ESSENTIAL ELEMENT: Food Quality
Critical Concept: Keep it simple.
It’s so important to keep things simple. Think about it. Life is stressful, complex and complicated. Our food shouldn’t be. There are natural laws that we must follow to be healthy, happy human beings. We should be eating the foods that were available to thousands of generations of our ancestors – it’s what our cells expect. If we veer from these selections, our cells get confused and our bodies get sick.
Don’t you just love simple rules: “If it wasn’t food 2000 years ago, it is not food today.”
Human beings have a fascination with science. We think that we can improve anything. As much as this ingenuity has spawned incredible discoveries, advancements and conveniences in our lives, it has created a world of trouble for our stomachs.
70% of our diets now consist of foods that did not exist 200 years ago. Hydrogenated vegetable oils, refined carbohydrates, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Genetically Modified Foods, chemical preservatives and additives now constitute the bulk of what modern humans consume daily. Processed food and industrialized farming has transformed our food into “food-stuff.” We have made a dramatic shift away from natural foods in their natural forms to a totally unnatural, toxic and deficient diet-style. Eating this way is incredibly expensive.
“Getting well and staying well is expensive, but it’s cheaper than being sick.”
People often make the argument that eating healthier, fresh, whole food is more expensive. At first pass, you may notice that your weekly grocery bill is a few dollars higher, but with simple considerations, the cost-effectiveness of eating well is obvious. Making the choice to eat healthier foods implies that you are forgoing the other, toxic/deficient foods. Eating a healthier diet has been irrevocably proven to improve immune system function, reduce blood pressure, normalize blood sugar, improve digestion, reduce reflux, heart burn and constipation, and reduce allergies, asthma, eczema, acne and arthritis. Think of all of the money that you’ll save if you don’t get sick.
“Staying well takes some work, but it’s easier than being sick.”
Some people suggest that it’s too difficult to eat healthy. Choosing the diet-style recommended by Bonfire Health has been shown to reduce cholesterol, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, obesity and cancer. I can’t think of anything that is more inconvenient than chronic illness. Following the Bonfire lifestyle means adopting a mind-set and a skill-set for better living. With a little know-how and practice, you’ll be a master of the life that leads to health and vitality, not the slave to the lifestyle that has been proven to create sickness and disease.
Some foods are inherently toxic to the body. For the most part, we know which foods to avoid. Most of the confusion is found in the other half of this food discussion: deficiency. The other side of the blade of toxic food choices is the fact that these foods are consumed instead of the nutritious foods that our cells require. This “double-whammy” sets the stage for accelerated aging, and promotes both acute illness and chronic disease.
A Bonfire vital behavior is to add as much nutritious, real food to your diet as possible. It is almost impossible to over-eat fresh vegetables. Eat plenty of wholesome fruit, nuts, seeds and berries. Enjoy lean cuts of organic, grass-fed meats, poultry, game and wild fish. Always add the good stuff first– there will be less room, and eventually less desire for the rest. A Bonfire best practice is to keep your grocery cart on the perimeter of the store. This is where all of the fresh foods are found. Join a Community Supported Agriculture co-op and support local farmers. Being a Locavore is a great way to save yourself and the planet at the same time. Buy locally-raised, grass-fed beef, buffalo, game and poultry. Choose local organic eggs, fruits and vegetables.
The vital nutrient density is higher in these local foods, so the return on your investment is direct – not to mention the benefit that you get from re-establishing your connection to the food that you enjoy.
