Wellness 101
It is no secret that, as a country, our health is in a state of crisis. Our list of ailments gets longer and longer, and we can’t seem to get a solid grip on how to address this issue. We rely on caffeine to wake up and keep us alert throughout the day, sleep aids to get us to bed, and sugar to satisfy our ferocious sweet tooth. We skip breakfast, take meetings during lunch, and drive through dinner. Many have no idea, while others simply ignore the fact:
What we eat, and how we eat, directly effects how we feel.
But it’s hard to connect food with mood and health when all we hear from healthcare providers and the media is that diet and exercise is all we need to lose weight and feel great. Eat less, exercise more. And so we start eating “better”, by restricting calories, and force ourselves onto treadmills and exercise bikes for hours. Yet we do not feel better. We still feel sick, and on top of that, we’re hungry, cranky, and exhausted.
This is because food is more than the mere number of calories it contains.
There are trillions of cells that make up our bodies, and every single one of those cells needs nutrients to function properly. While our bodies can manufacture certain nutrients, most of the nutrients we need must be obtained through food. Yet, it’s difficult to obtain those nutrients when most of the naturally occurring nutrients have been stripped away, as is the case with most packaged, processed foods. While some food manufacturers add nutrients to “fortify” foods, for the most part, our bodies cannot recognize these synthetic nutrients, much less absorb them.
We are faced with the puzzling fact that there is an excess of food around us, yet we are undoubtedly malnourished.
As Nutritional Therapists, we believe the body is designed to feel good. The body is designed to heal itself, and it can, if you give it the right tools. These tools are nutrient-dense foods that give our cells the building blocks they need, not just to survive, but to thrive.
Nutritional Therapy does not cut out food groups or count calories; it encourages a diet of “real food”. This is food that does not come from a factory. It is food that can be found in nature; food like fruit, vegetables, and properly and sustainably raised animal products. We teach about preparing foods like grains and legumes using traditional methods like soaking, sprouting, and fermenting, to preserve and increase their nutritional content, rather than strip it away.
Nutritional Therapy is about looking to the past to make modern life better. We use the wisdom of our ancestors – people who lived vibrant lives, free from the diseases that plague our society – to guide our food and lifestyle choices. So our bodies can heal themselves and finally get back to feeling good.
