Ok, so the story, as we have been told, is that You Are What You Eat.
I truly love this statement as it says so much. If you stop and think consciously about this statement, you just might think hard and long about your food choices.
At the same time that this statement says so much... it does not say enough. Hence my title:
You Are NOT What You Eat.
Let me explain myself.
1. You ARE what your body digests.
real food is required
chew well: food must be masticated very well so your body can easily break it down (digest it) otherwise you will just be pooping out undigested chucks of food. Pity, seems like such a waste of good food!
strong stomach acid is required to break down food so you are able to use all of the nutrients in that real food you spend good money on. You want to encourage stomach acid not repress it with acid suppressing drugs.
good microbial colonization of your intestinal tract is needed for certain biological activities; microorganisms perform a host of useful functions such as fermenting unused energy substrates, training the immune system, preventing growth of harmful, pathogenic bacteria, regulating the development of the gut, producing vitamins for the host, such as biotin and vitamin K, and producing hormones to direct your body to store fats (and so many more good gut bug jobs). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora
Let's move on with this You Are NOT What You Eat concept...
2. You ARE what your body can absorb.
in order for nutrients to be absorbed, they have to be able to be digested. I will refer you back to #1 above.
your small intestine must be healthy in order to absorb the nutrients from the digested food. Processed, packaged, factory made foods (and all the synthetic ingredients in them) damage the villi and micro villi that line your small intestine. Damaged villi do not absorb nutrients well. Ask your body's cells how they feel about this lack of nutrients coming at them? What destroys these precious little villi and micro villi you ask?
- packaged food's synthetic ingredients
- sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup
- hydrogenated oils and partially hydrogenated oils
- GMO food crops
- gluten in people with celiac disease or gluten intolernaces
- poor chewing... see above.
3. You ARE What Your Heart Can Circulate Around Your Body and Deliver To Your Body Cells.
moving your body daily creates a strong heart, strong blood vessels, and strong muscles that all help to pump blood around your body. I could go on and on and write a whole book on the benefits of daily movement to your body's tissue strength and how this movement supports the movement of fluids, oxygen, and nutrients throughout your body. I will spare you the long story. Trust me, just get up and move. Dance and your body cells dance with you!
4. You ARE What Can Pass Across Your Body Cell Membranes.
The nutrients in your real food that you have chewed well, were digested well, and absorbed into your villi and micro villi are only useful IF they can pass across the cell membrane and actually nourish your body cells. Complicated, eh?
your cell membranes need healthy fat from real food to keep it strong and intact allowing nutrients into the cell and cellular waste products out of the cell.
also, a daily dose of healthy protein keeps the cell membranes happy.
avoid processed, packaged, factory made foods as they contain unhealthy fats (hydrogenated & partially hydrogenated oils, cheap vegetable oils high in omega 6 fatty acids), denatured proteins, and synthetic ingredients that confuse your body and interfere with this whole digestion - absorption - circulation - and transport across the cell membrane process (for more information head back up to #1).
You are SO much more than just what you eat. You ARE what you:
digest
absorb
circulate
pass into your each and every tiny cell
Deeper Dive Homework: look at your food and your bodily processes in a different light. Feed your body whole foods. Support all your bodily processes so you, in turn, feed your body cells well.
PS Dandelions are a great digestive aid!
Comments and questions are always welcome!