Archive for November, 2009

Sign of the times

Being frugal is part of the times. How do you do it and stay healthy? There is a smart way, and a not so smart way of doing it. Almost, everyone has some experience with the two ways of doing this. That is how the saying penny wise and pound foolish has gotten to be such a well used proverb. There are some areas that saving money must be used with caution, and much forethought.

Right Way

Almost, everyone is or has been frugal sometime in their life. Most times even when we made the wrong choice the consequence for our actions is not a big deal. Then there were times that we paid for our choice, and the price was much higher than the original tag. One of the areas that care must be used is in our use of everyday nutrition. What looks like a good deal at the moment can be detrimental in the long haul. Ingesting anything is like putting a cheap substitute for gas into your cars fuel tank and expecting the car to last a long time without major expense.

Saving money on groceries can be done and done well. Being frugal can be a very sane approach to making purchasing in the land of material abundance. Like everything else sometimes you get what you pay for. Pay very little and get very little in return. An educated consumer is what makes being frugal practical in the 21^st century. With information being disseminated in print and on the web, we can be the savviest consumer in the media age.

Nutritional Choices

The number one purchase that has the largest impact on our health would be our nutritional choices. The most important purchases are the ones that affect our health. This is something you may not see the consequences of immediately. But, it has the most expensive consequences and possible dire ones. We see it play out, with a forecasted drop in the life expectancy in America, as the next generation ages. Health care is in critical condition because of the alarming number of people with chronic health conditions.

Education is Key

So to be frugal at the grocery store takes a bit of education. It is well worth mastering the steps to be good at this. This is something that I take great pride in being able to teach. It is extremely gratifying knowing that those that master this will not only make wise choices but will save money and be healthier.

There is information that organic is best and while that may be true it is not economic for everyone. Conventional grown produce is surely a wise choice over very processed snack food. When you purchase empty calories you are getting nothing in return. Of course, if you consider weight gain, high blood pressure, and diabetes worth the economic gain of perhaps a few cents to a few dollars a week in savings a good trade, than go for it.

You can spend less and get nutritionally packed food. One of the biggest saving will come from being able to buy smaller sized clothes along with fewer prescriptions. Nutritionally dense food, which is sometimes the least expensive food on the shelves, it is the produce isle. The next place to spend some time is in the pasta, rice and bean section of the supermarket, without picking up any processed item. Frugally healthy means there are always good choices on any budget.

It’s officially over; there is no ban on the sun. As crazy as that sounds that has been the position of the enlightened medical establishment. For the first time in years the sun is not seen as the number one public enemy. Just like many of the other retractions about previous positions and advice given over the years by the medical establishment this one has to be the most glaring. In fact many of our health problems can be traced to inadequate levels of vitamin D.

Vitamin D

Most Americans living north of Atlanta are short on vitamin D. The best and safest ways to get vitamin D is from the sun. Taking it in supplements can cause an overdose of the vitamin. That is a danger when you get your vitamin D from a concentrated source. On the other hand you can not overdose on vitamin D when it comes from the sun. Only recently has the role of vitamin D from sunlight been given credit for a whole host of health benefits. Vitamin D comes from sun exposure and to a limited extent from a few food sources.

Sun Protects You

Sun exposure could help prevent and arrest cancer cells. Skin cancer is more prevalent in the northern latitudes where there is less sun exposure throughout the year. Malignant melanoma the type of skin cancer that everyone fears when they step outside is lest likely to occur in the southern latitudes of North America. The same holds true in Europe.

Smear Campaign

Let’s get to the point, if the sun has been falsely accused of a crime against humanity, than how about the advice. The sun has been put in a bad light by the fear campaign waged by the medical community. Sunlight is healthy for many reasons. UVB is known to be our primary source of vitamin D which helps with the absorption of calcium. UVB is beneficial in that it helps with psoriasis, eczema, acne, and seasonal affective disorder. There is a relationship to health and vitamin D that makes getting sun a good idea. Sunlight can be gotten in a controlled environment by you choosing the amount of exposure. You have the option of getting some of the benefits of vitamin D with some sunlight.

Too Little Sunlight

Many people have office jobs that call for long hours. The week-end may not give workers enough time to get out in the sun for long enough periods. A good way to moderate the amount of sun you get is to use lunch hours. Letting people utilize the benefits of sunlight during the winter, means getting out noon time when the sun is the strongest. Your best bet for controlled exposure to UVB.is working 9 to 5. The real problem is that people do not get enough sun throughout the year.

Conclusion     

Educating people that moderate tanning is fine. Promoting a very gradual approach is what should be the emphasis. It is impractical and dangerous to promote sun abstinence because of the many health benefits that the sun provides. The truth is that 20 minutes of sunlight is healthy and essential for good health. This should be done without globs of suntan lotion.

What You Need to Know

This is the only thing you need to know nature’s food is here for your good health. Latching on to terms like carbs, low fat, low glycemic index, and zero calories is detrimental to your health. Wellness is not dictated by low fat foods or zero carbs. Your good health is a component of eating whole foods. The only place to find them is in nature’s food supply.

American food choices consist of a wide array of processed foods. What is wrong with that?  From a wellness standpoint there is a great deal of harm that can be caused by consuming such a diet. First and foremost preprocessed foods typically have most if not all their nutrients removed.  Second they have chemicals added to bleach, color, preserve, and modify the texture. Then they have to add flavor because what they have does not resemble any familiar food flavor.

Since people eat such a wide array of processed food the added oils and artificial flavors have a familiar taste. In some cases whole foods that are minimally processed taste bland. That is usually because the processed food upped the ante for your taste buds. After eating the artificial flavored and highly seasoned “delights” you are not ready for a plate of greens. It is a pity that you have digested a meal that will do nothing for your good health.

The Truth

The truth is a whole food diet is extremely satisfying to you taste buds. What happened is you can not discern the more subtle flavors. Thanks to the western diet you do not exercise that ability. It is easy to get it back just cut out the junk food that will minimize the amount processed of food in your diet.  In populations where people live long and healthy lives, they eat a wide varied diet of whole foods. If they begin to eat processed foods, their rates of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer start going up.

Here in America we analyze the constituents of the food we eat. We look for refined grains that have nutrients put back into the food. They first refine the grain though processing. That means they striped the wholegrain of all its healthy compounds. You can’t put back a nutrient in the form it was in. Why? A whole food is not the sum of its parts. There are thousands of beneficial phytochemicals that are eliminated when you process food. These are the agents that protect you from age related illness.

When we remove fat to make food low-fat we lose the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K as well.  The only healthy foods are whole foods. That is your ticket to your good health, and a slimmer body. How do you recognize real food? It usually requires less packing and labeling. Usually it requires none of those. These whole foods appear at farmers markets and supper markets at the perimeter areas.

Whole foods are easier to shop for there is no need read long listed labels to see if the product complies with your fad diet. They are usually ready to eat, cook and serve. They are going to confer many benefits to you and your family. Wellness and whole foods go hand and hand. This point can not be overemphasized; real health food is whole food.  Nature’s food is what contributes to your good health.