Thursday, June 08, 2006
You are what you eat
I have a story that I enjoy using to explain to people why I don't eat a lot of sugar or why sweet food really makes me sick to my stomach. The jist is that my mom was diagnosed hypoglycemic when I was about six, and magically all the sugar in our house evaporated while she learned to adjust her diet so she would feel better. The funny thing is that she really did start feeling better and simultaneously set the course of my eating habits.
Almost two years ago I started buying organic foods and started leading myself away from more processed meals. My standard diet includes no McDonalds, Wendy's, Jack in the box, KFC, Carl's Junior, etc. I do however periodically eat at Panda Express, but even there it's steamed rice, vegetables, and usually some side of chicken. The biggest difference I noted when I started introducing these foods into my diet was that I started feeling better almost immediately. More energy, more vitality, and just a general happier sense of self and mind.
Now when I'm not feeling good or my moods are taking sharp turns I can usually attribute it to poor eating habits. By "poor" I mean not eating as much organic fruit and instead having a Samurai Sam's rice bowl for lunch with nothing else or going out and drinking with cheap Mexican food at 2:30am. My body has become accustomed to having a reasonable amount of foods that are only found in Sunflower Markets and Wild Oats.
A quick survey of my desk here at work shows that I eat: papaya spears, guayaki yerba mate energy drink, edamame & pinto salad, green lentil salad, organic bananas, thompson organic raisins, dried cranberries, and some high-fiber cerial. Not to mention my own supply of Thai and various green tea leaves.
This week has been a weird set of mood swings for me that I have not appreciated on any level. Thinking back I suspect that my eating went to shit either some point toward the end of the weekend and/or on Monday. Time to get everything back exactly where I think it's supposed to be.
In a combination of curiosity and desire to eat even better I'm going to attempt to be a raw foodist for the next couple days and see how it goes. No meat, no saturated fats, nothing processed. I'm particularly interested to see if my body starts detoxing.
Almost two years ago I started buying organic foods and started leading myself away from more processed meals. My standard diet includes no McDonalds, Wendy's, Jack in the box, KFC, Carl's Junior, etc. I do however periodically eat at Panda Express, but even there it's steamed rice, vegetables, and usually some side of chicken. The biggest difference I noted when I started introducing these foods into my diet was that I started feeling better almost immediately. More energy, more vitality, and just a general happier sense of self and mind.
Now when I'm not feeling good or my moods are taking sharp turns I can usually attribute it to poor eating habits. By "poor" I mean not eating as much organic fruit and instead having a Samurai Sam's rice bowl for lunch with nothing else or going out and drinking with cheap Mexican food at 2:30am. My body has become accustomed to having a reasonable amount of foods that are only found in Sunflower Markets and Wild Oats.
A quick survey of my desk here at work shows that I eat: papaya spears, guayaki yerba mate energy drink, edamame & pinto salad, green lentil salad, organic bananas, thompson organic raisins, dried cranberries, and some high-fiber cerial. Not to mention my own supply of Thai and various green tea leaves.
This week has been a weird set of mood swings for me that I have not appreciated on any level. Thinking back I suspect that my eating went to shit either some point toward the end of the weekend and/or on Monday. Time to get everything back exactly where I think it's supposed to be.
In a combination of curiosity and desire to eat even better I'm going to attempt to be a raw foodist for the next couple days and see how it goes. No meat, no saturated fats, nothing processed. I'm particularly interested to see if my body starts detoxing.
# posted by Chris/Stewy @ Thursday, June 08, 2006 
