Week 3: Whole Foods 101
Week 2 Recap The truth about diets Popular diet trends Diet awareness Finding your ideal diet
Please take the time to do... Positive Focus Worksheet
What Is A Whole Food? Whole Food Is unrefined, unprocessed food that is grown in mineral rich soil of the earth and comes from nature. This includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and unprocessed meat and non- homogenized milk (not the stuff in the plastic jug!) if you wish to include animal products. Eaten correctly, these foods provide the body with all the nutrients necessary to function optimally Organic Organic growers do not use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, whereas conventional growers do. Not only are these chemicals harmful to our bodies, the conventionally grown food contains 90% less minerals than organically grown food, in most cases. The reason being that the soil of the conventionally grown food has been depleted of its minerals over time, and they are not replaced. Organically grown food uses compost to replace the lost minerals, making the food much healthier. Healing the body with non-organic whole food is virtually impossible because it does not contain enough nutrients. Local The freshness of whole food is also an important aspect to consider. Once the whole food is picked from the field it immediately begins to decompose. As it decomposes and as time passes, it loses more and more digestive enzymes that are active in the food. The more digestive enzymes available in the food the better otherwise our body is forced to produce them itself. So the sooner you can eat the food, from the time that it was picked, the better. It is always feels good support the local farmers and economy too!
The Hierarchy of Food 1 Whole, Fresh, Ripe, Organic Fruits and Vegetables - Raw foods 2 Naturally Dried Fruits and Vegetables, Nuts and Seeds 3 Lightly Cooked Whole Grains, Beans, Vegetables, Fruits. 4 Heavily cooked, canned, preserved foods 5 Processed foods 6 Heavily processed, chemically constructed foods
1 Raw Foods Raw foods are foods that have been naturally produced and minimally processed in a way that does not disrupt the natural nutrition they contain. Juices, smoothies, raw soups, raw salads, raw salad dressings, whole fruits and whole veggies are all in this category.
2 Naturally Dried Fruits and Vegetables, Nuts and Seeds These are foods that are still very close to being raw, but have gone through a process that either removes moisture or preserves the food naturally in some way. Dried fruits and vegetables, all nuts and seeds (unless you pick and crack them yourself) and naturally fermented foods go in this category.
3 Lightly Cooked Whole Grains, Beans, Vegetables, Fruits These are foods that have been cooked, or heated above 115 degrees F, or have been processed beyond just drying. These would be foods that have been steamed, lightly baked, or cooked on the stove top without oils or frying. This category includes home cooked or store cooked beans, grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits and frozen foods.
4 Heavily cooked, canned, preserved foods These foods have been cooked heavily, and or preserved using salts, vinegars or other items with a long shelf life. These foods include meats, charred meats, broiled foods, fried foods, canned foods, pickled foods (does not include naturally fermented foods)
5 Processed Foods Processed foods are foods that have been put through several processes and are very different from their natural state. These foods include white grain products, processed meats, crackers, cookies, most dairy products, and most restaurant food.
6 Heavily processed, chemically constructed foods These foods include foods that are made in a lab, and do not contain any real food ingredients. These foods include: candies, margarine, potato chips, sodas, white bread, cake mixes, processed meats, coffee.
How To Read Labels If you are buying foods that have a label, it is helpful to know how to interpret the information that is being presented.
Option 1 Option 2
Option 1
Option 2
Please take the time to do... Food Comparisons Worksheet
Weekly Challenge Read the labels of everything you eat that comes with a label! Try 2-4 recipes per day from the Meal Plan Journal about your experiences Read through Eat to Heal ebook
Please take the time to do... 3 Biggest Insights Worksheet
Next Week: Finding Your Natural Weight Have a great week!