Alternatives to Food:
Consuming nutritious food is about more than just providing our bodies with the fuel they need to function at their optimum level. When selected carefully, the food we consume may also nourish our minds and spirits. If you want your meals to leave you feeling focused and in harmony, and if you want to reach an overall state of excellent health, pick foods that are:
Whole:
The meal is whole, just as it is in nature; all of the edible portions are still there. Because the key nutrients have been stripped away, you are not allowed to eat any foods that have been refined or processed. For instance, go for whole brown rice since it has both insoluble and soluble fibers in equal amounts. Note, tofu is categorized as a fragmented food because it is produced by the coagulation of soy milk, which in turn is formed by heating soybeans and removing the pulp before serving. Wheat germ, bran, blackstrap molasses, and extracted juices are examples of foods that are regarded to provide positive health benefits.
Fresh:
The consumption of fresh foods should take precedence over the consumption of dried or pickled foods. Foods that have been canned, frozen, or chemically preserved sap our vitality since the amount of nutrients they contain has been drastically reduced.
Local:
Food that is considered to be local is defined as having been obtained from within a radius of 100 miles of your present location. Generally speaking, commodities that are produced locally provide superior qualities in terms of their freshness, taste, and cost. When you can, opt for foods produced in the immediate area.
Seasonal:
When referring to food, the word “seasonal food” refers to the periods of the year when a certain category of food is at its best, either in terms of the harvest or the taste. Choose seasonal meals whenever you can, or foods that come from a climate that is at least somewhat comparable. Consuming meals that have a cooling impact, such as tropical fruits during the chilly winter prepares the body for the hot weather (which also has a cooling effect), while simultaneously consuming foods that have a warming effect to deal with the severe cold weather.
By the customs of the ancestors:
It is a good idea to base the bulk of your dietary selections on the foods, cooking methods, and spices that your great-grandmothers used. By doing this, you may make sure that you get the most from your meals.
As a result, the majority of the whole grain and legume combinations we choose to eat each day should originate from the continent from which our ancestors came. Examples of such foods include rice, soybeans, and aduki beans from the Orient; wheat, barley, rice, split peas, and kidney beans from northern Europe; oats, barley, and lentils from the British Isles; wheat (including bulgur and couscous), chickpeas.
Balanced:
Consuming the appropriate quantities of food is an important part of maintaining a healthy diet because it ensures that the body receives the nutrients and energy it needs to keep its cells, tissues, and organs functioning properly. The concept of balance encompasses a variety of aspects, including color, taste, complementary nutrients, texture, and structure.
Color:
Make it a point to include something from each of the colors of the rainbow in each of your meals. In a meal, for instance, there should be a variety including something green, red, purple, yellow, white, and/or brown. Various phytochemicals, antioxidants, and minerals can be found in foods that span the rainbow’s color spectrum. In general, the appearance of the food should be appetizing.
Flavor:
A meal that is both filling and flavorful should have some of each of the following five flavors: sour, spicy, salty, bitter, and sweet. In a single dish, you may mix two distinct flavors.
Unprocessed:
Foods that have not been treated in any way avoid being subjected to high heat, high pressure, and unneeded hazardous chemicals. When foods are processed using high heat and pressure, the nutrients in such foods are destroyed. Cereals for breakfast, juices, and meals that have been pasteurized are some examples of these.
Non-irradiated:
Irradiated foods have had electron beams pass through an inch and a half of the food before being deemed safe for consumption. Gamma rays, on the other hand, are employed for meals that are thicker and need nuclear material. This process generates risks and contaminants that are hazardous to not only human health but also the health of the world as a whole. Irradiation of food is done out of concern that it could contain harmful germs or viruses (food safety). This method gives a false sense of security since it generates free radicals, degrades vitamins, and eliminates the naturally existing enzymes in food that are produced by plants, which makes the meal more difficult to digest. The vast majority of commercially produced cuts of meat, sorghum, nuts, and spices are irradiated, unless they are organically grown or marked raw on the packaging (which denotes that they have been gently heated at a temperature that is typically lower than 115 degrees Fahrenheit).