As I write this I am sitting inside of Daily Juice (the one on Duval) in Austin, TX. I'm sipping on a hot hempseed mate latte and watching the interesting people all around me... Like the little girl digging into her "Rawkin' Enchiladas" while her mother drinks some green juice, or the other young girl asking her father about nutrition and people with diabetes, while both of them dig into big salads. People that hang out here are definitely health-conscious, but they all have completely different backgrounds. Somehow nutrition and connecting with their own bodies brings them together here. It's pretty cool how food can do that.
Sometimes I feel that I upset people when I decline a soda or homemade white bread or a handmade cheese and pepperoni pizza. Should we feel this way? Food brings together different families and cultures, and meals have been huge social events for humans for a long time. Does eating healthy have to change that? I dream of the day when all restaurants offer healthy options (and I don't just mean white pasta with some veggies on top) and the government (I'm talking about the US one here; I don't know much about food politics elsewhere) starts educating its people about food based on what's really healthy...you know, not just food that makes the dairy/meat/corn industries and big players like the USDA/Monsanto happy.
Some of the ingredients/foods to avoid:
1. Throw out everything in your house that contains High-Fructose Corn Syrup (which potentially affects your metabolic rate). This is even found in a lot of sauces and condiments like ketchup.
2. Weird ingredients you don't know... why not stick to whole foods? We really don't know the long-term health effects of these isolated chemicals and products.
3. Added sugar! It's in everything, but so many products offer unsweetened versions! Go for those instead.
4. Aspartame, Acesulfame potassium, neotame, saccharin and sucralose are all artificial sweeteners. These bad boys can have some pretty terrible health effects. Sugar-free does not mean healthy. Stay away from Splenda, Sweet'N Low, Equal, etc. I like sugar substitutes like low-glycemic agave nectar, maple syrup, dates or the occasional stevia or brown sugar.
Just because something is approved by the FDA or promoted by the USDA does not mean it is healthy. Seriously. Watch out for products that claim that they are healthy just because of their governmental approval!
On a more positive note, I do feel so much gratitude to places like Daily Juice and all of the little companies they feature here. The popularity of Hail Merry (based in Dallas, TX) and Buddha's Brew Kombucha (based here in Austin) are growing tremendously. I'm obsessed with Thunderbird Energetica bars and probably so many other products I'm forgetting about. How exciting is it to see these products in more and more places? Things are changing. Slowly, but it seems for the better. At least in the health department! Keep your heads up and make healthy choices!
Love,
Daphne
I really enjoyed this post. I also find it interesting and pretty cool that people from completely different backgrounds can end up in the same place simply because they care about nutrition and connecting with their own bodies. That is how I found your wonderful website...we met tonight at Lula's Sweet Apothecary! Good luck with your site. It looks great and I especially love your quotes!
ReplyDeleteDebby Sunshine http://veganamericanprincess.com
Hey Daphne! You are so wonderful! You liked my juicing pic on instagram so I decided to check out your site. This post is so great! I am from Dallas, so thanks for mentioning Hail Merry foods, I had no idea! My husband and I always carry around snacks and we will add them in. Don't feel bad about declining other people's food, I do it all the time, even my own family. Surprisingly, they now come to me with questions about my lifestyle and are genuinely interested. I think once you show someone what conscious eating is, it wakes up their conscious a little bit, and over time it will expand :) especially with a good example right in front of them. Keep doing your thing. The world really is changing for the better, it's a beautiful thing. We are just ahead of our time ;) <3 keep spreading the love & light.
ReplyDelete~Mary
I love your words of wisdom.
ReplyDelete