Be Healthy Make We Happy

I have always believed that food is the source of health and nutrition, not vitamin pills, mineral pills, herbs, or medications. I recently completed a four day Qi Gong Ki Energy Training which re-inspired me to focus on the nutritional value of whole food. The director of this training, Jeff Primack, teaches the value of eating totally raw food and using a 3 horsepower blender that will micronized the phytochemicals so that our body can more fully absorb the nutrition.
When I was growing up, I don't remember ever hearing about a raw food diet. I had always been told to finish eating whatever was on my plate because there are starving children in ... whatever country was in the news at the time. With all the current controversy and criticism of such basic food as milk, eggs and cheese, I can't help believing that something is not quite right. Since I could remember, I had been taught that these foods offered the greatest amount of nutrition and would be the best foods to eat if stranded on an island without access to other food.
But then the diet consciousness began to take hold. At first we were told to eat cottage cheese and fruit and to lower calories to help us lose weight. That gave way to a new perspective, one that maligns almost any type of cheese, sometimes even including yogurt. But then the yogic diet includes dairy as an important component, although it eliminates meat.
So, what food should we be eating and why? The jury is still out. I remember a very funny Woody Allen movie from the 1970's or 1980's in which he facetiously said, "Someday they will find that chocolate is good for your health." Sure enough, his sarcastic comment has actually become a truth. Chocolate, at least the dark type, helps our body to produce serotonin and become more relaxed. It may even have some antioxidant benefits.
New research is coming out every day. Studies tell us that we need antioxidants. So we fill up on vitamins with antioxidants. But nature provided us with food, real food, that has other qualities to help us digest and assimilate the nutrients our body needs. A recent article in Experience Life magazine explained that megadoses of supplemental antioxidants may actually create the opposite effect of what we want. An antioxidant may actually work by giving up an electron to neutralize a free radical. But then it becomes a free radical that needs to be neutralized by another antioxidant. Since I have not heard this concept before, I am not positive of its validity. However, it is one more clue that maybe all these supplements are not the answer. They are designed to be supplements, something to be taken to enhance a fairly good diet, not to totally replenish a completely deficient diet.
So, what should we be eating to ensure that we are keeping our bodies strong and able to withstand the stressors of our lives. The answer seems to be quite simple: eat foods that contain lots of antioxidants and phytonutrients (fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds, and whole grains). Take a limited number of supplements that provide metabolic support (e.g., coenzyme Q10, reservatol, n-acetyl-cysteine). Take omega-3 fats. Keep your body hydrated by drinking lots of water. Exercise regularly, but not necessarily strenuously. Relax at regular intervals and get a good night's sleep.
But as the Rosicrucians said in one of their lessons, if you eat the most nutritious food and you do not enjoy it, you will not get the full nutrition available. However, if you eat a food that has very little nutritional value but you enjoy every bit of it, you will at least be receiving all the nutrition that that food has to offer. Bottom line is, although the particular foods can make a huge difference, enjoying the pleasure of eating the food has perhaps an equally important value. The trick is to balance your diet in such a way that you eat as healthy as you can and enjoy as much of it as possible.
Dr. Erica Goodstone has helped thousands of men, women, couples, and groups to develop greater awareness of the issues in their relationships and their lives, to overcome and alleviate stressors and discords, and revitalize their relationships and their own mind-body-spirit connection. Dr. Goodstone is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Licensed Marriage Therapist and Board Certified Sex Therapist. Former professor of health and physical education for over two decades, Dr. Goodstone taught courses in health education and alternative approaches, stress management, yoga (including relaxation, breathing, meditation, guided imagery, chanting, hatha yoga postures, and yogic nutrition), as well as many different physical activity and dance courses. In addition, she has trained in various body therapy methods and somatic body psychotherapy (combining talk with touch). Her main methods are The Rubenfeld Synergy Method, Polarity Therapy, and Somatoemotional Release. Dr. Goodstone can be contacted



http://www.DrEricaWellness.com