WHOLE FOODS: APPLIED
BY; THERESA WITHAM
THE APPLICATION OF WHOLE FOODS
Whole food consumption is a commitment to a
healthier lifestyle.
Our ancestors were eating whole foods before where
was much knowledge of food processing beyond
smoking and curing meat. It makes sense that this is
what the human body is most used to because of the
centuries of whole food consumption.
If we a struggling is weight gain or lethargy than
instead of a diet fad or some new chemical to help us
feel better it would make sense to make a life style
change to healthier living.
WHOLE FOODS EXPLAINED
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Grains
Protein
Fruits
Vegetables
Dairy and Oil
Eat a variety of goods for a healthy diet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toyN81wZzLw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_YpdXUm_iM
MIND-BODY CONNECTION
Remember that your mind and body are one in the same,
when one is struggling, the other is too.
• When your emotions are out of balance your less likely to
stay on track with any healthy life style changes.
• If stress is unavoidable try to build some healthy coping
skills to handle the stress in healthy ways instead of
unhealthy ways that you might be used to.
• If you get stuck in a rut of unhealthy habits reach out to
healthy supports, don’t forget about that local nutrition
center for nutrition support grout, I bet they need some
volunteers.
WEB RESOURCES:
The super tracker on the USDA Choose my plate website is
an extremely helpful tool:
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/supertrackertools/supertracker.html
The Outside online site gives clients a wide range of living
healthy guidelines:
http://www.outsideonline.com/blog/juicing-for-the-wholefamily.html
My fitness pal is another site a lot like the USDA’s My plate.
The great thing about this site is the ability to download as
an app and keep track of your food intake and physical
activity throughout the day.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
STRESS AND PROCESSED FOODS
Stress and processed foods cause a compounded problem.
According to Seaward the four stress domino factors are as
follows:
• Stress depletes nutrients from the body.
• Current American lifestyles under stress do not promote or
reinforce good eating habits. Consequently, the nutrients
depleted under chronic stress are not restored.
• Some food substances are known to increase sympathetic
drive or other physiological responses that keep the stress
response elevated.
• Many foods that are processed contribute to a cumulative
effect of toxins.
Caffeine, processed sugar, processed flour, and salt are some
substances that can keep the stress response elevated. Blood
glucose levels rise dramatically with meals based in
carbohydrates, these type foods are staples in the Americanized
diet. A person under stress is extremely vulnerable to nutritional
deficiency.
FIGHT OR FLIGHT PHENOMINON
“The human body’s natural inclination, when confronted
with stress, is to move, be active, or exercise.” Exercise
utilizes the stress hormones for their intentioned purpose;
the cleansing of stress hormones with physical activity is
matchless. Physical activity reinforces the reliability of the
body’s characteristic functions.
Physical decline develops from chronic distress and
physical improvement is seen with individuals who exercise
regularly. When the body encounters a stressful situation
the fight or flight syndrome is activated, this releases stress
hormones into the body. The key is to utilize these
hormones properly to gain benefits from them.
THE BENEFIT
When we start the cycle, the stages of change that
we discussed in the previous lecture. We are making
positive changes in our lives that will break this distress
cycle.
By increasing our consumption of whole foods,
preferably organic whole foods, we are telling our
bodies that we are ready to start working again. The
body in turn will start giving us more energy to want to
perform exercises that we never wanted to do before.
The cycle can be broken.
REFERENCES
Seaward, B.L. (2009). Managing Stress Principles for
Health and Well-being 6th Edition