Real Food Is...
By Lynn, webmaster of A Natural Food Diet | Natural Food Articles
I use the terms real food diet, natural food diet, and whole food diet interchangably. The truth is, I don't see much difference when you come down to the basics of choosing and eating healthy food. You can get healthy eating food that is real, whole, and natural, as long as you keep the following in mind.
What is real food anyway?
Real food is...foods in their natural state.
Real food is...whole foods.
Real food is...foods that haven't been processed or industrialized.
Real food is...foods that are grown without chemicals, stored without preservatives.
Real food is...food that comes from animals that are antibiotic free.
Real food is...food that comes from animals that aren't fed or injected with additional hormones and chemicals.
Real food is...fresh food.
Real food is...healthy, natural foods that don't have additives.
Real food is...rarely packaged in boxes with ingredient lists that contain more than 5 or so items.
Real food is...not a food product.
Get healthy eating food — real food, that is
When beginning a natural food diet, remember that real, whole foods are key to eating healthy.
What I've found is that for me, combining what I've learned from The Glycemic-Load Diet, What to Eat, and In Defense of Food makes me feel best. I avoid starch foods such as wheat, potatoes, and rice and when I do have them I stick to whole grain versions, or as with potatoes, leave the skins on and choose top quality produce. I actually haven't eaten any rice since I started my natural food diet, and I've eaten potatoes fewer than 4 times total. I will not say that I'll never eat any of these things, because that might not be the case, but as Dr. Rob Thompson suggests in The Glycemic-Load Diet, I will eat only small amounts and eat them with other low glycemic load foods.
For many people, cutting these things isn't a concern, as long as they're eating the whole grain versions, but for me, my concern about insulin resistance means I do go a little farther with my natural food diet.
Eating real food can make you feel better. My personal experience has been that I've seen an increase in energy, a reduction in gastrointestinal problems, and an overall improvement in my outlook. Since the chemicals and hormones you put into your body can affect the production of the chemicals and hormones your body needs to feel good, it only makes sense that diet changes taking you from consuming processed, commercial food products to consuming natural, whole, "real" foods, will affect how you feel on a day to day basis.
So yes, it's not only entirely possible that you can get healthy eating food of the natural, real kind, it's entirely probable.
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- Organic Food Online
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- Processed Food Chemicals
- Guide to the chemicals used in processed foods to preserve, ripen, or improve the taste and texture of food products
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