CRAVE THE GOODNESS
by Liz Gober
C.T.G. INTRODUCTION
As an Integrative Nutrition health coach, I’ve seen the struggle that people go through to achieve or regain their health. It can be a very difficult process because we get so many conflicting recommendations on what we should be eating, depending on who’s giving them.
If you look at the health of our nation as a whole, more than 50% of people in America are overweight or obese. This is becoming true, even for children. There is a frightening statistic that indicates that the next generation of children will actually live a shorter lifespan than their parents. The rise in pre-diabetes in children is rising mainly because of what childred choose to eat and what they are being fed. This was a real eye opener for me and one of the reasons I chose health coaching as a profession and started Crave the Goodness.
The food industry in our country, sadly, is helping to contribute to the growing problem of obesity in our nation. Our food supply is produced mainly by a few very profitable corporations who don’t seem to be concerned with the quality of the food we eat or how it is affecting our overall health as a nation. (They are also the ones who in conjunction with the USDA make the recommendations for what a healthy diet should look like, i.e., the Food Pyramid).
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Liz Gober
Their main focus is how to use the surplus products they produce that the government subsidizes and how best to increase the profits of their stockholders. Many substances that are in packaged and processed foods today are composed of wheat, sugar and soy and have added chemicals, dyes and flavor enhancers that are designed to make these foods look good, taste good and keep you coming back for more. These chemicals and preservatives also increase the shelf life of food, which makes one wonder how old some of these packages in our supermarket are. The problem is that when we eat these food like substances we feel satisfied at first, but when our bodies attempt to break them down during digestion, our bodies don’t know what to do with the chemicals, dyes and other things that are harmful to us,making them build up in our tissue and fat cells, ultimately leading to illness. The meat industry is just as bad, treating animals with antibiotics to ward off disease due to overcrowded conditions in the stock yards and hormones to increase muscle tissue. These hormones have been linked to early puberty in children and in the case of antibiotics, over time, bacteria may become resistant to these antibiotics and if we eat meat containing these resistant bacteria, we can become sick and antibiotics may be ineffective in treating us.
By eating a diet rich in fresh organic fruits and vegetables, some whole grains, and some healthy fats, via grass fed, antibiotic and hormone free meats, we can give our bodies the best nature has to offer for our health and wellbeing.
I’ve been taught that we are all bioindividual, which means that we are all different and have different needs. Some diets work well for some but not for others. There are many factors that contribute to what might be the best diet for each of us such as blood type, age, how much we move, lifestyle and so on. We also focus on what we call “Primary food”, which is everything else in our life besides food that feeds us, such as our relationships, our activity level, our work, our spiritual practice, and how we take care of ourselves.
We all deserve to live the best life we can. I invite you to take the first step toward becoming your best self by offering you a complimentary health history consultation. I'd be delighted to work with you to achieve the goals you want to achieve and the wellness you so deserve.