By Joris Van Cutsem
In my last blog post, I talked quite a bit about water intake and its importance to your body. So, I believe talking about (healthy) food would be a nice follow up. It is also a subject we talk about a lot on a daily bases at SolCore Fitness.
What are healthy foods? There is a lot of confusion about which foods are healthy or not. It definitely is a bit of a tricky question because everyone’s BODY is different and it depends on a myriad of issues from which a person may suffer, such as; ailment, disease, health issues, stress, sleep deprivation, exercise induced muscle soreness, hormonal health, exercise goals or food allergies.
In addition, we as a society are only at the beginning of learning how to heal various ailments and diseases with healthy foods, so there is a lot of confusion out there. Some of that confusion comes from the marketing and advertising companies hired to sell various products to the masses to turn a profit. Caring about ‘health’ is not of concern for them, money is. More confusion comes from the Pharmaceutical companies who would prefer to keep most people sick to make a financial gain, so they pour money into research for new drugs but not into research for prevention from foods. They sell you more pills and supplements to put into your cabinets that end up causing a slew of health issues and other ailments or side effects for which you will need even more pills – an endless cycle of pill popping. Preventative medicine comes in the form of lifestyle changes, not from taking pills.
So, what to do? First, it is important to know your body, so you will know what it needs to thrive. Find out what your metabolic type is to start you on the path to eating the foods that work for you. Connect to your body and if you feel like sleeping after you eat something then don’t eat it anymore, it’s probably not very good for you. Second, keep in mind that what we know today may not be true tomorrow because new research comes out every day as we evolve and learn more. Keep an open mind to unconventional methods of healing with whole foods and theories that run counter to mainstream. Questioning things, taking bits of truth from all and not getting stuck with tunnel vision are equally important. It’s not always easy, but these are things that I try to remind myself to do.
If you eat real foods, which are those that do not have an ingredient list that you can’t understand, that are not packaged, and that you can buy from a local farmer, then you are on your way to being healthier. Also, helping local farmers will create a rippling effect by keeping the bigger food companies from destroying our health with their genetically modified foods.
Hope all of this was helpful (for when you make your next grocery list).
Jo Van Cutsem
Healthy Foods
Proteins:
(grass or pasture fed) Beef, bison, lamb, pastured Liver, fresh/clean source Chicken, turkey, insect fed Pork – pastured only, Venison, Eggs – pastured chickens, Milk – raw or local Cheese, no additives Cottage cheese, no additives Ricotta Cheese, no additives Yogurt, Fish – cod, sole, etc., Gelatin Broth – homemade Shellfish
Fruits (organic):
Apples (ripe or cooked), Apricots, Cherries, Grapefruit, Nectarines, Oranges, Papaya, Peaches, Pears (ripe or cooked), Pineapple, Plums, Watermelon, whole fruit juices, Tropical Fruits, Vegetables: Cucumbers, Peppers, Avocado, Summer squash/Zucchini, Tomatoes
Vegetables (organic):
Bamboo shoots, Beets, Carrots, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Sweet potatoes/Yams, Winter squash, Asparagus, mixed greens, celery, kale (my new favorite super food)
Fats (organic):
Coconut oil, Butter – organic cream, salt, Olive oil – extra virgin, Cream – organic cream
Avoid these Foods as much as possible:
Vegetable Oils – Canola, Corn, Cottonseed, Grape seed, Safflower, Soy, Sunflower, Trans Fats- Margarine, Crisco, Fats in processed food
Soy Products – Tofu, Soy milk, Soy protein powder, Soy sauce
Fried Foods – Avoid foods not fried in butter, coconut oil
Artificial Ingredients – Avoid foods with long lists of ingredients that you do not understand
Food Additives – Aspartame, BHA and BHT, Carrageenan, Food colorings and dyes, Gums (guar, locus bean, etc.), High fructose corn syrup, Monosodium glutamate (MSG), Nitrates, rBGH (growth hormone in dairy), Sodium benzoate, Soy lecithin, Sulfur dioxide, Synthetic vitamins
(Soy blocks binding of important minerals like calcium and zinc, it is genetically modified here in the U.S., and it has been shown to possibly cause breast cancer because it acts like estrogen in the body and, although in Asian countries where women consume a lot of soybeans and have a lower incidence of cancer, it is not the same soybean as we get here in the United States and it’s now put into everything as an ‘unhealthy’ additive. Soybeans contain phytoestrogens that lower oxygen and thyroid levels and chemicals that lower protein digestion.)
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At night, when we are lying down, the discs slowly rehydrate. Our daily dehydration and nightly rehydration of the discs is the reason why most of us shorter at night than when we woke up! Regular movement helps to keep discs hydrated – as the spine moves, the discs will absorb the water we have available in our bodies.
All I want to do is get better, go faster, and have fun. This was my first time competing in the La Tierra Torture, but I have raced Mountain bikes before. It was a new venue for me and there were racers from all over the state, as well as some from Colorado. The course itself is mostly single-track with a lot of flowy sections and winding uphill and downhills. It also has some technical, rocky sections throughout.
While I didn’t achieve the result I wanted, I achieved everything I wanted that day. I fought hard to chase back as many spots as I could. I dug where I knew I needed to dig, and sat in where I knew I should sit in. I remembered why racing my bike is fun. I remembered why I race my bike. And when I finished, I finished with a smile and a sense of accomplishment.
