Why has something that should be so simple as ‘what should I eat?’ become so incredibly complicated and difficult for so many people? Believe it or not, it all starts with the word food.
Today foods that are considered edible can also act as slow poisons resulting in long-term chronic disease over time. Today when food is grown:
- who knows how,
- sourced from who knows where,
- produced in who knows what,
- engineered for who knows why,
- processed and transported who knows when, and
- marketed with every conceivable claim to boost sales,
It is no wonder that people don’t know what food is, let alone what is healthy or unhealthy or what characterizations like “real food” or “edible food-like substitutes” mean.
Have you ever really thought about what the word food really means, and what it represents? Here are 7 reasons to rethink this everyday word:
- The definition of food has nothing to do with health;
- Food that is edible, is not necessarily healthy;
- Food is not appropriately labeled. The majority of food available in grocery stores and restaurants are chemically treated, genetically modified, and highly processed, to the point that most people don’t know what they are eating;
- Processed food is engineered to make you eat more fat, salt and sugar than your body can sustainably process without breaking down; and
- Food is heavily marketed as “healthy, low-salt, low-fat, sugar-free, natural” or with healthful research claims such as high in Omega 3s, antioxidants, or lycopene to convince you that it is good for you, when just the opposite is often the unfortunate truth.
- Food is not equal. Food is grown, processed, or manufactured in ways that can have a positive or negative effect on human health. An egg produced by an organically fed, pasture raised chicken is not fundamentally equivalent to an egg produced by a factory-farm chicken fed genetically modified and chemically-treated grain.
- Food as a word to describe what we should eat for optimum health is now meaningless.
What I have suggested in my book is to stop using the word food, and instead embrace the word nouri for an accurate and comprehensive description of what to look for when you want to eat. Simply stated, nouri is non-chemically treated, non-genetically modified, whole unprocessed nutrient dense food that strengthens the immune system, promotes energy, improves cellular function, andreduces the risk of illness and disease. Wow! That’s a lot of responsibility it a little word. Are you eating nouri when you dine out at restaurants or shop at the grocery store? Are you gambling with your health in thinking all food is equal? Change the Word; Change Your Odds; Change Your Life. Make the sure bet with nouri.