So you're hungry...you grab something to eat....do you stop to think about what 

exactly it is that you're putting in your mouth?  Is it even real food?   About a hundred years ago all food was organic, local, fresh or naturally-preserved by ancient methods. All food was, well .... Food. Now very little of our agricultural land is used to grow real fruits and vegetables for our consumption. Today there aren't even enough fruits and vegetables in this country to allow all Americans to follow the government guidelines (at a minimum) to eat five to nine servings a day.

What most people eat at every meal is 'industrial food'. And who knows what lurks in the average boxed, packaged, or canned factory-made science project.  When a French fry has more than 20 ingredients, and almost all of them are not potato; or when a fast food hamburger contains very little meat; or when the average teenager consumes 34 teaspoons of sugar a day; we are living in a food nightmare, a sci-fi horror show!

Today, 60 percent of our calories come from things that our hunter-gatherer ancestors wouldn’t even recognize as food. The bulk of those items—cereal grains, sugary drinks, refined oils and dressings—are simple carbohydrates.  These simple carbs are what's raising the obesity and diabetes rates so quickly.   Hunter-gatherers ate meat, fruit, vegetables, tubers, seeds, and nuts. These are whole foods. They are full of fiber, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, and disease- and weight-busting colorful phytochemicals.
 Now we are told to eat more whole grains, so a few flecks of whole grains are sprinkled on sugary cereals. That doesn't make them a health food either. Avoid foods with health claims on the label, or better yet avoid foods with labels in the first place.

In the 21st century our taste buds, our brain chemistry, our biochemistry, our hormones and our kitchens have been hijacked by the food industries faux foods. The food-like substances proffered by the industrial food system trick our taste buds into momentary pleasure, but not our biology; which reacts, rejects and reviles the junk plied on our genes and our hormonal and biochemical pathways. We need to unjunk our biology.

Industrial processing has given rise to an array of addictive, fattening, metabolism-jamming chemicals and compounds including aspartame, MSG (monosodium glutamate), high-fructose corn syrup and trans fats, to name some of the biggest offenders.  MSG is used to create fat mice so researchers can study obesity. MSG is an excito-toxin that stimulates your brain to eat uncontrollably. When fed to mice, they pig out and get fat. It is in 80 percent of processed foods and mostly disguised as "natural flavorings."  And trans fat, for example, is derived from a real food -- vegetable oil -- chemically altered to resist degradation by bacteria, which is why modern cookies last on the shelf for years.  But the ancient energy system of your cells is descended from bacteria and those energy factories, or mitochondria, cannot process these trans fats either. Your metabolism is blocked and weight gain and Type 2 diabetes ensue.

Your tongue can be fooled and your brain can become addicted to the slick combinations of fat, sugar, and salt pumped into factory-made foods, but your biochemistry cannot, and the result is the disaster of obesity and chronic disease we have in America today.  No wonder 68 percent of Americans are overweight. No wonder that from 1960 to today obesity rates have risen from 13 percent to 36 percent and soon will reach 42 percent. Over the last decade the rate of pre-diabetes or diabetes in teenagers has risen from 9 percent to 23 percent.



It is time to take our kitchens and our health back. It's time to pay attention to what goes in your mouth!  Just because a food is sold at your local store does not mean it's safe to eat.  The closer you get to real, whole food, the closer you get to being healthy.  Yes, it means spending some time in the kitchen; but it's totally worth it.  Ditch the 'boxes' and pre-made 'dinners'.  When you eat empty industrial packaged and fast-food with addictive chemicals and sugar, your body craves more, looking for nutrients in a dead food where none are to be found.   Yet after eating nutrient dense and fresh food the biological addiction to industrial food can be broken, and your cells can begin to rejuvenate and you heal from the inside out. And the side effects are all good ones: effortless weight loss, reversal of high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, clearing of brain fog, lifting of depression and fatigue and even better skin, hair and nails.  As an added bonus, real foods even taste better as you appreciate the simple variety of flavors.   Look for foods as close to its natural state as possible. Fresh organic (or frozen) plain vegetables & fruits that you can prepare just the way you like without the added junk.  Organic, grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, farm fresh eggs; all of which can better your health rather than decrease it.  Learn to shop just the perimeter of your grocery store - that's where you'll find the least processed foods and the freshest choices.  It's even better to find a local farmers market where you can speak directly with the growers themselves and truly know where your food is coming from.

What is more important than what you take out of your diet is what you put in.  Whole, real food spiced up with a few super foods (such as blueberries, chia, hemp, kale, cilantro, coconut and green juicing) can beneficially affect thousands of genes, regulate dozens of hormones, and enhance the function of tens of thousands of protein networks.  Be diligent....ask yourself...what am I putting in my mouth??

Remember that song by "The Archies"?  Seemed so innocent at the time.  Sugar had a pure sweetness about it. Little did we know how addictive the substance is, and how destructive it can be on our health and well being.  

It's no surprise we love the taste.  It was designed as an instinctive way for our ancestors, as hunters and gatherers, to distinguish between good edible plants and poisonous bitter ones.  Our problem now is that we've figured a way to include the sweet sensation into everything we consume....and it's taking its toll on our health in so many forms, from obesity, diabetes and heart disease (to name just a few) to cancer and speeding up the aging process.   

Tonight, CBS 60 Minutes raises the question – IS SUGAR TOXIC? This is an interview with Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist and one of the leading experts on childhood obesity. He asserts that the high amount of sugar in the American diet is killing us by substantially increasing our risk of Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease among others. Interestingly, new scientific research seems to support his theory that sugar is toxic. I strongly encourage everyone to watch 60 minutes tonight at 7p.m. ET/PT 

 

Click on this link to see the brief article about the interview:     

 So, what do we do with our insistent sweet tooth?  Well, it's safe to say that very few of us will be able to give up cold turkey.  My first suggestion is DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, resort to artificial sweeteners.  Those chemicals will kill you quicker! But DO find ways to cut back on the obvious sweets ... how many cookies, candies, desserts, etc. do you REALLY need?  Wouldn't just a small bite or two suffice?  Make your own desserts - that gives you control over the amount (and type) of sugar that's used; not to mention the other unnatural ingredients that goes into store-bought processed sweets.

Sugar is one of the most addictive substances on earth, and it's socially acceptable.  Kicking the habit is not easy.  But once you can let go of the craving, you'll be flying high on accomplishment and your body will reward you!  Please let me know if you need help getting started!  We're all in this on-going journey together!

  No, I'm not suggesting we play morbidly tragic hunting games with our loved ones.  Though, at times, it seems tempting to throw certain individuals together to duke it out amongst themselves ... but I promise not to talk about politicians here.

 Now that it's Springtime....soon to be Summer, we'll be shedding our layers of concealing clothing only to reveal our cold weather indulgences.  Since most of us don't have a team of stylists, we're on our own to get back to beauty base zero.

 So...on to the games.... 

 1st rule: Only eat when you're hungry! Too many times we find ourselves coveting that morsel of food when it's nowhere near time to have a meal or snack.  Ask yourself if you're really hungry, or just bored or stressed. Plan ahead. 

 2nd rule:  Choose real food! The more basic the food the better.  A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself if your grandmother would recognize it as food.  The more processed a food is, the less likely it will be to satisfy your hunger and nutrient needs.  Again, plan ahead; make sure you have real food at the ready so you're not tempted with nutrient-empty alternatives.  And Never, Ever, Ever use a sugar substitute; steer clear of "diet" foods alltogether. Chemicals are not food. 

 3rd rule:  Move! The more you move the better. Run. Walk. Swim. Bike. Dance. There's unlimited ways in which you can move...continuously...for a bare minimum of 20 minutes each day.  You'll feel better, you'll look better. Try and break a sweat...it's good for your skin too! 

 The rules are simple.  Learn to recognize when you're truly hungry. You don't have to starve yourself, or eat like a bird. But overindulgences are your enemy.  When you are hungry, make sure what you eat is real food.  Avoid the processed, boxed, fast-food conveniences and rely on your instincts to choose your meal in its most natural state - whole vegetables and fruit, lean cooked unprocessed meat and fish, seeds, nuts and legumes ... lots of choices! Keep moving throughout the day and work to strengthen your muscles, which will burn more calories even when you rest.  I'll be delving more in-depth with each of these assignments weekly. 

 For now, let the games begin ....

 may the odds be ever in your favor...  

I'm so excited to begin a blog!  I plan on posting weekly articles in the field of fitness .... weight loss, nutrition, recipes, work outs, exercise, healthy lifestyle ... anything related to health & wellness ...and hopefully all infused with a little humor ... 'cause if we can't laugh at ourselves;... well, we just will!

 

If there's ever a topic you'd like discussed, please let me know.  I'm happy to answer any questions, or do some research for you to provide the best advice out there.  Please offer all the feedback you can (I can take it!) Let's make this journal your favorite place to visit!

 

I hope you join me often on this journey... I look forward to hearing from you.

 

~Judy Maloney

Devour Power!