Nutrition, Post #1

I originally scheduled this post for next Tuesday, but things happened and I felt it was best suited for today. I am focusing this post on Nutrition, which is my passion. I truly believe that the things you eat directly effect your happiness, health, and the way you feel. I think that everyone should be aware of the things they are putting into their body and also what effect it is having on the systems inside, whether that effect be good or bad.  I have seen a lot of things, just this week, that just irk me to the core and I can't hold it in! The other day I was walking to the commons builing on campus and they happened to be having a Nursing information seminar for students there. The place was packed with future nurses. As I walked through, someone reached out trying to hand me this slip of paper. It was a voucher for free pizza and ice cream for attending the seminar. I was speechless. He said, "This is a nursing information seminar, would you like some free pizza and ice cream?" I firmly said, "No." and kept walking. It bugs me to the CORE that our future nurses are stuffing their faces with Pizza Hut pizza and soft serve as their learning about how to care for other people's health. GRR. Then while I was talking to someone else about it, they told me that Nursing majors aren't required to take any Nutrition classes- at all. How in the world are you going to help people become healthier if one of the main reasons for sickness and disease is something that you know nada about? I just don't get it. Medicine doesn't fix every problem. I think Doctors/Nurses and Dieticians should come together and work together, not working as if the other side doesn't exist.  Secondly, I have a lot of friends who have the typical idea of 'health' that any normal young adult would have. That being, cut back on sweets and eat things that are labeled "fresh" "natural" or "healthy." Which isn't necessarily healthy by any means. Or to eat good food (ish) but still drink soda's, because they don't understand the detrimental effect of sugar on your body. That is from a lack of knowledge, I understand that. What I can't understand are girls starving themselves. I won't say much on this, but it makes me so sad when I see people have such an unhealthy relationship with food. Food is what keeps you alive (with the help of other things, of course), so I don't understand why someone would go to such drastic measures to be thinner. If you eat HEALTHY, your weight should take care of itself. Your body isn't out to get you, saying, "I'm going to store every single thing you put into your mouth!" No. If you give it the right things, it will work at it's highest efficiency and your body will start to change to mirror that change in your diet. Health should be the main focus, not having hip bones.  I realize this is longer than the Magna Carta, but I could write for days about this. My firm belief is that our bodies are made and hard-wired to process and metabolize things that come from the earth. Fruits, vegetables, meat, nuts, seeds, etc. A diet full of natural foods is the best for your body. I always remind myself of three different things. I ask myself, where does it come from? If you can trace its source, it is probably okay. Milk comes from cows, fruits and veggies come from the ground, poptarts come from...? Who knows. If you don't recognize the ingredients, your body probably won't either. Also, is it in its natural form? A sweet potato is in its natural form, sweet potato fries are not. That extra processing always adds chemicals and ingredients that make it far less good for you. Lastly, I ask myself, would a caveman recognize it? A caveman would recognize meat, but not a big mac. Things that come from the ground are naturally high in nutrients. Processed foods are packed with artificial dyes and ingredients that slow your body down and make it less efficient. The biggest enemy is high fructose corn syrup. If you want to know how bad it is, watch this video --> Sugar: The Bitter Truth. It's lengthy, but details in an amazing way how sugar is pretty much poisoning your body, AND is hidden in a lot of places you wouldn't suspect.  Remember, I am NOT a Registered Dietitian, just a Nutrition student, and have collected this information from my own personal research. I will post more information and recipes because I truly believe in the importance of good nutrition.