BY: KHADIJAH LATICIA
In the last article, I discussed the idea of how we can live a holistic health conscious lifestyle in a toxic world. To all of our fellow aspiring health-conscious enthusiasts who wish to jump on board with us, we are heading to a pro-active, rewarding life-long journey that will encourage us to recognize that what affects one part of our system affects our whole body. In a nutshell, here is what you missed, we have to be mindful of the consequences of our habits and actions by adhering to the needs of our spiritual, physical, and mental well-being. We attempted to achieve this goal by applying two major beginner steps: Completely cutting out fake processed food and eliminating all artificial juices and sodas (diet and regular) out of our diet. Now, let’s proceed to “consciously” examine three more key steps to securing our optimal wellness.
- Read Food Labels and Eliminate Harmful Ingredients
We are all guilty of looking at an attractive non-perishable food item on the grocery shelves, then we pick it up and throw it into our grocery carts without even reading the food label on it. But, how about those of us who do read some of the misleading food labels only to be left confused with trying to understand the meaning of the list of harmful ingredients that usually consist of 20-letter deadly unknown words (a bunch of chemicals, GMOs, artificial toxic substances). Chances are if it was made in a mad scientist’s lab, DON’T EAT IT! We need to stop harming our bodies with these deadly toxins by eliminating all foods containing synthetic preservatives, artificial flavors and/or coloring, hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils (i.e. vegetable oil), trans fats, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal and Canderel).
Unfortunately, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and Genetically Modified Foods (GM) are not labeled so please check out this link for more info on identifying GM ingredients: https://gmo-awareness.com/avoid-list/gmo-ingredients/. If this sounds like a tedious task, well, it is! So, opt out, for a quicker, simpler solution by avoiding processed and packaged foods altogether and eat fresh, organic whole foods as much as possible. This clean eating plan will eliminate most of these harmful ingredients from your bodies and it will help cleanse your bodies naturally of toxins from the inside out. Did you know that clean eating gives you a boost of energy? Yah man, positive vibes is what we are striving for. Clean eating will also help us naturally self-heal ourselves from our sicknesses and obesity which are ‘diseases’ that are sadly prevalent in our Canadian population today. After all, our Creator intended to create ‘whole live food’ from the garden of nature for us to explore and live healthy, fulfilling lives.
- Create a Weekly Grocery List That Includes Ten Organic, Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables
You would be surprised on how much cheaper naturally grown pesticide-free produce is at your farmers market or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) compared to your commercial chain grocer so don’t delay, buy from your local farmers market or join a CSA today! Here are a few great websites to get you started in the right direction, to see when Ontario fruits and vegetables are in season, check out: https://www.ontario.ca/foodland/page/availability-guide, a guide to finding your local Farmers Market in your city/town is www.farmersmarketsontario.com/index.cfm, a guide to finding your local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is www.csafarms.ca/wp/, and a great guide to reducing pesticide consumption is EWG’s Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen. And of course, we have to support our local organic health food stores such as Organic Garage, Whole Foods Market, The Big Carrot, to name a few. Remember the less your food travels before it ends up on your plate the higher nutrients it will contain plus you are saving the environment in your own special way.
- Increase Your H2O Intake
Are you dehydrated? No! Well, think again, it is estimated that more than 75% of people are chronically dehydrated. Dehydration can cause headaches, chronic fatigue, and premature aging. Every cell in your body needs to be hydrated regularly for it to flush toxins and function properly. Bottoms Up!
