Hello love!
About a week ago I went to a meditation conference with Sadhguru (a yogi). At one point he started to talk about the layers we have as a being. The first and foundational layer is called the food body. In the yogic philosophy we have several layers to our body. The physical body is known as the food body – of course as a nutritionist I love it! It is such a simple and profound reminder.
Check out the video here or scroll down to read!
In his discussion he started to compare the body to a building. For example, imagine you had an amazing design to build a beautiful building. Then you decided to use the cheapest materials. What would happen to the building? The roof would cave in, the walls would crumble or the floors would crack. I’m assuming you would not want any of those things to happen!
So, let’s think about nature and the incredible design it encompasses. From leaves to animals to babies to the universe. Stop and imagine that 2 cells came together to create life, a baby.
My mind could not even begin to map out the incredible biochemical processes that are happening but nature just knows.
So we have an amazing design for the body (thank you nature). Now it is up to us to put in the best materials (foods) to create a strong resilient beautiful body!
I know this is a huge motivation for me to eat well. I don’t want to waste an incredible design. I also want to have the strongest and healthiest body that is possible for me!
So food for thought – our body is literally turning food into our body, amazing!
To create our best body we need to start looking at the quality of our food.
To start we can consider the following:
1. Are we choosing organic or conventional foods? Organic foods are more nutrient dense. They are grown in richer soils and contain little to no pesticides and herbicides. They contain more vitamins and minerals than their conventional counterparts as well.
2. Add in more fruits and veggies in general. If they are organic bonus! Fruits and vegetables are the most nutrient dense foods around. They contain more nutrients per calorie than other foods. You can start by making sure your plate is at least 50% veggies.
3. Make more whole food based meals at home and ditch processed foods. When we make meals at home and buy the ingredients we can see what we are putting into a meal. While some meals out seem healthy we don’t know how the food was prepared and the exact ingredients. Making meals at home makes them of a higher quality because you are choosing the ingredients and putting your energy into it.
Processed foods are fragmented foods. Maybe more sugar was added, fat was reduced, or fibre taken out in order to make the food taste better or last longer on the shelf. The bottom line is that these foods are not about creating health. They actually deplete health.
4. How does the food you eat make you feel? This is important. We are all different but we can start to observe our bodies.
Maybe eating cake feels divine for 30 minutes until we start feeling lethargic, bloated and stuffed.
How do you feel hours later? Are you really satisfied?
Maybe you have cake and feel amazing!
I know for me I can have cake but I am selective. I like raw cakes or ones I’ve made myself with nutrient dense ingredients. I don’t deprive myself but I make sure I feel pretty good in the hours following.
So take a look at the list above and pick one point to start experimenting with and see how you feel!
If you have any questions or comments I would love to hear from you!
To the food body,
Michelle
Holistic Nutritionist.
