Food represents and provides many things: energy, nutrition, culture, celebration, enjoyment and even medicine. Technically, food breaks into five fundamental categories that we need in proper proportions to fuel our body for optimal health and wellness: macro-nutrients including carbohydrates, fats and proteins, and micro-nutrients including vitamins and minerals.
Eating Habits Matter
We all witness the negative consequences of poor eating habits. The U.S. is one of the unhealthiest nations in the world; with such diet-related diseases as heart disease and cancer being the number-one killers (absent a pandemic).
Good eating habits are core to good nutrition, and nutrition is central to our health and wellness. The benefits of proper nutrition are powerful: heart health, lower blood pressure, reduced cancer risk, lowered cholesterol, weight management, improved sleep, diabetes avoidance, strong bones and teeth, gut health, even-better mood and improved memory.
Emerging research demonstrates that good nutrition together with lifestyle choices can even counteract a genetic predisposition toward a disease state. Experts have a saying, “Genetics loads the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger.”That means if we have the genes, our environment, including eating choices, may be the only thing standing between us and developing a chronic condition.
There is evidence that one can turn off a negative gene marker through positive lifestyle choices. This is truly good news, indicating we have great influence over our current and future health.
Yet, the reality is too many people do not receive the nutrition their bodies require from the food they eat due to factors like limited time, family constraints, lack of convenience, familiar habits, awareness, as well as taste preferences.
Have you heard the adage: “You are what you eat”? This is a half-truth. The full truth is, “We are what we digest and absorb.” Ideally, we receive the vast majority of our required macro- and micro-nutrients through the real, whole, natural and fresh food that we eat.
For example, it is easier for your body to use vitamins and minerals that come from a balanced diet rather than from supplements, according to a clinical professor Emma Laing, PhD, RDN. Compounds in fruits and vegetables work synergistically to promote wellness and these cannot be replicated in a dietary supplement.
The Problem with Processed Foods
Refined and processed foods, meaning altered from their natural state, will never be as absorbable, digestible and healthy as Mother Nature’s offerings. Consider the relationship between the surge in diet diseases and the evolution of our food chain. Less than 50 years ago most food was locally sourced and largely fresh, while today, most food is non-local, largely processed and full of additives.
Refined or processed food almost universally involves removing fiber and nutrients while inserting seasonings and additives. Why? Fiber is difficult to preserve, so it is removed to improve shelf stability. And seasonings, disproportionately sugar and salt, lead to preferred taste, driving demand. As we eat more processed and packaged foods that are higher in these additives and devoid of fiber, it often leads to long-term nutritional gaps and poor health.
I believe one reason I used to consistently overeat was because my body was craving the nutrients it was not always receiving. A fundamental step for me in reversing my overeating was shifting to more of a plant-based diet. While I did not set out to drop pounds, I began to lose weight by feeding my body more of what it needed, making it easier to eat less.
7 Steps to Help You Fuel Your Body
Here are seven tips leading to healthy eating habits. Pick and choose what works for you, repeat and be patient with yourself as any improvement to your proper fueling is hugely beneficial.
1. Embrace moderation. Eat a little bit of everything and not too much of anything, with just one exception …
2. Eat lots of veggies, every day! As wide a variety as possible, as many colors as possible. The longest-living populations around the world share a common dietary characteristic—they all eat a largely whole-food, plant-based diet.
3. Focus on food, not nutrients. Concentrate on eating fresh (versus preserved), whole (versus refined), natural (versus modified) foods whenever possible, and the nutrients will take care of themselves.
4. Eat what makes you happy. Remember to balance both immediate and long-term happiness. Might you want a treat for immediate taste-bud pleasure? Go ahead and occasionally indulge. Also be mindful of your body as that healthy salad will make your body happy long-term. Part of moderation is finding your best balance between happy now and happy later.
5. Embrace the bitter. Raw kale, spinach, collard greens and other leafy-green superfoods have a bitter taste, which can be acquired. (Remember, there likely are items in your current diet that were also acquired tastes you chose to nurture, like coffee, alcohol, raw oysters, sushi and blue cheese.)
My express lane to acquiring a taste for bitter was through a daily veggie smoothie brimming with natural, whole-food fiber and nutrition. It’s like drinking a healthy salad for breakfast every day. Initially nasty, then tolerable and now enjoyable! Find your own way to tolerating, if not embracing, bitter. To help you get started, here is my favorite Green Smoothie recipe:
Green Smoothie Recipe
Cut, combine, and blend the following until smooth:
• Five to six stalks of celery (remove any leaves)
• Five to six inches of cucumber (English cucumber seeds are more easily digested)
• Two handfuls of spinach
• One avocado
• One handful of collard greens (can substitute swiss chard)
• One handful of kale
• One handful of cilantro
• Portion of or full fresh jalapeno pepper (to achieve desired flavor)
• Water to achieve your desired consistency (I use 2 ¾ cups)
• Personal preferences: Include all stalks for fiber benefit, use organic produce, and substitute one cup of bone broth (reducing water the same amount)
6. Make your environment work for you, not against you. Simply remove non-desired items from your environment and replace these with healthy options that make your road to better eating habits a smoother ride.
7. Engage a like-minded friend who can support you, encourage accountability, even let you vent when you feel challenged or had a setback. We all need cheerleaders to reach lasting change.
Nutritious and Delicious
Healthy food is nutritious—and can also be delicious! Best wishes on developing better eating habits to fuel your daily performance.
Marshall Dahneke is running the 2023 Boston Marathon to raise funds for massage therapy research and community service in honor of his daughter, Jacquelyn, who passed away from breast cancer in early 2022. His column details his personal health journey, inspires massage therapists to live a healthier life, and promotes The Jacquelyn Project to raise funds for massage research and especially breast cancer community service projects. Visit The Jacquelyn Project’s home page for an overview of the project, sponsor highlights, and a donation link.
About the Author
Marshall Dahneke is the grateful husband of Michelle and proud father of six wonderful children, a lover of massage, former CEO of Performance Health, 2016 Massage Hall of Fame inductee, and aspiring endurance athlete finding his way to a better way of life. Visit The Jacquelyn Project’s home page for an overview of the project, sponsor highlights, and a donation link.]