You are What you Eat
“You are what you eat.”
I am sure many of you have heard this phrase used countless times, but how many actually take it to heart?
If you would have asked me this 5 years ago, I would have had to admit that I didn’t really think about my next meal much. Yes, I tried to eat as healthy as I could – not getting fast food and eating a veggie every now and then – but I really didn’t focus on nutrition. There were sometimes I would go a week without eating a green veggie and never thought twice about ordering french fries instead of a side salad at dinner.
A few years ago I completed the 10 day detox by Mark Hyman – and my thoughts surrounding food completely changed.
In this program you essentially cut out all foods that are processed/cause inflammation for 10 days. The list of no no’s consist of dairy, grains, and added sugar. You essentially just strip your diet down to whole, nutritious foods.
Let me tell you – this was hard. While I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, I LOVE bread and anything dairy.
My normal breakfast of peanut butter toast was replaced with a smoothie (with no milk or yogurt!) and my lunches consisted of salad loaded with protein…and no ranch dressing. I ate the same thing day after day for 10 days.
The first few days were the hardest – I felt like I was constantly hungry and often went to bed with a headache. I was determined to stick it out, though, and make it the full 10 days.
Around day 5 (despite still feeling hungry) the headaches started to disappear.
By day 10, I was feeling better than I ever remember feeling. I woke up in the mornings refreshed and energized – this feeling lasted until I went to bed that night! I was alert, able to concentrate throughout the day, and was in a better, more positive mood overall.
I hadn’t changed anything else in my life during this timeframe. I was still getting the same amount of sleep and working out each day. All of this happened because I had changed my diet. I was putting more focus on what I was eating.
The truth of the matter is that we really are what we eat. What we consume each day directly correlates to how we feel and how well we are able to function. Our food also has a large impact on the environment around us. This makes watching what we eat another core element to leaving a more positive footprint.
How food affects our physical body is most evident. We tend to feel sluggish after eating too much fast food and if we consume something our gut doesn’t “agree” with, we may feel sick.
Food is so much more than just how our bodies “feel” though. It provides the foundation for how our bodies function.
I love the viewpoint I found on the University of Minnesota’s website – nutrients from food give our bodies instructions on how to function. Without proper instruction, our body does not know how to funcion property which can lead to a whole list of health issues; obesity, heart disease, and diabetes are just a few. When looking at food this way we start to focus on what we should include in our diet to get the proper nutrients, instead of just focusing on what we should exclude. (1)
This creates a healthier relationship with our food. When I plan out my meals for the week, I now think of what I should to eat to get all of the nutrients I need instead of dwelling on the items I “can’t” eat. I look for new and exciting ways to get these nutrients through different food combinations and types of foods.
An example of a body function that is largely impacted by what we eat is our immune system. Did you know that 80% of our immune system is contained in the gastrointestinal tract? (1) If we are not eating a diet that is keeping our digestive tract healthy then our immune system will be weakened. This puts us at risk for getting many serious illnesses.
There are many other bodily functions that are also dependant on what we eat. We will discuss many more of these and dive into the different nutrients are body needs in future posts!
While food provides many essential nutrients, it can also provide us with things that aren’t so good for us.
Additives and preservatives are found in many of the foods in grocery stores today. These are added in order to maintain and improve safety, freshness, texture, or appearance.
In some cases, they may be beneficial parts of our food system. For example, salt has been used for centuries to keep meat from spoiling. This was needed in the past during times of food scarcity and is useful today when trying to provide nutrition to those who may not have access to fresh, whole food.
These ingredients added to our foods also help reduce food waste (which is a HUGE problem) by increasing their shelf life and can provide essential nutrients our bodies need. Ascorbic acid, more commonly known as Vitamin C, is a powerful antioxidant providing our body with essential nutrients AND preserving our food. (2)
Unfortunately, we have taken the use of additives and preservatives a little too far in some cases. Now we use them for many unnecessary uses like enhancing the flavor and appearance of our food. Our society has also swapped out fresh foods for processed, shelf stable foods. These require preservatives to even make them safe to eat.
While not all preservatives and additives may be “bad” for us, some common ones have been shown to have potential negative effects on our health. One culprit found in many foods are artificial colors. These chemicals are linked with cancer, allergies, and potentially hyperactivity. (3) We will talk more about these additives and how they affect our bodies in future posts.
The best way to avoid these is to just buy whole, fresh foods whenever possible. When you must buy other items get used to reading the label and avoiding foods with a list of ingredients you don’t recognize.
The food we choose to eat can also have profound effects on our mental health.
This was most evident to me after the 10-day detox I mentioned above. Cutting out foods that tend to cause inflammation (dairy, sugar, wheat) seemed to give me more mental clarity. Like I mentioned, I was able to concentrate more easily and felt more alert. I was far more productive throughout the day and was just happier overall.
Because our brain is working 24/7 to keep you alive, it needs constant fuel to keep it functioning properly. This “fuel” comes from the foods you eat. Similar to the type of gas you put into your car, the type of food you use to fuel your brain matters.
The healthier the food, the more nutrients for your brain. If you are constantly eating processed foods or sugary sweets, your brain will be missing some important nutrients and won’t be able to work as well. These foods can lead to inflammation and oxidative stress. There have even been studies showing diets high sugar can lead to worsening symptoms of depression and other mood disorders. (4)
Surprisingly, your gut also plays a big role in how you feel mentally. There are some neurotransmitters, like serotonin, that are produced in your gastrointestinal tract. (Serotonin is helps regulate appetite, sleep, and your mood.) If the bacteria in your gut is unbalanced due to a poor diet, the levels of serotonin in your body will be affected. There has been some research that actually shows a 25% – 35% increased risk for depression in people who eat a typical “western” (overly processed) diet verse those who eat a more tradition (heavy on the veggies, fruits, nuts…etc) diet. (4)
Side note: the more research I do, the more I realize how much of a role our gut plays in almost all aspects of our lives! Look out for a future post on this 🙂
Finally, what we eat can have an enormous effect on the environment. Food production requires large amounts of water, energy, and land. Some foods require more of these than others, therefore leading to a greater impact on the environment. Knowing which ones have the greatest potential to negatively affect our environment (and trying to consume less of these) is important.
For example, beef tends to require a lot of inputs to produce leading to a greater environmental impact. Water and land is needed to grow the corn that the cattle consume which leads to depletion of healthy soils and use of large amounts of freshwater we rely on for drinking. Energy is also used in order to harvest the corn and transport the cattle. The cows themselves produce large amounts of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas that is contributing to our climate change issues.
I am not saying cut out beef, or other foods with high environmental impacts, completely. Just try and do a meatless Monday every once in awhile…
As you can now see, food truly has a mind/body/planet connection. It affects all aspects of our lives.
So what is the answer to making food serve us in a positive way in all three of these areas? Well, in my opinion it takes all of us focusing on eating a sustainable, healthy diet. No, not those crash diets that require you to drink only liquids for three days. Or a diet where you are only allowed to eat green veggies. I am talking about a diet that will work for your day to day life and you are able to follow FOREVER.
Actually, I HATE the word diet. To me it reflects more of a short term change. Instead, let’s call it a healthy eating lifestyle change. (Much longer, I know. I am open to suggestions.)
I believe that you shouldn’t have to cut out sugar completely if you love ice cream. Or that you should become a vegetarian because meat tends to be worse for the environment. (Unless these lifestyle changes work for you – then go for it.) Just focus on eating these things, and others that aren’t as good for you, in moderation.
This diet healthy eating lifestyle change is going to look different for all of us, but I do think there are some commonalities that we all should try and incorporate in some way. Below are some ways I have started working towards this lifestyle change in my own life!
-Read labels
Get in the habit of reading the label on the back of everything you buy, and don’t just focus on the calories. Look at how much sugar there is, particularly added sugars. Try and avoid or buy items with the least amount of added sugars. Look at the ingredient list. Do you recognize everything listed? Can you even pronounce some of the names? If the answer is no to either of these, you probably shouldn’t be eating it. I try and aim for 5 ingredients or less and make sure I recognize everything that is listed. One easy (kind of) way to accomplish sticking with whole ingredients is to make things yourself instead of buying at the store!
-Get your veggies with every meal (seasonal is best!)
Try and incorporate some sort of vegetable with every meal. If you miss a meal, have a veggie for a snack. I particularly struggle to get veggies in for breakfast (I will share some ways to do this in the future), so instead I just make sure and have some carrots for a snack later in the day! Green veggies tend to pack the most nutrition, so try and eat some for at least one meal (bonus points if you do for all three!). Focus on what veggies/fruits are in season. These tend to have the highest levels of nutrition and will be easier on the environment.
-Plan ahead
Planning meals and snacks ahead of time has been the most important thing for me to be able to eat a healthy diet. Without proper planning, I tend to resort to take out or go a few days without veggies. I will have a whole post about meal planning in the future and some example meal plans for you all. But some tips and tricks for now that I have learned along the way are to keep it simple and switch it up. Don’t only put dinners with a long list of ingredients or that take hours to prepare on your menu. Maybe only put one or two of these and make the rest simple meals. This will give you options for those nights when you don’t feel like cooking. Find new recipes to try, too. Pinterest is a great resource for this – check out The Positive Footprint’s page for ideas! You will be more excited to eat healthy because you will be trying something new every once in awhile instead of the same old boring chicken dish.
-Be realistic
If you can’t stand the taste of spinach no matter how many different ways you cook it, then don’t eat it. If you are constantly forcing yourself to eat something just because it may be healthy, you are going to be less likely to still with a healthy diet for the long haul. Instead, find healthy food that you enjoy eating. Or try new ways to cook something that you may not like at first. This mindset also goes for things you love eating that may not be so good for you. Do you LOVE dessert? Or kraft Mac n Cheese (yum)? Well it probably isn’t realistic to cut something you love out of your diet completely. This is where moderation comes in. Still eat these items, but maybe limit yourself to only having them every once in awhile.. Or find a healthier version of a unhealthy item, like dessert without refined sugar or homemade mac n cheese instead of boxed.
Ultimately, creating a healthy eating lifestyle should be done by listening to your body and doing what works for YOU. This will lead to you actually sticking with eating healthy and not just doing it for a few months and then going back to the way you were eating previously.
What ways do you incorporate healthy eating into your life?
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