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The power of nutrition

No matter how deep down inside, we as human beings all share a desire to survive, and to thrive. Whether we like it or not, eating is a healthy part of fulfilling this desire. If we don't eat, we won't live, but what we often forget is that what we eat and the way we eat can also change the way we live. 

A while ago, we sent out a survey asking people what types of blog posts they would find the most interesting and not surprisingly at all, 90% answered that they want to read more about eating for their health. 

This topic of health is huge and there is so much information out there, it can be overwhelming. In this blog, Kerry (co-founder of YOUnique Life) shares some of the insights she discovered along her way to health and vitality. 

Eating my way back to wellness

Not long ago, I found myself exhausted all the time and hit with cold after cold. I was also struggling with my weight and with stress. Being so tired with the plethora of conflicting health information, I decided to start researching for myself.

I have always been health-conscious, intentional with what I ate and I've always kept very close tabs on my macro-nutrient intake. I was shocked to find that one of the things that was adding stress and pressure onto my body was all the preservatives, stabilisers, colourants, artificially modified substances and GMOs that go into our food as they are prepared for the shelves. 

The more I read, the more I realised that my everyday diet was full of toxins. If you just throw in the stressors of life that my body would need to process, no wonder my body was not functioning well!

As I write about eating for our health, remember that I am not trying to lose weight or be a supermodel. I am a mom who desires energy, longevity and vitality. Losing weight might be a by-product of a healthy lifestyle, but feeling awesome and reaching optimal performance is my goal.

What did I find in my research?

Research is something we all have access to with the phenomenal online resources available to us. I want to encourage you to research for yourself, read books and become more familiar with all the tools and resources available to you. You might be surprised at what you discover!

Below are a few of the nuggets I found doing my research, I'll unpack them briefly. 

Toxins rob us

Toxins are any substance that can be poisonous or cause negative health effects.   “Toxin” refers to all the metals, chemicals, pollutants, artificial food ingredients, pesticides, and poisons that cause the body harm.

Our amazing bodies have been designed with a natural ability to detoxify themselves. However today, we are exposed to an overload of toxins especially in all the processed foods we eat.

A body full of toxins will find it difficult to digest and retain nutrients. This leaves you depleted of some much needed nutrients and results in potential over eating and cravings, not to mention easier exposure to potential diseases later in life. 

Diets don't work

Research shows that 95% of people who lose weight by dieting will regain it within 1-5 years, and there are a few reasons for this:

  1. Many of us think that diets are a temporary plan, however, when we have “completed” our diet, we simply boomerang back to unhealthy eating patterns.
  2. Deprivation of restrictive diets may lead to a diet-overeat or diet-binge cycle. This is unhelpful when our bodies require good regulation. 
  3. Our body responds to overly-restrictive dieting by slowing our metabolism down, which makes it much harder for us to lose weight.
  4. Restricting certain foods may lead to a lack essential nutrients.
  5. Often the root of dieting is feeling a lack of value. 
  6. Social norms and traditions can change over time. 

To read more on this visit this link.

A clean and healthy gut microbiome = healthy mind and body

The gut microbiome is responsible for turning our food into fuel for our bodies. It absorbs nutrients that support our body functions — such as energy production, hormone balance, overall health and wellbeing, and even toxin and waste elimination.

If we have a sluggish, unhealthy gut, our body will not be able to absorb the nutrients we need for optimal health. This can impact our mental wellbeing, weight, mood and a number of other ailments. Keeping your gut healthy can help keep the rest of your body healthy. We have a blog on this coming out soon so keep a look out on our social media channels. 

Balanced blood sugar can change our lives

One of the keys to optimal health is a steady and even blood sugar level. When we eat things that are high in sugar, the sugar quickly hits our blood giving us energy for a short while (the spike) only to come crashing down leaving us feeling awful (the low). With high levels of insulin running through your body, this can also cause hormonal imbalances, which can lead to excess weight and fatigue as well. We'll dive into this more in some of our future blogs. 

In an attempt to pick ourselves up again we typically grab another “quick fix” (carbs, caffeine or more sugar) which ultimately results in over-eating.

Less stress and more rest

Dealing with stress requires so much energy that the body puts all other functions on hold. It stops repairing tissue, it stops renewing your cells and there is no energy left for other essential systems – such as digestion and reproduction. This is why chronic stress leaves you feeling irritable, forgetful, overwhelmed, isolated and sleep deprived.

Chronic stress is defined as constant stress experiences over extended periods of time. Chronic stress kicks our natural energy distribution out of balance.

 Micro-nutrients feed our beauty

By increasing our intake of enzymes, minerals, antioxidants and nutrient-rich foods, we will have radiant healthy skin, hair, nails and eyes. Antioxidants are substances that protect your cells from the harmful effects of free radicals.

Free radicals damage your cells and cause ageing. Antioxidants mop up all the free radicals and slow down the ageing process.

The power of superfoods

Superfoods are awesome! Here is why… in our busy lives it’s not always possible to get all the nutrition we need, or some of our food is not nutritionally dense enough so topping up our nutrient intake using good quality superfoods is a sure way to look after our bodies despite the busyness of life. 

Eat real food soil to mouth!

Processed food has been changed from its natural state in order to make it cheaper, more convenient to package or transport or to make it last longer. The effect of processed food on the body is quite shocking. We will unpack some interesting facts about processed food in an upcoming article, but until then… stick to real food that comes from the soil to your plate.

A simple understanding of the basic building blocks of health and nutrition is enough to empower us to make good choices. There are no fad diets in our blog posts only a desire to empower you with knowledge to feed your body to optimal health.

If you're feeling sluggish and overwhelmed with the pressures of life and the crazy amount of health advice available today, sign up for our Restored Vitality course - a holistic approach to wellness and vitality. 

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