The Important Role of Nutrition While Living in a Toxic World

By Nancy A. Guberti

The Important Role of Nutrition While Living in This Toxic World

How often do you really wonder and pay attention to the effect of good, sensible nutrition and the impact that it has on your health? How often do you choose healthy choices in your daily lifestyle, from eating organic to using organic lawn care and household products? Things to make you go hmmmmm.... Scratch your head and think about it for a while. You deserve it; you are worth it!

Everywhere you turn, you are literally surrounded by toxins. Environmentally, toxins are among us from the polluted air, pesticide-grown lawns and trees, contaminated water, toxic household cleaning products, toxic personal hygiene products, not to mention the pesticide and toxic manner of growing the very food that you consume. Have you read a food label lately and been able to pronounce every word and understand what the actual ingredient is? You'll be shocked to check out the sodium content, fat content and sugar content on the majority of conventional food products. The marketing of conventional food products do not educate the consumer on the content and good nutrition; they just tantalize you to purchase the products. Consumer Beware! Eat Smart!

Let's take a Basic Nutrition Class together:

Nutrition impacts your health and, therefore, your life. Healthy food choices provide your body with vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and antioxidants without any added toxins. Your muscles, bones, skin, hair, teeth and vital organs are affected by your choices. Degenerative disorders, weakened immune systems, and migraines are just a partial list of healthy issues that have been linked to toxin buildup and nutrient deficient bodies. You are what you eat and what your body absorbs. It's an intricate process that needs your support by making healthier choices.

Organic produce is best for you because it is full of vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants since it was grown without harmful pesticides and it was grown in nutrient-rich soil without any genetically modified seeds.

Natural, Free-Range, Organic or Grass-fed meats and poultry are the right choice when choosing these protein food group items since they were grown without the use of hormones, antibiotics and inhumane conditions. The animals are treated the way nature intended them to be raised. Mad Cow's disease is not a factor when you eat meats raised in this manner. If you are a fish eater, check the mercury content of the particular fish before consuming this food group.

Bottled Water is the way to go to avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners as part of your liquid intake. Artificial sweeteners in soft drinks, color additives and unnecessary corn syrup are harmful to your health. Certain artificial sweeteners are excitotoxins affecting your brain and central nervous system and may lead to degenerative disorders. Forego the sugar injected, color additive rich Sports Drinks - some even have caffeine as an ingredient. Choose an electrolyte mix without any added ingredients, just the electrolytes.

Processed Foods are mostly devoid of nutrients; therefore, they do not add nutrients to your diet. Most of them are filled with sodium, fat and sugar not to mention MSG, nitrates and color additives. If you have to be a chemist to read the label, then skip it and choose a more wholesome food choice. Nitrates are added to most conventional processed meats and can convert into a carcinogenic element. Again, choose a natural, organic, nitrate-free meat.

Plan ahead and cook meals on weekends and make enough to provide some meals for the week. A little planning goes a long way for coming up with time saving meals and healthy, nutritious meals for you and your family. Homemade chicken soup with natural ingredients provides a chicken meal one day, enough broth to use when making risotto or a soup based meal for another day. Organic pasta meals can be cooked and used again as a quick meal. Crock pots and steamers can be utilized for time-saving meals as well.

Daily multi-vitamins, minerals, enzymes, probiotics and antioxidants are an important part of your daily healthy regimen. Check Consumerlab.com test results when choosing the purest brand of supplements.

Invest in the most important aspect of your life - your health! Hippocrates said, "Let Food Be Thy Medicine"; I say, "Do Not Let Food Be Thy Poison." Choose wisely because you are worth it!"

About the Author

Nancy Guberti is a certified nutritionist and healthy lifestyle coach. Her former career was VP of E-commerce in the Fixed Income division at Goldman Sachs and e-commerce writer/career coach. Two kids later, one with a liver dysfunction; she studied for her Masters in Holistic Nutrition and started Coach for Healthy Living, www.coachforhealthyliving.com. As a motivational speaker and inspirational coach, Nancy educates and empowers.