That’s right you probably guessed correctly from the title that this blog post is focused on holiday eating habits. A great way to help deliver the message is using the Dickens Christmas Carol story.
You may be familiar with the story where a selfish and self centered Mr. Scrooge is confronted with visits from the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future in order to help motivate him to make better choices in his life. Is your past and present focus on holiday acidic addictions or healthy alkaline awareness for a great future?
When would now be a great time to reflect on the sage wisdom of “you are what you eat” to determine if you are choosing the gift of health or the path to pain on a daily basis? When is the last time you took a long hard look at your drinking and eating habits to determine the impact for the holidays and the rest of your life? Are you choosing holiday acidic addictions or healthy alkaline awareness this holiday season?
Is Your Past a Doorway to the Future?
When you invest some energy and time to take a closer look at the behavior you have indulged in over the past and up until the present you may get a peek at what lies ahead in your future. Many people appear to be in a sugar induced high and eating trance as they over indulge on alcohol, sweets and unhealthy foods during the holiday season.
As the long holiday season drinking and eating extravaganza from Thanksgiving through New Years continues it seems obvious the alcohol, cakes, candy, cookies, deserts, fast foods, junk foods, sweet treats and fat turkeys are flying out of the stores and filling people with harmful processed and refined fake foods.
Unfortunately very little of what most people eat on a regular basis is locally grown, natural nutrition, nutrient dense, organic and sustainable whole food. Nor has it been prepared with tender loving care (TLC) to maintain the antioxidants, enzymes, minerals, phyto-nutrients, trace elements and vitamins.
As a result obesity in adults and children has increased significantly during the past 20 years. Carbohydrate cravings are one of the main causes for the increasing levels of obesity. Many people are struggling with food addictions that make it almost impossible to stop eating even when they are full.
Acidic Addictions & Obesity Crisis
People who struggle with acidic addictions and an acidic lifestyle are often as addicted as if they had a drug addiction.
Some of the most common acidic addictions include alcohol, bread, caffeine, cereal, chips, high fructose corn syrup, juices, medicines, nicotine, potatoes, sodas, sugar and white rice.
In addition to these addictive substances there are also many addictive compounds that are added to beverages and foods to make them even more addictive.
Manufactures of beverages and foods are using specific tactics to create compounds, ingredients and substances that are known to cause you to crave their products even more. The more you crave the more you eat and the more money they make regardless of the harmful health and financial consequences to you. They will go extreme measures to insure you crave their product over a competitor.
This includes adding extra alcohol, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, colorings, fats, flavorings, high fructose corn syrup, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), salt, sugar, taste enhancers and taste bud manipulators.
With the US government subsidizing beef, corn, dairy, soy, wheat and white rice it is easy to see how this results in an over abundance of foods made with these ingredients. Unfortunately these cheap subsidized foods and all the unhealthy derivatives make it much harder for healthy whole foods to compete on a pure price basis.
This financial advantage makes it much more convenient for people to gravitate toward the fast foods, junk foods and unhealthy food choices because they look cheaper and faster. This is the type of thinking that has helped create the current obesity crisis.
When farmers are rewarded for producing low quality and high volume foods such as corn, soy, sugar, wheat and white rice, this allows manufacturers to create massive inventories of bagged, boxed and packaged foods with a long shelf life. This abundance of high maintenance crops comprises a disproportionate percent of food choices and results in less overall diversity in the foods you eat and feed your family.
Of all the choices at the grocery store the vast majority of processed foods contain some amount of corn in the form of corn oil, corn flour, ground corn, high fructose corn syrup or other derivatives. Even the beef, chicken hogs and turkey cattle you eat are fed corn, even though it is not part of their normal diet.
Most fast food and junk food has been designed to be consumed as simple finger foods. These are created first for the benefit of the food industry and the consumer considerations come last with health and nutrition way down the list of priorities. They are focused on foods being easy to transport and store, fast to prepare and serve, easy to chew, fast to eat, over stimulate your taste buds and appear to be low cost.
Since the foods are lacking in the essential antioxidants, enzymes, fiber, minerals, phyto-nutrients, trace elements and vitamins our bodies are seeking we tend to overeat to consume what our body needs. This leads to a vicious cycle of acidic food addictions, cravings, overeating and snacking to satisfy the body’s needs for energy, health and maintenance.
Making the Switch To Alkaline Awareness
Our digestive system was designed to consume whole foods instead of highly refined and processed foods so we end up with major digestive and health issues followed ultimately by disease. Without the optimal fiber, foods and fuel our stomach and intestines were meant to digest we begin to breakdown and experience a lack of energy and vitality.
Once the immune system is compromised it is only a matter of time before we experience a steady decline in our overall efficiency and effectiveness and the warning lights go off on our dashboard of health indicators. Rather than fix the real problem and change their eating habits most people opt for the Over the Counter and Prescription medications that only mask the symptoms and compound the real problem.
You may be wondering how to shift from the acidic addictions and enjoy healthy alkaline foods to help insure you live a long and full life. While the answer sounds easy to do it is also easy not to do it. The basic formula for health and vitality is to consume locally grown, nutrient dense, organic and sustainable whole food that has been lovingly prepared to maintain the antioxidants, enzymes, minerals, phyto-nutrients, trace elements and vitamins. The majority of your foods should be eaten raw or with minimal heating to preserve as much of the natural nutrition and pure potential the food has to offer.
Just remember every food you enjoy which is unhealthy can be made in such a way as to be delicious and nutritious. The secret is in finding a role model to help you discover a variety of great choices. By shifting your energy, money and time away from the fast foods and junk foods from rip off joints and connecting with ethnic cuisine, living cuisine, raw foods, vegetarian or a holistic cuisine you will soon discover the path to higher quality foods and better nutrition. Remember where there is a will there is always a way.
Creating Healthy Habits
Most of us have seen the numerous techniques and tips to help people shift from unhealthy food choices and habits to healthier ones such as: serve smaller portions, chewing your food slowly, eating at the table without distractions, eating five fruits and veggies a day, enjoying the sights, smells and taste of your food, put your fork down between bites, eating three healthy meals and limited healthy snacks each day, exercising regularly, eating whole foods with lots of fiber, eating a rainbow of colors everyday, providing a palate of tastes, enjoying more green alkalizing food every day, avoiding the empty calories in beverages and foods that are highly refined and processed and enjoying sensible home cooked meals with family and friends.
While all these great tips are important one of the single most important techniques you can implement is to better connect and manage your emotions and avoid the consequences of emotional eating. As this blog post has recommended many times Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is one of the easiest and fastest ways to reduce the negative emotions that are most commonly associated with poor eating habits, poor food choices and acidic addictions.
While many people feel they can slide through the holidays and start eating healthy again after the New Year it is important to realize that many people gain two to five pounds over the holidays and it may take months to lose them again if you ever do. Many people just give up and allow a few pounds here and there to accumulate and gradually gain ten or more pounds per decade and eventually give up as they lose their self esteem and will power and become sick and tired. Right now you have an opportunity to revisit your past and present trends and decide whether you will succumb to holiday acidic addictions or healthy alkaline awareness for a happy and healthy future.
Mastery Action Plan
For a profound perspective on how the agribusiness, factory farms, government and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) control and influence the farms and food choices watch the documentaries: Fast Food Nation, Food Inc, A Sacred Duty or Super Size Me.
These movies will reveal why so many people in the world eat the way they do and explain how this is contributing to your food cravings, overeating and expanding waistline.
Consider enjoying the Dickens Christmas Carol and let your imagination run wild with the Standard American Diet (SAD) being the greed that haunts Mr. Dickens and gives him a warning by visitations for three ghosts from the past, present and future to help him explain the path he is on and that it is not too late to make better choices.
Our next blog post will share: Focus on Fitness or Food First for Fantastic Future?
