What Did You Eat Today?

by simplehealthministries on March 27, 2010

My classes, church activities and every day life have afforded me the opportunity to speak with many people about their personal pursuit of health. One of the things I observe in my conversations is that often the person is consumed with giving up unhealthy foods but fails to introduce nutrition to their body. Abstaining from unhealthy food is of highest importance. One cannot reclaim their health or prevent disease as long as they continue to consume dead food void of nutrition. However, as good as removing the unhealthy foods from your daily menu may be, introducing nutritious, healthy and living foods is equally important. I have many friends who tell me that they have stop consuming soda, fried foods, fast foods, excessive caffeine, processed foods (like candy bars and pastries) yet are still fatigued or haven’t seen progress. As I interview them for more information I find one common thread between them.

They stopped doing all the wrong but never mastered doing the right things. To stop doing all the detrimental things without introducing the beneficial things is working harder not smarter. What would you say if your college student called you one day and told you that he is no longer staying out to all hours of the night, he is not missing classes and he is not hanging out with the wrong crowd, yet when you asked him if he was taking notes in class, studying for his test and attending study sessions with other successful students his answer was “No not yet.” You would be ecstatic that he was at least “headed in the right direction!” Unless he incorporates taking notes, studying for his test and attending studying sessions, he won’t be successful. Reclaiming your health and preventing disease requires the powerful combination of removing unhealthy foods and introducing healthy, living foods.

I once had the privilege of being invited to a friend’s home to help her identify unnecessary, unhealthy and dangerous foods in her cupboards, pantry and refrigerator. I applaud her desire to use me as a resource. We spent several hours together. After taking inventory of her kitchen we identified some unhealthy foods but no dangerous foods. For the most part she was doing well in abstaining from unhealthy, dead and dangerous foods, still she battled weight, colon issues, fatigue and other nagging symptoms. As I listened to her describe her discouragement I asked her to write down what she had eaten the day before. Here is what she listed:

Breakfast:

1 piece of fruit
1 piece of wheat toast
1 cup of coffee
Water

Skipped lunch

Dinner:

1 serving of white spaghetti (about a cup)
½ of a cup of Marinara sauce
½ cup spinach salad which included
3 slices of purple onion
5 Mandarin orange slices
Walnuts
Water

My friend did not have one dangerous food on her daily menu. The white spaghetti and coffee are considered a compromise but all other ingredients were good choices. I proceeded to write down what I had eaten the day before to show her the striking contrast. Here is what I listed:

Breakfast:

1 bottle of water first thing in the morning
1 fruit bowl (mango, grapes and apples)
1 large bowl of oatmeal (sweetened with Stevia, almond milk, cinnamon)
2 pieces of Ezekiel bread toasted with butter
Walked
Water
Fruit smoothie (bananas, strawberries, blueberries, oat bran, flax seed, almond milk, water, crushed ice)
4 JuicePlus+ whole food supplements
2 PB8 capsules (Acidophilus)
1 Kyolic green drink

Lunch:

Water
Brown rice
Bean soup (home made)
100 whole wheat tortilla
Small salad (Romaine lettuce, cauliflower, nuts, ½ red pepper, ¼ cup broccoli)

Snack:

Snap Peas with olive oil
Water
Vegetable smoothie: Carrots, broccoli stalk, red chard, parsley, apple, orange and water

Dinner:

Large salad: romaine lettuce, green peppers, red cabbage, almonds, tomato, avocado, cauliflower, squash, cucumber, lime, jicama
Vegetarian Lasagna: eggplant, red peppers, sweet onions, green squash, yellow squash, green peppers, whole wheat noodles, marinara sauce, 4 Tbs. goat cheese
2 JuicePlus+ whole food supplements
Large cooked yam
Apple salad for dessert
Water
Cinnamon hot drink

We each totaled the amount of nutritious foods we had consumed. Making this list prepared my friend to observe the difference between abstaining from dead, unhealthy and dangerous foods and replacing them with living, healthy and nutritional foods. The number of nutritional foods she consumed added up to 8 and mine totaled 64. Each of the nutritional foods I consumed include in it of themselves thousands of nutrients. In the end we successfully identified a critical health thinking skill she must master before she will begin to see real results.

Critical Health Thinking Skill: Abstain from dead, unhealthy and dangerous foods and replace them with living, healthy and nutritional foods; emphasis on replace.