Monday, December 6, 2010

Thinking about food and how it affects us

It's one of those "Wow ! " sort of moments here this morning.

I was chatting with a friend about life , comparing notes on life , and the subject of our current to do lists came up. She had listed several errands and parties that were on her schedule for the next two weeks , and I mentioned my current quest to eat more legitimate food. She said "why do you bother with all that stuff ? You should consider pushing more to get your Reiki Practice  to grow and just let the guys fend for themselves. It's just food afterall". I kind of snickered, but the words seemed to give another nudge in a direction that was started yesterday evening by my husband. We were watching the movie  Fat Head ,  and he made an observation that I had missed in an earlier viewing. At one point the film talks about the link between low fat , high fiber diets  ( Like Pritikin) and depression , and he said " My God, that is ____ ( insert the name of someone we both know who's incredibly bizarre behaviors are rooted in Depression). I had not thought about it before, but  it makes complete  sense.

The person in question is a male and has been on a quest to be healthy and avoid heart disease for the last 25 years. He tries to follow all of the guidelines of current wisdom , but finds himself binging on a lot of refined carb foods. The lure of the bakery, the smell of the cakes ! He  is now on the verge of being morbidly obese, depressed and borderline psychotic for a long time now, and it has placed everyone in his family in a living Hell. It is truly heartbreaking. But suddenly  I am beginning to understand  he and numerous other people could turn their conditions to normal heath simply by eating foods that our bodies are designed to eat.  If he was brought into balance, the whole family could also be brought into balance  and real health would be the result.

This morning as I was walking the halls to build up my muscles, I was thinking about these two incidents. It's just food- but our bodies require it  and in high quality in order to operate properly. If our bodies operate as they should, our mind and emotions follow.  In providing a nourishing meal you are also striking a blow against learning disabilities, depression, and even low self esteem issues. Suddenly that pot of soup or meat loaf seems a whole lot more important . It may not be the easiest thing to do, but every second put into the effort is worth it.

It is also making me giggle at how far my thoughts on food have come through this journey. Before we started weight loss , food was just to keep the belly off the backbone in a fashion that did not break the wallet. Slowly it has evolved to perhaps the most important preventative  step and foundation that a human can take.  Food is essential for basic survival- not simply to keep your stomach quiet. Food is fuel for our body's upkeep...and even our impact on society. Healthy humans create a healthy society.

1 comment:

E. Jane said...

Very good post, and very informative too. I'm sure there is a link between depression and how we nourish our bodies. There is also a link between undereating fat, carbs, and protein and depression. Sometimes people who lost a lot of weight restrict to an unhealthy level afterwards. Overeating and undereating--two sides of the same coin--both eating disorders and both wreak havoc with our bodies and brains.