Tuesday April 1, 2014
While shopping in my local supermarket today, I met my neighbor Rose, who took pictures of me in the produce department, to use for this blog. Rose, is young and knows a lot about nutrition as do most people these days ... me ... not so much. With the exception of sugar, that is now gone from my diet, unless in natural foods, I know what my body likes, needs, and what works best. I must be doing something right because there's really nothing wrong with me and I'm losing weight.
Presently, at age 71, I have no health issues, I sleep 9 consecutive hours, and I stay away from anything that causes stress. Anxiety and stress really are the built-in killers that drive the human equation.
I am neither a vegetarian nor a foodie, and don't really enjoy eating out with people who are. They analyze everything and I am not an analytical person. They talk endlessly about this food or that, and know more about restaurants than I need to know.
Keep it simple ... Get them fresh ... Get them in season
I have always been drawn to fruits and vegetables, eating at least three servings every day, sometimes more. Protein is my favorite thing ... usually chicken. I only drink water and grapefruit juice. I generally don't spend extra money on organic products, but I am told they taste better and are healthier. Okay ... but it's not important to me to go in search of organic anything. I suppose if I suffered from any number of emotional and/or physical problems, I would look deeper into health food products, but for now I buy what's on the shelves and enjoy what I eat.
The second floor in my local supermarket is dedicated to organic products of all kinds. I've been up there once, found nothing of interest and left. Most people who go organic have their favorite specialty stores they know and trust and that's where they shop. Some people belong to food co-ops, and are always of the same head-space.
The quest for food is not that important to me. Ya know ... I have never found any group that I fit into as I don't seem to share issues with any of them, or need to experience as they do. Yet I have had so many positive experiences while here.
The people I find obsessed with fruits and vegetables, and what goes into your body, are usually people with issues who are trying to create balance due to physical and psychological problems. That must take a lot of planning and energy so I'm glad I'm not in that space. Most of these people also do yoga, exercise, meditate, and practice all sorts of holistic rituals ... Hey ... whatever works. This is all a personal experience. If you're healthy and balanced without all of this rigmarole then you don't really need it. Just follow what you body tells you and you'll eat healthy.
I believe that the amount of fruits and vegetables each of us should eat every day varies with our individual body make up, among other factors. We are all drawn to what we need.
Years ago, I remember going to the produce department of a local supermarket with a friend who used a pendulum which he swung over the fruits and vegetables to determine what to buy. It looked like fun so I tried it, then I heard Z say, "All you have to do is look at the fruits and vegetables and they will tell you what wants to go home with you." I still follow that rule.
Reality is simplistic, yet people are programmed to create issues and extra work with so many things. This has always confounded me. If you want to be healthy, hopefully you're programmed to get rid of stress. Looking and feeling good is a great way to go but it's your personal lifestyle and programming that really tells the story.
Back to fruits and veggies. A current article states ...
Seven-a-day fruit and veg saves lives BBC - April 1, 2014
Eating seven or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day is healthier than the minimum five currently recommended and would prolong lives, experts say. A study of 65,226 men and women indicated the more fruit and vegetables people ate, the less likely they were to die - at any given age. Seven a day cut the risk of dying from cancer and heart disease. But the government says its "five-a-day" advice is sufficient and that many of us struggle to achieve even this.
