Yes, sure, sometimes you just want chocolate cake.
You just want to enjoy a bucket of ice cream.
We all have those days.
And giving in to those moments every once in a while can be a form of self care.
But true, lasting, genuine self care is eating well.
Why?
Because when you do that, when you treat your body like a temple, you can just lay out all day, watch Netflix, and indulge in a bucket of ice cream on occasion with zero guilt, because you know that your body is a well-oiled machine designed to take a few hits and keep on running at top performance.
Your Body Is a Machine
It’s not just a metaphor, that “well-oiled machine” bit above.
It’s not just an adage that you are what you eat.
You actually, literally, are what you eat.
The food you put into your body becomes the building blocks for your cells, your mitochondria, everything that fuels your body to be its best.
If we should be grateful for anything in any given moment, on any given day, we should be grateful for our bodies.
They are constantly working to keep us in a state of homeostasis.
Always. They are always functioning to keep us healthy, wealthy, and wise.
And when we are not feeling like we can perform at top levels, it is because we are blocking our bodies from doing their many, many jobs.
What do I mean?
Well, did you know that aging is not inevitable?
Not in the way we think of it, anyway.
Scientists have found that aging is caused by inflammation.
That’s right.
Our bodies break down slowly over the years, or more quickly for some, based on the levels of inflammation we have in our bodies.
All of our body parts break down over time as a result of repeated inflammation.
And you know what causes inflammation?
Processed food.
Processed food is the number one cause of inflammation.
Yes, stress, lack of sleep, lack of movement, and other health related issues can also cause inflammation, but most if not all of those health related issues can also be linked back to what we eat.
What Are You Eating? How Are You Treating?
I got into this business of providing healthy, from scratch, all natural foods as close to their original source and state as possible because I believe on an intuitive level that food really is life.
And now science is backing me up!
We were born onto a planet filled with all the foods we need to keep us strong, healthy, and happy.
Animal proteins help us build healthy muscle well into our advanced years.
Sacred plants like pineapple, mint, cucumber, ginger, tomatoes, spinach, and more keep our systems flowing and glowing.
And nuts and seeds, as well as healthy fats like avocado and olive oil keep our brains rich and fat, aiding our sleep, focus, memory, and even our moods.
Once you discover the connection between foods and genuine self care, you will never look away again.
You will find yourself veering to the farmers market instead of the fast food chain.
And it will change your life.
You will not only feel better, but you will start to look better.
What you eat affects your skin tone, the brightness of your eyes, your posture, and your gut.
And your gut is the key to pretty much everything else going on in your body.
So look at your day, look at your daily menu, and really check in with yourself.
What are you eating? And how are you treating yourself?
A Self Care Food Plan
On a recent podcast episode, Dr. Mark Hyman, author of the book The UltraMind Solution, spoke of a well balanced diet as the key to longevity and as not only a means of preventing illness, including aging, but also reversing and treating them.
We don’t have to get sick.
We don’t have to get diseases.
We don’t have to slowly age, get slowly sicker over time, and die a painfully ill death.
We can live life to the fullest and die healthy and happy when it is our chronological time.
All through changing our diets and moving our bodies more.
Those two simple changes in our lives can truly revolutionize them.
Sure, humans are living longer these days, all the way up to one hundred for many people.
And that’s good news.
The bad news is that most of those people who live longer spend the last few decades of their lives sick and diseased.
By the time you hit 85, you have a 50% chance of getting dementia.
But it does not have to be that way.
Dementia is fully preventable, no matter what your genetics say.
We are understanding more and more about the power of food in our lives to improve the state of our lives.
So we are not just living.
Not just surviving.
But thriving.
It’s what we came here to do, after all.
Aim for Persistent not Perfect
Does that mean you have to be perfect all the time?
That you can only eat leaves?
Of course not!
Enjoy the ice cream.
The cake.
The muffins!
But enjoy them as treats to a well rounded, whole foods, plant heavy diet.
Your goal should be persistence and consistency, not long suffering shame filled perfection.
Find the foods you love among the wealth of plants and pasture raised meats out there just waiting to feed you.
Experiment, start slow, and build on your palate.
Your whole body, mind, and spirit will be grateful you did.
Come In to Aqua Fresh Today
Agua Fresh is a proud contributor to a healthy diet, with plant rich meals and all natural proteins that treat your body like it had a day at the spa.
Check out our menu online, come in and say hi, and see which of our menu items make your palate pop!
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