Food vs. Non-food
The Bioveda Wellness philosophy of nutrition is based on the premise that there is no such thing as good foods or bad foods. What? Yes, all food is good, let us explain! To understand this you must know what the definition of food is. The dictionary definition says, food is material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, perform vital processes and to furnish energy. Real food comes from nature and the closer the food is to its natural state the better the food is for you.
Unfortunately, most people do not know the difference between real foods and non-foods. Anything processed, enriched, artificial or containing chemical preservatives is not real food! If you read the ingredients and there are words that you can’t pronounce this is probably a sign that it is a non-food providing little nutritional value or sustenance for your body.
According to a University of California analysis of a national survey, one-third or more of the typical American diet consists of outrageously blatant non-foods. The remaining two-thirds of your diet are supposed to supply all the nutrients needed to give you proper nourishment to sustain health and normal body function. What’s even worse is the remaining foods that are supposed to provide you with the appropriate vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats and carbohydrates to support proper body function, homeostasis and metabolism, are often raised or processed in ways that lower their nutritional value or place physiological stress on the body. Therefore, most Americans are eating very little if any real foods which directly leads to illness, disease, low energy and a mere cornucopia of symptoms and conditions you may deal with every day.
The answer is to eat as much organic whole foods as possible. “Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible before being consumed.” —- Wikipedia
Generally speaking, processed foods are produced using manufacturing methods to transform raw ingredients into neatly packaged goods, which have a longer shelf life. Some of the artificial ingredients used include monosodium glutamate (MSG), artificial flavors, artificial food colors (typically having a petroleum base), food dyes, artificial preservatives, hydrogenated oil, fillers, anti-caking agents and artificial sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup and aspartame. Usually, consumers can prepare them quickly allowing immediate intake. Disappointingly, they don’t offer much in nutritional value. Most likely, it’s processed food if it’s wrapped in several layers of plastic, cardboard, and/or foil and it didn’t exist until after 1903 when the hydrogenation process was invented. These non-foods are located on the shelves of the inside middle aisles in grocery stores. Examples of processed foods include; most non-refrigerated beverages such as soda, juice and sports drinks, meals in a box, meals in a bag, most canned goods, processed meats such as hot dogs and even all cereals and breads are not created equal.
On the other hand, whole foods are grown in orchards, gardens, or greenhouses, are unprocessed and unrefined, and have a shorter shelf life. These foods are authentically flavorful, have vibrant colors, and rich textures. Moreover, they are full of the micronutrient vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and fiber required for long term sustainable health and wellness. Typically, they require longer preparation times. When you are in grocery stores, these foods are mainly found on the store’s wall aisles to the sides and back of the store. Additionally, this food category can be found at farmers markets, and at fresh fruit and vegetable stands. Examples of whole foods include unpolished grains, fruits, and vegetables.
At BioVeda, we start with your lifestyle. Rather than recommending medications to offset what may simply be a result of poor diet, we look to counsel and coach patients on how to make simple changes in diet and nutrition that simply allow you to feel better and live stronger.
BioVeda Health and Wellness Supplements
With so much processed food in the marketplace, obesity in adults and childhood obesity dramatically on the rise not to mention the increasingly more common digestive problems patients report, it’s clear that we’re facing a serious food crisis in this country. The answer, however, isn’t just to go on a diet and lose weight. At BioVeda, we want you to lose weight, improve your energy, improve organ and system function and create balance through proper metabolism. Reducing the intake of refined and processed non-foods and increasing whole foods certainly can improve one’s health. But often times we need more and the use of nutritional supplements can help put you on the road to wellness fast and effectively. At BioVeda, we have developed our own proprietary blends of vitamins, homeopathic, nutritional and herbal supplements to help you achieve lifelong wellness and avoid future illness and disease.
7 Reasons Why You Must Take Supplements
- Food irradiation: is a food processing technique to extend the shelf life of food by destruction of harmful microorganisms and delay of ripening. The food is exposed to ionizing energy and radiation. However, this process also eliminates the essential nutrients especially water soluble vitamins and antioxidants. Food irradiation is widely used in products like chicken, meats, and vegetables. This technique is approved and used in more than 40 countries world wide.
- Environmental Pollution: Everyday millions of kilograms of chemicals are dumped into our environment. These wastes go to the air, water and food that we eat. For example, if you eat fish, you are quite likely to consume excessive mercury at the same time. Studies show that environmental pollution is the main cause for degenerative diseases. Thus, you need quality and potent health supplements to detoxify your body against the pollution and boost your immune system.
- Genetically modified (GM) foods: are crop plans created for human or animal consumption with advanced technology. GM foods are created to improve crop protection and improve the nutritional value. Although all GM foods you see from the market passed risk assessment, there are no long term studies to indicate that they are safe for humans. In fact, genetically modified foods can cause allergic reaction in some people. In addition, rat studies have shown that consumption of genetically modified foods increased intestinal infections and suppressed the immune system.
- Soil depletion: Aggressive farming, acid rains, use or artificial fertilizers and synthetic pesticides have caused soil depletion. These activities deplete the essential nutrients in the soil. As a result, nutritional values of fruits and vegetables are greatly reduced. In fact, the vegetables you eat today taste bland due to the lack minerals in the soil. According to a recent study sponsored by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), about 17% of land in the world has been damaged. Most of the soil is either slowly losing nutrients, or no longer contains the essential nutrients we need for proper diet and nutrition.
- Lifestyle: Depending on your lifestyle and behavior, you may need nutritional supplements. For example, smoking destroys certain vitamins. Both first hand and second hand smokers need to take extra antioxidants to protect the body against free radicals. Excessive alcohol consumption impairs the body’s ability to absorb many nutrients and inhibits the production of digestive enzymes. In the above mentioned situations, taking supplements is a MUST to stay healthy. Other examples that require extra supplementation include: athletes, pregnant women, people who work in radioactive environments and those who work in physically demanding and stressful occupations. Even the water you drink at home and shower or bathe with is filled with chlorine and chemicals that put stress on your body. In our modern world as we know it today, it’s almost impossible to avoid being bombarded by chemicals and pollutants.
- Stress: is not an unusual term to many of us. Stress can deplete your energy, lead to acceleration of the aging process and numerous degenerative diseases. The symptoms of stress include fatigue, depression, panic, anxiety, loss of appetite, and insomnia. Fortunately, there are supplements that can work to effectively reduce the detrimental effects of stress, and also relieve the symptoms of stress. 6. Pesticides in foods: Pesticides are widely used in agricultural activities to control and destroy pests. Pesticides are poisonous and reside in our foods. According to a study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the health benefits of fruits and vegetables are reduced by the use of pesticides. When you eat foods that contain pesticides, they may cause health problems to your immune system, nervous and hormonal system. Unfortunately, there is no way you can detect pesticides in foods but it’s a great reason to eat organic.
- Food Processing: Most of the foods from supermarkets are processed. Processed foods are not fresh and contain fewer nutrients compared to fresh foods. For example, grain peels which contain natural fiber are removed in the processing stage. Processed foods also contain no live enzymes. Enzymes are necessary for digestion and metabolic function. Lack of enzymes can cause degenerative diseases. In addition, processed foods contain refined sugar, extra salt, unhealthy fat, and chemical additives. These substances may bring negative impacts to your body.
Our goal at BioVeda is very simple. Let us teach you how to live a healthier life, how we may be able to help you feel better, look better and enjoy a richer fuller life. We can start by consulting on your diet, nutrition and natural methods for weight loss. We have a complete line of supplements to help further support your diet.
Call us now or email us to schedule your nutritional consultation