What is Food?

What is food? What is a nutrient and where do we get them from? These questions seem extremely simple and basic. Understanding exactly what food is and what it is not is the basis for understanding the law of nutrition.

In my journey to reclaiming my health I had to face my own ignorance time and time again. I began to think about food in ways I never had before.  I simply did not know that food played such a vital role in our wellness and our sickness.

Epigenetic research is the study of heritable changes in gene function that occur with out a change in the sequence of DNA. This research is providing scientific evidence that environmental factors, especially the foods we consume, contribute to genetic changes in turning on and off precursors to sickness and disease.

I took inventory of the foods I was consuming and became greatly alarmed at my lack of knowledge. It was no wonder why I had not been able to overcome sickness and disease. Here are the basics of what I learned:

Just because it is edible does not mean that it is food. Food must contribute nutrients in order for it to be defined as food. Food is our only source for sustaining life. There are only two food sources known as food groups designed to contribute nutrients.

They are animal based foods and plant based foods. Each contribute specific nutrients necessary for health and wellness. These nutrients are macro and micro nutrients that can only be found in our food supply.

Macro Nutrients: Protein, Complex Carbohydrates, cleansing waters, Fiber, Sugar, Fat, Plant Alcohols

Micro Nutrients: Vitamins and Minerals and Phytonutrients

Macronutrients are what our food supply mostly contains. Macro means of large or great quantity.  Micro nutrients come in small quantities in our food supply and are essential to our well being. Each contribute nourishment to the human body. Combined they provide everything we need to sustain life, repair damage and reverse disease.

Animal based foods are best known for contributing: Protein, Fat, Calcium, B vitamins and D vitamin.

Plant based foods contribute: Protein, Complex Carbohydrates, cleansing water, Fiber, Glucose-sugars, Fatty Acids, Living Enzymes, Antioxidants, Vitamins and Minerals and plant alcohols.

Notice that processed, man-made foods are not a food group. They are typically void of nutrients and tampered in numerous ways to enhance taste for pleasure rather than for nutrition. Processed foods are enriched with man-made nutrients that have been isolated and removed from their original whole food state.

The human body not only recognizes macro and micro nutrients, it assimilates them and converts them to living tissue. The term used to describe nutritional food is “whole foods.” Whole foods are complete in their natural state: non-tampared, undisturbed and working synergystically.

Notice that plant based foods contribute far more macro and micronutrients than animal based foods. This does not mean that you should not consume animal based foods but rather that we should strive to consume mostly a plant based diet with small quantities and high quality animal based foods. For more information on how to revise your food supply to reclaim your health view The Great Food Exchange.

Experience How Simple Health Really Is!

Becky