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Have you become Label and Ingredients list obsessed? Is there anything left to eat?

I went to a normal supermarket today. I was kinda bored and decided to wander down the isles looking at the products and picking them up. What I noticed was just how I naturally pick up a product, in a box and look at the ingredients. I seldom pick up anything and just place it straight into my shopping basket. What was scary was just how many of the products I picked up contained ingredients in them which were just scary. I picked up a number of products which really made me shudder at what they contained. The worst ones seemed to be the ones that promoted themselves as healthy!

When I looked around me I noticed heaps of families, young children and young women placing these highly processed products in their trolley and I almost wanted to yell out to everyone how bad they were for them! Now I am by no means unrealistic and know that we can’t possibly avoid everything but when we add it all up and what it does to our bodies, we really are expecting heaps from our bodies to process it all. Soy Lecithin, Soy products, refined oils, gluten, sugar, flavorings, colorants, food stabilizers, preservatives and nasty scary numbers are all contributing to our health.

The truth is as I looked around me at the supermarket shelves, I realised that there was very little I had actually selected to put in my basket. The only things that seemed to have made it in there were rice crackers and some Bicarbonate of Soda! I started to wonder how it must be for all of you women out there trying to start eating better for your health. You must wonder what there is to eat! 🙂

Here’s the thing. What we eat makes a huge different to our health. All those nasty ingredients do add up and do make a difference on how you feel and how you heal. Just try eating nothing but organic fruits and vegetable and nothing out of a box for a month and then go back to eating things out of tins and boxes and you will notice a dramatic difference.

So what do we do? Do we become ingredients list obsessed? Isn’t this going to cause unnecessary stresses and make us overly food conscious? What do we eat and how do we do it then?

I went through a major phase a few months ago, where I became obsessed and almost angry that such ingredients have made it onto our shelves, making us sick. I didn’t touch anything unless I knew where it came from! I started to see all of these ingredients as toxins and as poison! This is too extreme and unrealistic.

 

Here are 4 Tips on how to eat healthy without being food-obsessed

1. Go back to originals

The best foods to eat are those that haven’t been over-processed or manipulated. Go back to basics: real fruit and vegetables. Go for anything that grows on trees or comes out of the ground. Go organic if you can but aim to go back to the foods which haven’t been processed. You can even grow your own – try sprouting for fantastic nutritional benefits without the space and cost consideration of getting a vegetable garden.

 

2. Shop at the local health store and local markets

Getting organic certification is often very expensive for the grower and even when someone grows their own vegetables at home, they won’t automatically get organic certification 🙂 By shopping local we can ask the grower what they use and you’ll probably find most of them are organic anyway.

Health stores aim to provide produce and foods which are better for us. You will still need to check the labels as some still hide behind fancy “healthy” labels but once you get to know the brands, you’ll know which ones to buy.

 

3. Start by just cutting out sugar and sweet things

When I looked at the ingredients list on products, it seems the worst ones are those which are sweet. Sugar is just one of the mean ones but they often contain all sorts of other nasties. By just cutting out chocolate, sweets, soda, fruit juice and many of the sweet things, you will avoid so many of the nasties. Now I know we all need something sweet every now and again but I think you will be shocked as to how much sugar is currently in your diet. This plays havoc on your adrenal glands and your health. Sugar is inflammatory by nature and will do nothing to support your pain levels with Endometriosis. I know you think you can’t live without sugar – I know I did but once you get over a month without it, you won’t even miss it 🙂 Promise!

 

4. Start making things from scratch

When I first saw how Mayonnaise was made I was absolutely horrified! 85% is made of oil! So, if you love something or buy things in bottles, try making them from scratch. You will not only learn what really goes in them but also you can make them in their purest form. Home-made Hummus is so much better than the bought stuff too!

Becoming obsessed is never going to be good but becoming aware is equally important. We need to know what we are putting into our bodies and be conscious of how it may be affecting our health. Sure, we can have foods which contain some nasties every now and again, but once you become aware, the temptation of many them will quickly vanish 🙂

 

Hugs, Melissa x
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This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. Melissa

    Hi Heather,
    It is impossible to be social and stick to a 100% sugar and gluten free diet – might as well be honest here :). Just do your best and stick to it as closely as you can when you are out. I avoid gluten really strongly – which is really hard going out but I find salads, fish dishes or soups which work. More and more restaurants and becoming aware of gluten free foods. If you can find vegetarian options these are great. I find the best restaurants are thai, indian and vietnamese. I try and encourage social events at friends homes (cheaper too) or going for different cultural meals – other cultures seem to eat better than us 🙂

  2. Heather

    Hi Melissa: I am trying very hard to stick to the endo diet you write about. I do find that I have become “obsessed” because I am afraid that if I eat something with some sugar or gluten I just won’t get better!!!

    My question though is about socializng. How do you go out to eat with friends??? There is literally, for the most part (or so it seems) nothing we can eat!!!!

  3. Sarai

    thank you! good points! I volunteer at a local organic farm and get paid in veggies so I am all about eating fresh and pesticide-free. I think to how I used to eat and it makes me cringe. I believe the body is resilient and now that I am giving it the right foods, it will slowly but surely heal.

  4. kami sanders

    I so agree with this article! Lately I just laugh at how many things I’m trying to juggle with “foods not to eat” – no meat, no dairy, no gluten, no sugar, no caffeine,…. I’m thankful that for the most part, here in India its easy to go “fresh”. I’m glad you mentioned that its not good to be obsessed. It surely isn’t. I’m trying to walk this walk with an ear to hear God’s wisdom for each day of my life. I’m about to get my period and to be honest…I’m a bit frightened. I had a bad month with caffeine. It stated as a polite jesture but turned into a full-blown addiction in no time flat. I was able to avoid it again today. I hope I learn from this period and I pray for strength to get through it – even though I may have to pay the consequences.

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I'm Melissa

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