The Importance of Good Diet and Lifestyle
OOur bodies were designed to handle and respond to short term stress in a positive manner similar to that of our hunter gatherer ancestors experienced in dangerous situations while finding food. The level of stress that we experience every day in the city far exceeds that which we were designed for. We are exposed to the physical affects of pollutants and the internal emotional stress often due to the pressure we put on ourselves with our work, home, financial commitments and also to the way we think about life situations.
Consider for how we live in a modern city environment. Our bodies do a marvelous job at maintaining balance and equilibrium. We are constantly exposed to: Fertilisers, herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, insecticides, antibiotics and other drugs, preservatives, colours, heavy metals such as lead and mercury, air-born pollutants such as plastic and vinyl vapour, factory gasses and fumes, electromagnetic radiation, from electrical appliances, computer screens, and mobile phones. An impressive list isn’t it?
So even though we cannot remove ourselves from our environment, we can take several courses of action to improve our situation with regard to our health.
- We can eat organically grown foods. This reduces the amount of pesticides, insecticides and chemicals that have been sprayed onto the crops and eaten by the animals that we eventually ingest.
- Eat foods in their most natural state: try to avoid manipulated and over processed foods. Anything that comes in a packet or can, you need to ask yourself what has been done to it for it to be in this state.
- Eat lots of fresh vegetable, salads, fruits: all the brightly coloured fresh foods contain anti-oxidants and carotenes that are protective against damaging chemicals. And try to keep the ratio of vegetable and fruit, in a ratio of, twice the volume of vegetable as to fruit.
- Eat whole grain cereals: this way you get the correct proportion of B vitamins and also vitamin E, and essential fatty acids, plus the natural fibre.