My Journey
In the challenge to improve my quality of life I was first introduced to Young Living Essential Oils. Obviously I’m a big fan of YLEO, a number of which I use every day for multiple purposes concerning health, stress, and general well-being. However, as I experienced their benefits I thought, “Hmm, what if…” But I must admit, the journey I’m taking to improve my life by eating better has been a huge series of baby steps.
I started my quest to live a healthier life by exploring the country of origin of items like seafood, fruits and vegetables. It’s fairly well known that many generally available fish are now raised on farms. Most shrimp we now see in stores come from the waters off Asia. But interestingly, I found that every vegetable and fruit I bought had a four or five digit numeric code on a little sticky tag which tells me its country of origin. That knowledge was a real eye opener. I noticed several cases where the supermarket had in-store advertising that said American grown fruits. On closer inspection, the little tags told me the fruit was actually from Central or South America. Recently I noticed that some stores are finally putting up in-store signs that tell you in plain English where the fruit is actually from, but I still check the tags anyway.
There are so many subtleties involved in advertising our foods, that it just amazed me. For instance, did you know that if you buy olive oil that says it’s Italian, that may only mean the olives were processed in Italy, but the olives may be from different countries? Sorry, it’s true. Now, when purchasing olive oil, I always check the label for the country or countries of origin of the olives. If the oil was made from olives of different countries, it must tell us that on the label. You may have to search a little, but you’ll find it. Try comparing multiple brands in the store and you’ll see the difference on the labeling – usually abbreviated and in fine print.
Then I began exploring the sources and nutritional value of other food I ate. Initially I investigated the ingredients of prepared foods like canned vegetables, pre-made potato salad, pre-packaged salads, dressings, deli-meats, etc., even bottled water. As time passed, I expanded my investigation to learn more about the actual sources of the ingredients. And let me tell you, the investigation got really complex really fast. You would be amazed what’s in some of the foods we may have taken for granted over the years.
Sorting through all the fine print on prepared/packaged foods is cumbersome and time consuming. There had to be a better way to find the information I was looking for – and there was. Actually, there are several tools I started using to simplify the whole process of knowing what I’m ingesting. (Read more on this on my Identify Real Food tab.)
After considering how to handle the situation I stopped buying most prepared foods such as sandwich meats, canned fruits and vegetables and deli-counter or packaged potato salad, prepared mixed salads works, basically anything with a label. After that, I began eating only fresh fruits and vegetables and making my own salads from US grown produce.
As I considered the options, it finally occurred to me that I wanted to go back to the foods as they were over hundreds of generations until about 1947 when industrial farming of today got its start.
And so, now I am at the point where I’m committed to eating only “real food” that is non-GMO, organically grown and if possible and reasonably priced, heirloom varieties. No chemical additives or enhancements, no chemical fertilizers or bug sprays, no unnecessary heat treating during processing. I’ve also gone to eating more fermented foods such as beets, kimchi, broccoli, cauliflower, and really any vegetable because of the added benefits.
As for meats, I’ve decided to eat only grass fed beef, pasture raised pork and free range/pasture raised chickens and turkeys. I attempt to find meats that have no hormones, antibiotics or other chemicals added.
I even started making my own flavors of Kombucha!!! (Read More->)
Several months ago I started eliminating gluten to reduce digestive issues and skin irritations. Unfortunately, gluten is found in a wide variety of foods so the quest continues. Thankfully there are gluten free products in many areas. But I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time looking for Paleo foods which in addition to being gluten-free ALSO eliminate sugars, fats and other additives. The quest continues...
Looking back, I realize this is a true life altering and life long process.
Do I cheat occasionally? Certainly. But I notice that the further I travel down this path, the taste I once had for "normal" or processed foods is diminished. Now I seldom have a craving to cheat and when I do, it’s only just a bite or two before I’m satisfied.
The upshot is that now that I’m using Young Living Essential Oils and eating cleaner, more nutritious foods, I'm healthier and feel better and I even lost some weight. It started from curiosity but became a way of life by investigating food sources, contents, processing and marketing terms. Now I try to eat only “clean” or “neat” foods wherever possible.
Thanks,
Rita
I started my quest to live a healthier life by exploring the country of origin of items like seafood, fruits and vegetables. It’s fairly well known that many generally available fish are now raised on farms. Most shrimp we now see in stores come from the waters off Asia. But interestingly, I found that every vegetable and fruit I bought had a four or five digit numeric code on a little sticky tag which tells me its country of origin. That knowledge was a real eye opener. I noticed several cases where the supermarket had in-store advertising that said American grown fruits. On closer inspection, the little tags told me the fruit was actually from Central or South America. Recently I noticed that some stores are finally putting up in-store signs that tell you in plain English where the fruit is actually from, but I still check the tags anyway.
There are so many subtleties involved in advertising our foods, that it just amazed me. For instance, did you know that if you buy olive oil that says it’s Italian, that may only mean the olives were processed in Italy, but the olives may be from different countries? Sorry, it’s true. Now, when purchasing olive oil, I always check the label for the country or countries of origin of the olives. If the oil was made from olives of different countries, it must tell us that on the label. You may have to search a little, but you’ll find it. Try comparing multiple brands in the store and you’ll see the difference on the labeling – usually abbreviated and in fine print.
Then I began exploring the sources and nutritional value of other food I ate. Initially I investigated the ingredients of prepared foods like canned vegetables, pre-made potato salad, pre-packaged salads, dressings, deli-meats, etc., even bottled water. As time passed, I expanded my investigation to learn more about the actual sources of the ingredients. And let me tell you, the investigation got really complex really fast. You would be amazed what’s in some of the foods we may have taken for granted over the years.
Sorting through all the fine print on prepared/packaged foods is cumbersome and time consuming. There had to be a better way to find the information I was looking for – and there was. Actually, there are several tools I started using to simplify the whole process of knowing what I’m ingesting. (Read more on this on my Identify Real Food tab.)
After considering how to handle the situation I stopped buying most prepared foods such as sandwich meats, canned fruits and vegetables and deli-counter or packaged potato salad, prepared mixed salads works, basically anything with a label. After that, I began eating only fresh fruits and vegetables and making my own salads from US grown produce.
As I considered the options, it finally occurred to me that I wanted to go back to the foods as they were over hundreds of generations until about 1947 when industrial farming of today got its start.
And so, now I am at the point where I’m committed to eating only “real food” that is non-GMO, organically grown and if possible and reasonably priced, heirloom varieties. No chemical additives or enhancements, no chemical fertilizers or bug sprays, no unnecessary heat treating during processing. I’ve also gone to eating more fermented foods such as beets, kimchi, broccoli, cauliflower, and really any vegetable because of the added benefits.
As for meats, I’ve decided to eat only grass fed beef, pasture raised pork and free range/pasture raised chickens and turkeys. I attempt to find meats that have no hormones, antibiotics or other chemicals added.
I even started making my own flavors of Kombucha!!! (Read More->)
Several months ago I started eliminating gluten to reduce digestive issues and skin irritations. Unfortunately, gluten is found in a wide variety of foods so the quest continues. Thankfully there are gluten free products in many areas. But I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time looking for Paleo foods which in addition to being gluten-free ALSO eliminate sugars, fats and other additives. The quest continues...
Looking back, I realize this is a true life altering and life long process.
Do I cheat occasionally? Certainly. But I notice that the further I travel down this path, the taste I once had for "normal" or processed foods is diminished. Now I seldom have a craving to cheat and when I do, it’s only just a bite or two before I’m satisfied.
The upshot is that now that I’m using Young Living Essential Oils and eating cleaner, more nutritious foods, I'm healthier and feel better and I even lost some weight. It started from curiosity but became a way of life by investigating food sources, contents, processing and marketing terms. Now I try to eat only “clean” or “neat” foods wherever possible.
Thanks,
Rita
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