Natural Eating

Natural Eating: How Eating Organically Can Improve Your Health 

You've likely noticed by watching the news, or just hanging out at the park, that humans are fatter and unhealthier than ever before in our history. It's relatively easy to figure out what the problem is. We are all eating too much fake food, void of any nutrition whatsoever. 

Throughout this post you'll read about fake food. For the purposes of this writing, fake food is anything we call food that is completely void of nutrition. Things like chicken nuggets, pizza pockets, pop tarts, and incorrectly farmed meat products.

What's interesting about this time in history is that we, in the first world, are overfed but undernourished. Many people are suffering from the same problems third world countries face in terms of nutritional deficiencies. 

In addition, we're fat, so we're suffering illnesses that the rich only used to suffer from; high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, gout, and all the things that come with over indulgence.

The great thing is that there is an answer to not only our weight issues, but our nutritional deficiencies, which are both responsible for poor health. And it's not a diet. It's not restricting what you eat; it's all about eating an abundance of natural food in a way that respects your body and the environment.

You've likely noticed that some people have managed to stay thin eating all of the fake food they want, but still develop illnesses that used to be a lot rarer such as adult onset diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disease and other health issues. This is how we know it's not just about being overweight and a diet isn't really the answer. 

There's something else in the environment that is causing people to be sick. Thin people who eat poor diets are just as unhealthy as fat people who eat unhealthy diets. They just don't show it on the outside. In many ways this can be more dangerous, because they might be the picture of health and have no warning of things to come.

The important thing to note here is that whether or not you're overweight you can benefit from eating a natural diet. Not only will you benefit, but the environment will benefit due to better more sustainable farming practices and less pollution into the environment due to the waste created when not only making fake food, but disposing of the packing of fake food. Don't be fooled into thinking one person doesn't make a huge difference.

Finally, food is there to enjoy; it shouldn't be a stressful thing. In this report you're going to learn that the closer you can eat to nature, the healthier you'll be. If you are overweight your weight will normalize. If you have illnesses caused by fake food, you'll heal yourself. 

Even if you do not struggle with weight issues, your health will drastically improve with natural eating. Plus, eating natural and organic actually tastes better. It's just that your taste buds have been desensitized to what real food tastes like due to all the additives.

The Dangers of Additives

The food industry has had to come up with ways to make it worth it to produce mass quantities of food. Their main driving force is not feeding people, it's making a profit. The food needs to have a long shelf life, which has created a huge additive industry. Food companies use many types of additives and preservatives to keep the food from going bad. 

Animal farmers use hormones, antibiotics, and other poor practices as well as many other unnatural elements to produce more meat faster so that they can earn a higher profit.

From a business perspective this makes financial sense, but from a health perspective it is very dangerous. As mentioned earlier, we've become over-fed, yet under nourished. The entire point of creating a mass food market was to end hunger. 

We've failed miserably on a world wide scale in curing the problem of hunger, and made matters of nutrition worse and more confusing for the average person.

Most parents do not purposely put dangerous substances into their children's bodies. They do what they think is best, and often what is easier because they are busy. With two working parents, a high accessibility to fast food, and a perception that it's not that bad, and the alternative is too hard, the problem has grown worse with childhood obesity rates growing it's important to address the real problems. 

The good news is, it's not harder to eat naturally. Eating clean and natural is actually one of the most simple things you can do for yourself and your family. You will save money and enjoy better health in the process. Plus, you don't have to give up anything. Eating naturally is about eating in abundance, and enjoying all the deliciousness that nature has provided you with.

Let's go over really quick about the things that are put into your food without your being aware.

• Hormones

While some will argue that hormones are natural occurrences in all living beings, the fact is, they do transfer when eating them. Eating raised levels of hormones in the animal products you use can cause issues for some portions of the population. There is a theory that hormones added to milk have caused early onset menstruation in girls and stunted the growth of boys. Potentially even causing fertility issues in both.

Hormones are added to cattle in order to make them grow faster or produce more milk. Approximately 80 percent of all cattle in the USA has been given hormones. What's more, hormones are used in all aspects of animal farming for human consumption from chickens, to pigs, to cows and everything in between.

The hormones affect every aspect of the animals life cycle from reproduction through to being on your table and into the bellies of your children. Some countries have already forbid the practice such as the European Union which banned the use of and importation of cattle or meat products produced with added hormones since 1988. (Sustainabletable.org)

• Additives & Preservatives

According to the Pew Charitable Trusts' Food Additives Project more than 10,000 chemical additives are allowed in our food supply. These additives often are used to make food taste better, look prettier, or preserve food so that it can have a longer shelf life. What's more is most food additives are not and have not been tested to ensure safety.

Certainly, there are some natural ways to enhance the flavor of food as well as preserve it. But, most companies choose the least expensive and most effective method which isn't always the healthiest for the consumer. Even though most companies use somewhat deceptive practices in marketing their goods, it's up to you as the consumer to figure out what's good and not good. This can be near impassive for the average person to accomplish.

One issue with some additives called flavonoids is that they may even be called "natural flavorings" as they are derived from natural sources. But the concentrated forms in which they appear in the food is a huge problem. Some professionals even believe that they are addictive.

• Pesticides

Included in the 10,000 chemicals found to be in our food supply, many of them are pesticides. What's interesting is that most companies can actually self-determine that the chemicals are safe. They don't have to seek FDA approval if their own studies have shown that the additives are safe. Many do seek FDA approval because it's good for marketing. 

Even though, the FDA doesn't do any of their own studies. As you know, most industry is not going to base their research on the safety of the population. They are going to base their choices on a profit motive. A certain amount of loss is okay, as long as it doesn't interfere with the profit the company makes.

It is often believed that extensive testing is done by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on these hormones, additives and preservatives but this is not true. The FDA simply reads the research provided by the food companies and takes them at their word by studying the studies already done. No independent studies are conducted by the FDA.  Remember who pays the scientists studying the issues. If you don't think these scientists won't falsify or gloss over information you only need to look to the Tobacco Industry to dispel that belief.

• The Problem with GMOs

Genetically modified organisms have actually been around a long time in the form of selective breeding. However, GMOs different greatly due to the fact that the techniques used today aren't really all that natural. 

In fact, some of it is downright scary and finding studies that demonstrate the safety of some  GMOs is difficult because there are no real studies being done, other than the one where the public is buying the items and ingesting them as you read this.

Farmers have long taken the best plants and planted the harvested seed, hoping for a better yield each time from those that were most weed resistant, weather resistant and so forth. 

Agricultural scientists are taking genes from very different sources such as from a fish to produce a longer lasting tomato, or adding in the DNA of bacteria, viruses, plants and even humans to create a sort of super plant.

This is very different from cross pollination or selective breeding. Some GMO foods might be perfectly fine, but the question comes to mind when you start adding non plant based cells to plant based cells to create a new organism that looks like a tomato, tastes like a tomato, but if it has animal cells in it, is it really now still a tomato? 

What are the consequences. We do not know. There have been some frightening discoveries but there is still nothing conclusive that proves GMOs are bad, but what is true is that GMO foods aren't better than naturally grown produce and many farmers can tell of the devastating effects of buying and planting GMO seeds had on their farms and businesses.

It's enough to get a person worried and your family's life is not worth experimenting with. Instead, it would be best to limit or eliminate ingesting or using GMO products until definitive studies have been done. If they're not going to do them, all we can do is look at our society and find out that potentially, the effects have already started with higher rates of autism, obesity, diabetes, autoimmune illnesses, increased allergies, and other health issues than before wide spread use of GMO products. While correlation doesn't prove causation, why take any chances?

How to Avoid GMOs, Additives & Preservatives

Food producers aren't required to label their products as having GMOs, certain additives, or preservatives. But, there are still ways in which you can avoid most GMOs, additives and preservatives if you pay attention.

• Learn Ingredient Terms

It's important to learn what different terms that might appear on your labels really mean.

The words are often really long, and a different word might be used for the same ingredient. It can be rather tricky and is designed in some ways to confuse you since there is no standard regarding which terms need to be used to represent a specific ingredient. The things you want to avoid may still be there if you're not educated. You will be glad you learned.

• Understand Percentages & What "Free" Really Means

You can actually read a label that says that by serving size something is sugar free or trans fat free when in reality there is nothing sugarless or trans fat free about the product at all. They are just allowed to say that "per serving" because it has less than a certain amount. Tub margarines are a good example. Each serving has less than 2 grams of saturated fat, so they can say it's saturated fat free. But who really eats, just a serving? This is true of any processed food that markets itself as "healthy", be careful, it might not be.

• Read Labels

Labels are organized with the ingredients listed in order of amount, so the first item in the list is what the item has most of or has more parts of than the next ingredient. A food made up of 5 parts sugar, 4 parts peaches, 3 parts oats, 2 parts chemicals, 1 part flavoring will be listed in the order of most to least using the terms they feel their audience will most appreciate. For instance the words for sugar might be Dextrose. Like the example of trans fat free products, read the ingredients to find hidden things that you might not want to ingest in any quantity.

• Cook from Scratch

Choosing whole foods, as close to nature as possible is easier if you cook from scratch. With the invention of many appliances that make cooking easier and faster, it's not hard as you might think to cook from scratch. There are wonderful tools like the Instant Pot, that make cooking things like dried beans easier and faster than ever.

Cooking from scratch doesn't have to take hours, you can put a natural eating approved dinner on the table in 30 minutes without any issues, every single night of the week. It's important to think simply and not get overwhelmed with thinking you have to put a 7 course meal on the table every night. You don't.

Getting Started Cleaning Up Your Diet

Natural eating is as easy as breathing. After all, it's natural. It's what your body craves, and the more natural foods you put into your body, the more your body will lose its addiction to the chemicals you have been ingesting, and the more your body will crave the things that are good for it. But, you don't actually have to go "cold turkey" you can instead, start gradually.

• Add in More Fruit & Veggies

Natural eating is not about deprivation. You can eat all the raw produce you want to eat, until you are satisfied. Let yourself eat these things, including fibrous fruits, with abandon. As long as you don't add sugar, flour, or anything processed to the plant based foods -- you can eat all that you need to feel satisfied. Want to eat an entire vat of strawberries? Go for it. Want to eat a juicy peach? Have at it. No need to restrict or deprive.

Try to ensure that you get at least one pound of greens into your diet each day for women and 2 lbs for men. (The China Study, T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell) You can do this in many ways, such as by hiding them in spaghetti sauce, or adding them to your smoothie. Another way is to always eat a large salad before lunch and /or dinner every day with an all natural dressing made of nuts, fruit, and spices.

• Eliminate & Replace

Not everyone can afford to just go into their kitchen and start throwing away the processed and chemically enhanced food that exists. So, another way is to slowly just use it up, and let your body adjust to not having it by cutting the amounts as you go, eventually eliminating it entirely as you run out. 

When you run out, replace the ingredient with better alternatives if they exist. If they don't exist, try to find a healthy thing that can help you replace it.

For instance, if you eat a lot of potato chips, you can make alternatives at home in your oven on parchment paper with no added fat or preservatives. Simply slice potatoes into thin slices with a mandolin, toss into iced water until you're done. 

Right before baking, dry with towels and place on a parchment covered baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes, at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, turn potatoes over, then bake another 15 minutes until crispy. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Enjoy.

• Make Animal Products a Condiment or Eliminate Entirely

Due to how the farming industry is run, it can be difficult to find truly antibiotic, hormone free, humanely raised animal products. Look for products labeled Organic. Remember that GMO free does not mean organic, but Organic does mean GMO free. Look for local farmers where they will let you witness their process. Read the laws that establish terms such as "free range" which doesn't always mean what you think it means, or "grass fed" which also doesn't always mean what you think it means, then get to know your farmers.

Moral judgments aside, regarding eating animal products, and the effect on the environment, you can be perfectly healthy without them. But, if you want to include them, be smart and educated about where the food came from so that you can choose the best source for your family. It's interesting how we typically are very careful about many items we use, but just eat any food no matter where it came from.

If you make animal products an extra or condiment to your main meal, you can afford to buy only the very best while sticking to a budget. Eating natural on a budget isn't hard when you are making it mostly plant based. Plus, when you buy the best -- you can bet the taste will be far superior, and your enjoyment will increase as will your health.

If you wish to continue reading on, please see my follow up post, Basic Steps to Eating More Natural.