Knowledge is key

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I'm not going to be presumptuous and assume that we all know the process of how food provides life-giving information to our bodies.

So we'll start from the beginning and dumb it down for those of us who need the simplification.

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Let's hear from an expert:

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"The food we eat gives our bodies the "information" and materials they need to function properly.

If we don't get the right information, our metabolic processes suffer and our health declines.

If we get too much food, or food that gives our bodies the wrong instructions, we can become overweight, undernourished, and at risk for the development of diseases and conditions, such as arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease.

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The nutrients in food enable the cells in our bodies to perform their necessary functions. This quote from a popular textbook describes how the nutrients in food are essential for our physical functioning.

"Nutrients are the nourishing substances in food that are essential for the growth, development and maintenance of body functions-Essentially meaning that if a nutrient is not present, aspects of function and therefore human health decline.

When nutrient intake does not regularly meet the nutrient needs dictated by the cell activity, the metabolic processes slow down or even stop."

- Perspectives in Nutrition, Wardlow and Insel 

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In other words, nutrients give our bodies instructions about how to function. In this sense, food can be seen as a source of "information" for the body. 

Thinking about food in this way gives us a view of nutrition that goes beyond calories or grams, good foods or bad foods. This view leads us to focus on foods we should include rather than foods to exclude.

Instead of viewing food as the enemy, we look to food as a way to create health and reduce disease by helping the body maintain function."

Carolyn Denton, LN

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Link to a 19 minute  video from Dr. Joel Fuhrman, a leading expert in nutrient-dense foods

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This week you can:

Begin to think about the foods you'll choose to eat this week as you prepare your grocery list.

Common sense (and science) tell us that whole foods, those that are 100% in tact, in their original form are the most nutrient dense for our body.

Plan to shift your mindset this week to focus on getting as many whole foods as you can on your plate with every meal.

Think about everything else as filling in the gaps.