There’s one nutritional practice that seems to be one of the most psychologically friendly for most people.
It’s the practice of ADDING IN supportive foods.
Think: eating more berries and greens in the spring, loading up on pectin-rich apples come Fall, or takingAshwaganda during stressful periods in life.
But still, another way we can offer a kind gesture, is sanely and systematically reducing certain foods.
Yes, there is a time and place to toss some things out!
Most people need be be in the right headspace and heartspace for such things though…
So cozy up a couple more minute, and see how this one practical diet upgrade lands for you…
Be on the lookout for:
SOYBEAN OIL
I was recently reading an interview with Functional Medicine physician, Mark Hyman, (who I consider ones of the Good Kings of Nutrition) who pointed out that Americans get almost 10% of their food from soybean oil.
Not only is soybean oil very rich in omega-6 fatty acid (which needs to balanced out with adequate omega-3) but also often has high levels of toxic herbicides used by Monsanto (ugh, I know).
You’ll most often find soybean oil in: packaged foods, foods from diners and chain resturants, pre-made desserts, some of the most popular snack foods, conventionally raised animal products
Curious already?
Walk to your kitchen and pull out any snack foods you might have, especially chips or anything fried or cooked in oil….also take a look at any pre-made sauces you might have like thai curry sauces for example…and take a peek at what oil they’re using.
It’s a diet upgrade worth making if you can swing it.
And here are some simple, not-too-painful things you can do:
Get used to a few more home-cooked meals at home so you can take it easy on oils like, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, and canola oil (rarely are most people using these oils at home)
Read labels on the snacks and sauces you buy at the grocery store for home
Enjoy wild caught fish like salmon or sardines, walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds, hempseeds, and egg yolks to get some nice doses of omega-3
Don’t fret too much. Because the best kind of upgrades are the ones we’ll actually do, meaning the ones that don’t overwhelm us. Focus on what you have available in your home.
When we make an upgrade to the diet, I like to think about it like a little peace offering to the body. It’s a little gesture saying something like, “Here you go, let’s get something nice and healing in there. I want you to feel good. Here let me show you.”
Whatever small gesture you make is a victory…The fact that you feel inspired to make such a gesture, is a victory…
Remember, having a healthy body is a gift and a privilege…one not everyone has.
Onward and good luck with the ever-evolving journey with diet, health, and the body…
With love,
Laura