When you eat a meal, how do you feel afterward? This is not a plea for inner esoteric musings, really…I mean how do you feel, physically? Satisfied? Hungry? Sick? These are all questions that you should be asking yourself every time you eat. Based on your conclusions, you should either return to that same food another time or refrain.
Here are three telltale signs that you should NOT eat a particular food again:
1. Food gives you a headache
2. Food makes you sleepy or lethargic
3. You crave sugar after your meal
Have we forgotten what the purpose of food is? It is to supply your body with the right balance of nutrients and vitamins and it is to provide energy for your body to function at its optimum levels. Headaches are often caused from artificial ingredients and dyes, dangerous fats (like most that are sold today), and other processed ingredients. Headaches and lethargy are symptoms of a deeper problem…a system that has taken in more toxins than nutrients. The body begins to draw extensively from its reserves in order to pass the toxins out of the body and to aid digestion. To do this, it must slow down other functions in order to give energy to the problem. Craving sugar or desserts right after a meal is also a sure sign that you are not getting the right balance of nutrition. Perhaps you view food like a balance (i.e. – “As long as I eat some good stuff, I can add a few sweets to reward myself”). This is not how you want to view food! Your meals should be regular, include whole foods, not processed, and have natural sugars. Let’s contrast two different menus. You may want to try this as an experiment. On the first day, eat “Menu 1”, and then try “Menu 2” and see if you notice a difference in how you feel.
Menu 1
Breakfast – bowl of blueberries with fresh cream (from raw milk), homemade sourdough bread with fresh butter, warm herbal tea
Lunch – homemade beef barley soup (real stock, fresh vegetables that are not over cooked, and grass-fed meat), grilled cheese sandwiches with homemade sourdough bread.
Dinner – pasture-raised whole baked chicken seasoned with sea salt and pepper, steamed corn on the cob with butter and unrefined sea salt, homemade sourdough bread, and kefir wine
Snack – raw milk and carob powder drink (sweetened with maple syrup). Handful of almonds (soaked for 8 hours in unrefined sea salt and water and dehydrated)
Menu 2
Breakfast – canned fruit cocktail, Wonder Bread (white or whole grain/wheat), margarine, and crystal light drink mix
Lunch – can of Campbell’s beef vegetable soup, grilled cheese sandwich made with American cheese, store bought bread and margarine
Dinner – chicken breasts marinated in a store-bought sauce and cooked in 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, canned corn, Rice-a-Roni, Pillsbury crescent rolls, beer
Snack – chocolate milk and store bought trail mix (usually seasoned with sugar, salt and soybean/cottonseed oil)
It should be obvious which menu is going to provide you with fuel for the day. However, in our self-imposed busy schedule, we have come to believe that fruit is fruit, bread is bread, salt is salt, and meat is meat. I challenge you to see for yourself the difference that you can have if you seek out natural sources of food in you locale area. Eating healthy doesn’t mean that you have to patronize the local heath food store and pay unreasonable rates for unfamiliar food. It may be as simple as pulling over on the side of the road and picking some berries.