Monday, July 13, 2009

Shop for Health Insurance ~ Buy an Avocado!

Last week I stopped at a coffee shop to have a frappacino with my stepdaughter. I don’t usually order those ~ but it was still hot outside so I thought it would be refreshing.

I selected a toffee frappacino. It was like sipping out of a jug of pancake syrup! I don’t eat desserts often, so a straw full of this sugar assault was about all I could drink. I handed it back in exchange for an iced tea.

Of course, those kinds of food and drink choices are everywhere, making it both physically and psychologically daunting to pick something that’s good for your body. Just one frappacino with whipped cream would not likely be the “deal breaker” that sends you to the hospital ER, but a series of those types of choices adds up ~ often resulting in a diagnosis of something like heart disease or diabetes.

As a result, there’s been a lot written and discussed of late about raw foods, and I plan to say more about that later. But if you think you’re ready to change course, the easiest approach is to begin eliminating the processed stuff in your diet. It can start with your very next trip to the fridge.

After a few days of eating fresh foods, you may notice a drop in your energy level, mostly likely because your cells are detoxifying. But if you continue, that won’t last long ~ and with each healthy food choice you’ll notice your energy level will gradually pick up.

Think of it as health insurance.

It’s a delusion to think that the sum total of our future health security will be hammered out on Capital Hill. As I write, there’s political strategy in place now to insure that nothing changes. Hopefully, the current system goes away because it’s simply not sustainable. But while we watch to see what emerges, our own personal power lies in shoring up our body’s own natural defenses with energy- dense foods.

You don’t need to be a cook to do it! More about that next week.

This Week’s Suggestion ~

If you do nothing else, drink less pop and more water!

If you love carbonated drinks, here’s a nice alternative:

Mix some tonic water with a tsp or less of agave sweeter, a slice or two of lime, and some mint leaves. Or forget the agave and mint, and just drink tonic water and lime. (For diabetics, agave has a far lower glycemic index than other sweeteners and offers a much healthier alternative to diet pop!)

Next time I’ll talk about “grazing” for the good stuff!

1 comment:

Sheri said...

I'm amazed at how sweet the coffees can be these days...and the calories and fat that go with them are amazing.

Thanks for the information and the tips!