Tips for Eating Healthy on the Go

Introduction

People are more mobile and busier than ever before, but a fast paced lifestyle does not mean you have to compromise on personal health and good quality food. In fact, a busy lifestyle can help people slip into a heathier pattern through default, namely a raw food diet. The biggest difficulty with eating on the go is the issue of mess, but raw food can be consumed with little to no mess, providing the purest energy and crispest taste. However, it is not enough to eat well, for the foods we have access today do not contain enough of the essential vitamins and minerals to sustain maximum health, and so supplements are essential. 

Hungry on the Run

For those with a busy lifestyle, maintaining adequate nutrition is essential to have the energy and stamina to support the activity. Anyone who has crashed after relying on coffee for energy understand that eventually a sustainable system must be worked out. In fact, there is both long and short term damage done to the body when it does not get the nutrition it needs. The best way to eat healthy on the go is to pack a raw food diet. A raw food diet, “It is a way of eating that involves a huge dietary increase in the number of unprocessed and uncooked fruits and vegetables, as well as seeds, nuts, grains (mostly sprouted) and beans” (Group). While this is a convenient practice for eating on the go, it also provides immediate ready energy, as opposed to cooked food which requires energy to digest. 

When a food is cooked above 116 degrees F (lower for some sensitive foods like broccoli) much of the living elements of the food are killed, leaving the food relatively non-nutritious. This is a double bind for people on the go because it sometimes costs more energy to digest cooked food than is received from eating it in the first place. This reality is compounded when eating heavily processed or fast food, which is not only non-nutritious in the first place, but is often highly toxic due to the process of preparing it and containing food additives. Food additive MSG (monosodium glutamate) is an excitotoxin which artificially stimulates taste receptors in the brain. After one hour of this stimulation the taste receptor dies, which can account for why so many people have headaches or are tired after eating food heavy in MSG (Food Matters).

The Raw Need

Most of the food easily available in the U.S. is heavily processed, and a person does have to go out of their way just a bit to get good raw organic food, but it is worth the effort. Even better is buying local, for this offers not only the freshest foods, but helps support sustainable cycles in one’s community. Largely unknown, raw foods are literally alive, having stored up vital energy from the sun in the form of Biophotons. As expert Dr. Mercola advises, 

Biophotons are the smallest physical units of light, which are stored in, and used by all biological organisms – including your body. Vital sun energy finds its way into your cells via the food you eat, in the form of these biophotons. They contain important bio-information, which controls complex vital processes in your body. The biophotons have the power to order and regulate, and, in doing so, to elevate the organism – in this case, your physical body -- to a higher oscillation or order. This is manifested as a feeling of vitality and well-being. (Dr. Mercola).

Much of the depression levels in the US are related to poor nutrition, for we are what we eat, and most Americans eat dead food, and so feel dead on their feet. Heavily processed foods support many other industries which feed off of a sick populace, but they do not support the public. Throughout the nation local organic food is being cultivated with increased enthusiasm as people begin to enjoy the effects of proper nutrition. Gardening local, in smaller plots, and organic produces better quality food because it utilizes healthier soil. The soil used in monoculture farming is heavily polluted with pesticides, and is a low grade of support. But since this soil is being used largely to cultivate genetically modified seeds the soil quality does not matter as much. 

Genetically modified organisms do not produce healthy food in any quality soil, and should be avoided. As GMOs have begun to be banned around the world, recently ten studies have surfaced which prove and explain why GMOS are toxic:

(List redacted for preview. Available via download). 

It is essential to stay away from GMO products, which can be very challenging to do, but eating a raw diet is a good way to start. However, due to the decline in soil nutrition, and the lack of ready local organic produce most Americans cannot get all their nutritional needs met through even a healthy diet. Studies analyzing the USDA data from “1950 and 1999 for 43 different vegetables and fruits, finding “reliable declines” in the amount of protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin C over the past half century” (Scheer and Moss). Thus, a complete vitamin and mineral supplement is required for everyone to get their basic needs met. It is important to take both because taking only one will deplete the other. 

There is much more to nutrition that the food pyramid leads people to believe, and food expert Dr. Mercola points out that along with balancing vitamins and minerals it is helpful to manage healthy enzyme production. For people on the go this can be done through eating raw foods, and from increasing awareness about the processes the body goes through to digest. When a person chews a signal is sent to the brain to produce enzymes to digest whatever they are chewing. However, interestingly, as a side note, that’s why you don’t want to chew gum that much. When you chew gum, you’re actually sending a false signal to your body to create enzymes when you don’t need them. You’re essentially wasting your enzyme production. This is a challenge because as you age -- especially in a culture that focuses on processed foods -- about one-third of your body’s ability to produce enzymes is lost by the age of 40! (Dr. Mercola).

Amazing info, thanks Mercola! Also, to eating healthy on the go is balancing gut flora. 

Gut Flora on the Go

Many people do not know their gut flora (also called gut microbiota) is a mix of over 1000 types of digestive bacteria (Gut Microbiota For Health). However, due to eating heavily processed foods most Americans have an imbalanced gut flora with a heavy emphasis on the Candida fungus. There are many problems which are connected to imbalanced gut flora, as the gut is the second largest congestion of nerves in the body after the brain, and an imbalance here affects everything. The most overt symptoms are bad breath, diarrhea, constipation, gas, and fatigue. This issue came to light when Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride cured her son of autism through balancing his gut flora. 

The increases in autism have matched the increases in processed foods and other toxins in the environment, and when studying this for the benefit of her son Dr. Campbell-McBride realized that if a mother has poor gut flora she can inhibit her child’s healthy development. So whether or not you are on the go, this type of nutrition is key for anyone who wants to be a mother. Dr. Campbell-McBride realized that without gut flora balance,

As a result, their digestive system — instead of being a source of nourishment for these children — becomes a major source of toxicity. These pathogenic microbes inside their digestive tract damage the integrity of the gut wall. So all sort of toxins and microbes flood into the bloodstream of the child, and get into the brain of the child. That usually happens in the second year of life in children who were breast fed because breastfeeding provides a protection against this abnormal gut flora. In children who were not breastfed, I see the symptoms of autism developing in the first year of life. (Dr. Mercola)

Balancing gut flora can be done through a consistent and quality Probiotics supplement, and of course, eating raw organic foods. It is so wonderful to hear that diseases like autism can be cured, encouraging and exciting for all those people who do not want to give themselves up to a health care industry which benefits from their sickness. Probiotics are key for assisting the healthy bacteria which is needed to not only digest food, get the nutrients out of the food, convert it into energy, but to keep the gut lining strong enough not to bleed toxins throughout the body. Bottom line whether or not you are on the go, it is key to learn about real nutrition and real health for yourself. The food and health care industry have many vested interests which do not jive with personal interests, and becoming your own doctor and nutritionist is a fun way to learn more about yourself. 

Conclusion

If you need healthy nutrition on the go try packing a raw food meal. Fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, greens, sprouted grains, and a few surprises are a great way to boost your energy as well as give your body what it really craves-nutrition. Easy to prepare, and not messy to consume, the organic raw food movement emphasizes that personal health can be maintained with ease and good tastes through raw food. Try supporting this effort with vitamins, minerals, and probiotics, and be amazed at how your health improves!

Works Cited

Dr. Mercola. “Eat Your Food Uncooked? Here’s the Really Raw Truth.” Dr. Mercola, 21 Mar. 2009. Retrieved from: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/03/21/eat-your-food-uncooked-heres-the-really-raw-truth.aspx

Dr. Mercola. “GAPS Nutritional Program: How a Physician Cured Her Son's Autism...” Dr. Mercola, 31 July 2011. Retrieved from: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/31/dr-natasha-campbell-mcbride-on-gaps-nutritional-program.aspx

Food Matters. “The Dangers of MSG.” Natural News, 7 July 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/the-dangers-of-msg

Group, Edward. “The health benefits of a raw food diet.” Global Healing Center, 3 Feb. 2009. Retrieved from: http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/benefits-of-raw-food-diet/

Gut Microbiota For Health. “Gut microbiota info.” N.d. Retrieved from: http://www.gutmicrobiotaforhealth.com/en/about-gut-microbiota-info/

Hang the Bankers. “10 scientific studies that prove GMOs are toxic.” Hangthebankers.com, 8 Apr. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.hangthebankers.com/10-scientific-studies-that-prove-gmos-are-toxic/

Scheer, Roddy, and Doug Moss. “Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutritious?” Scientific American, 27 Apr. 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/