Nutrition is made so complex when it should be straightforward. What makes it complicated is people are in such varied states of existence and have different needs based on whether someone requires a therapeutic diet for healing, performance nutrition or just wants a better overall wellbeing. It is not uncommon for one person to respond to a more plant-based diet and another to a varied diet free of processed foods. Diet and nutrition is not one-size-fits-all and the newest fad isn’t for everyone.
There are some basics the we could all benefit from following; Eat locally, chemical- and hormone-free, seasonal and a wide variety of foods to have the greatest outcomes. The thing to remember is food can be therapeutic, a form of art and an expression of love to yourself and others. A robotic approach to food should be avoided because the stress created by having excessive dogma with your food intake is worse than the food you are judging yourself for eating. Simple tools will allow anyone to design their most powerful eating plan.
The digestive tract is one of the most complex systems that exists on earth. Every function of the human body is impacted by the digestive system. Hormone production, cellular regeneration, nutritional delivery to the bloodstream and the immune system and processing of toxins, brain function, and inflammatory responses, stress management all predominantly are governed by the digestive tract. If it is not managed and taken care of, similarly to the soil in a garden, the entire human existence is compromised. If you are looking for a reason for a breakdown mentally, physically or emotionally, one of the first places to look is the digestive tract. The quality and variety of food impacts the microbiome that makes up over 90% of the cells that compose a human body. The integration of all the systems of the body to the digestive tract make the decisions of foods, food quality, our thoughts and actions paramount to the level of gut health we have over time. The gut goes way beyond whether or not we ate the right foods. Since it is connected to the whole function of the body, we know that the performance of the digestive tract goes way beyond the food input. But if the body is overloaded with low-quality foods, lacking nutritional value and laden with toxins, the ability of the digestive tract is compromised, so every function of the human body will be limited.
Soon after Louis Pasteur discovered the seemingly ubiquitous bacteria inside and around us, he noted the competition between good bacteria and bad bacteria in every niche.
The first impulse was sterilization, killing all the bacteria in an environment. However, Nature does not favor a vacuum, so some bacteria would adapt and take over that niche.
Hitting reset on a micro-biome is sometimes necessary, but extraordinarily destabilizing. Instead, our approach is to make sure that the food and beverages we consume favor a balance between beneficial and non-beneficial gut bacteria.
We grow chemical-free food and combine therapeutic foods into delicious meals. The vitamin, mineral, phytonutrient and prebiotic content of fruits, vegetables, herbs and greens is the highest the day they are harvested, so we grow as much as possible on our own property and source other products from local, chemical-free farms we have visited or know the growers. The environment in which livestock are raised determines the quality of their meats or eggs. We achieve the best living conditions for the animals on our farm
Choosing organic foods goes beyond just personal health. It impacts the farm workers, their families, the land and our shared water resources. Many people challenge the price, saying that it is too expensive to eat organic, but when you account for all the costs, it is too expensive to not eat organic.
Nature provides many beneficial compounds in food. However, our agricultural soils have become depleted, so most food does not contain sufficient nutrition.
The majority of supplements that are produced and sold are very low quality. Having the guidance about the sourcing of supplements is critical, because often low-quality supplements cause more harm than good. We provide education and resources to help you identify the best supplements and source of supplements to address specific challenges with the best efficacy.
Modern medical science believes that inflammation is one of the major causes of all diseases. Stress of all types contributes to the inflammatory response. A diet of improper foods can be one of the major stressors in one's life.
Traditional cultures rotated their diet by eating seasonal foods. The foods they ate were not processed or full of chemicals. The modern diet often consists of industrially-produced foods full of chemicals and stripped of nutrients. Understanding the rotation of foods and utilization of therapeutic foods that are minimally-processed and chemical-free will allow a person to reverse the inflammatory response. Food is the original form of medicine and when you eat the appropriate foods, the inflammatory process adjusts itself naturally. There are certain superfoods that powerfully aid the body in combatting inflammation. When and how to use these foods is one of the keys to combatting inflammation.
The ultimate analogy for performance nutrition is car racing. A Formula One driver would never fill up their car's tank with cheap fuel available at a local gas station. The immediate risks of accidents or consequences of their vehicle being compromised during a race motivate drivers to invest in the appropriate fuel. Professional drivers do not have an option other than to use the highest quality fuel.
To perform at your best, you have to understand what foods and beverages work best for you to enable you to perform at the highest level.
Dehydration is one of the most common forms of stress. The brain and many essential organs have high water contents, so if you are dehydrated many of your body's functions are impaired.
People drink many beverages consume to become hydrated; including tea, water, juice, sports drinks. Many of these products are popular due to their branding or marketing, rather than benefits to human health. Many sources of water that people drink are acidic, highly-processed. Natural sources of water have a structured pattern that eases the absorption and utilization of the water by the body. Plant-derived waters, such as aloe water, cactus water or coconut water, and the water content of fruits, are also incredibly hydrating. Consuming high quality water and foods that have high water contents, like fruits and vegetables, can improve the body's ability to heal and recover.
Nature designed a food ingredient or a food combination to address every disease or illness a person may be facing. Similarly, there is not a food, plant or herb in the world that does not have a place in the healing spectrum. Plants in your yard or garden that are dismissed, discarded or sprayed often have much more nutritional value that anything you can buy at your grocery store. The design of the plant and fungal kingdoms have boundless implications with respect to human health. The variety of sizes, shapes, colors, and textures is endless and they all were created with a purpose to benefit the human existence.
Varying the times of the day when you eat can be very beneficial. As digestion of food is a remarkably energy-intensive process, giving yourself a break from eating can help make your metabolism and utilization of food much more efficient. You may not need to eat as soon as you wake up, because your first few hours after waking dictate the calorie intake and burning that your body "anticipates" for the day. Conversely, a late-night snack forces your digestive system to be working overtime while you sleep.
Sometimes not eating for awhile is therapeutic. Often people eat foods for the wrong reasons. Be it comfort or pleasure, eliminating foods enables someone to reveal and be able to address emotional or spiritual issues before they could otherwise have manifested into bigger challenges.
DISCLAIMER: THE TEDS FOUNDATION DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
The information, including but not limited to text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment.