as I was in Orem but I kept reading and trying out new foods. This was around the time I began using Amazon to buy certain foods and things like fish oil and magnesium. And again, I became aware of different things like how if nuts and seeds aren't sprouted or at least soaked for 12-24 hours prior to eating they can inhibit the absorption of certain minerals in the body, most americans are deficient in magnesium and vitamin D, the ideal ratio of Omega 3's to Omega 6's is 1:1, coconut oil is the healthiest oil on the planet, good quality fats are crucial to build hormones and help with the absorption of nutrients, and the list goes on.
I bought a juicer towards the end of 2012 and so added fresh juice (primarily vegetables) into my diet almost everyday and experienced too many benefits to name. What is great about juicing is that it gives your body's digestive processes a break, and all that nutrition is able to be absorbed with minimal effort and energy. Drinking 16-32oz of fresh juice a day or more if you're intense like me elevates everything. It's like drinking pure energy if you know how to do it right (vegetable based juices with a big chunk of ginger to enhance circulation and drive the nutrients into your cells). I also purchased a vitamix blender (one of the best investments of my life) a little later in the summer of 2013 and experienced a lot of benefits by throwing in whole vegetables and a little fruit and doing smoothies that way. No matter what the body has to liquify the food you eat, so if you can make the process easier on your body it helps digestion and thereby increases energy. And some people say juicing is a waste because you're getting rid of the pulp but that's a bunch of hogwash. It's an important part of any program designed to heal the body, just as using a vitamix to blend up whole foods is. ps. a great way to use fruit and vegetable pulp is in your garden.
Superfoods came into my existence when I heard the word used and was curious as to what that even meant. All it is is a term used to describe a certain category of foods that are highly concentrated in nutrition and thus "super". Foods like chia seeds, goji berries, camu camu berry, maca root, spirulina, chlorella, blue-green algae, bee pollen, propolis, and royal jelly, coconut oil, fermented cod liver oil, and many more. I said it once but I'll say it again, how do you know anything unless you apply and experience it yourself?? Ask yourself. You can probably guess what I did when I read about all these superfoods, one by one I tried them all out. Almost every single one of these I tried had a more potent effect than you know like eating an apple or carrot, and what's great about superfoods is because they are so concentrated in nutrition you don't need much to get a therapeutic effect. We live in a truly incredible time of abundance, where with literally one click of the mouse I can have the highest quality foods and herbs this planet has to offer on my door step in one or two days. That is powerful beyond words. It blows my mind how people would rather spend money on a new house or car or jewelry or expensive clothes than feeding their body with REAL nutrition. I mean my goodness there are not many things more important than that in my opinion. What you eat effects every part of your existence whether you know it or not. How elevated can a person's consciousness be on a diet of big macs, soda, processed food, cookies, cakes, cereal, bread, sugar, syrup, chips, and all that other junk that pollutes the body? Just something to think about. Now that I'm done ranting I'll get back to what I was writing about. These superfoods provided a definite positive feeling of well being that I hadn't felt in a long time. Deeper I went, into books and research on this new category of foods and it continued to inspire me learning about their incredible complexity.
As I was consuming superfoods and a good diet on a daily basis I was just intrigued in taking a more holistic approach to life, which obviously a good diet is essential, but there are also the spiritual and mental spheres that are just as critical for good health. I guess what I'm trying to say is that my emphasis and passion is primarily focused on using food and herbs as a way of nourishing my body (and of course helping other people along the way) on a deep foundational level, but it's important to be balanced and aware of all parts of one's life and how environment and people effect one's state of being.
(Just a quick note, I hope people reading this will get off the whole trip of taking vitamins (majority of which are derived from GMO sources or non-food items), not to mention most are isolated nutrients meaning they are stripped away from their whole food form. Take vitamin C for example. We all know oranges have some vitamin C in them, well what a lot of people may not know is that you need everything else (bioflavonoids, enzymes, co-factors, phytonutrients, etc) that is in the orange for your body to actually be able to recognize and absorb the vitamin C! I think things like enzymes, probiotics, and vitamins/minerals derived from whole plants and herbs can be beneficial but generally speaking vitamins are a scam and waste of money.)
Researching superfoods led me into the world of herbs, and as I write this I feel fire pulsing through my veins, I'm so beyond passionate about the great herbs of the world because of the profound effect they've had on my life. We're past the time where eating just a diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, ,meats, etc and taking a flintstone vitamin is enough to thrive. Just my opinion. The use of herbacides, pesticides, GMO's, and irradiation of our food, fluoride, chlorine, and all the chemicals in tap water, and the fact that our soil is so depleted of vital minerals, all of that in combination with the stress of modern day living leaves our bodies depleted unless we do something about it. This is where the great herbs of the world come in. What's so incredible about these herbs is their whole nutrient profile, you simply can't get these kind of nutrients in common everyday food. What herbs you say?? Well, I'll leave that for another time because I could write pages and pages and pages on this subject. It gets me fired up. The process continued as I researched the oldest herbal systems from all over the world including the ancient Ayurvedic system originating in India, Amazonian system (yes, like the rainforest), Peruvian herbal system, and my personal favorite Traditional Chinese Medicine. What's remarkable about all these systems is their understanding of hundreds and hundreds of herbs, barks, roots, plants, and not only how to prepare them properly but the beneficial effects to the human body. And modern research is confirming what the ancient people already knew thousands and thousands of years ago (Of course Westerners need proof for everything, pshhhh).
What I love about this whole journey to better health and beyond is that it never ends. Even in my case where I eat a ridiculously clean diet, there's always that next level I can get to. It seems to me like a lot of people may think they are eating healthy when they are really not, or they may think yeah I feel fine, and to that I say you can always reach that next level of health and well being so why not eat healthier and enhance life on all levels?
Thanks for reading!
