You Are What You Eat! or are you?

Does your mouth water at the thought of cakes instead of carrots, French fries instead of fruit, or sweets instead of salad? While those treats sound inviting, your body needs something more substantial to keep working efficiently.

For one thing, your body is constantly repairing and rebuilding itself. This is because you are made of cells that only last a certain amount of time. For instance, your red blood cells last 4 months while cells in your tummy last only a day or two.

So, your body is always busy making new cells to replace the ones that are no longer useful. The food you eat affects how healthy those cells are.

Your brain, for instance, uses 20% of the food you eat. The long and the short of it is your body needs fuel to function. The energy comes from the food you eat in the form of nutrients (substances which nourish and maintain life and growth in the living body), including vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and minerals.

Processed or sugary treats may taste good, but they do not have the nutrients you need to grow and stay healthy.

Some foods, when eaten in combination, cause difficulties. As you put starch or protein into your mouth, a signal goes to the stomach to tell it what acids and enzymes (chemicals that break down food) to have ready. Protein and starch digestive processes are different. If you eat them both together, neither will be properly digested. Fruit and vegetables don’t mix well together, so eat them separately.

This sounds like a lot of change—and it is—but take it on a gradient.