Food is More Than Calories

     The expression, "You are what you eat", is not just an aphorism. It is a fact that most people don't understand or appreciate. Food is also information that tells your cells what to do with it and can directly influence your genes and how they are switched on or off. Sugary foods tell your body to produce more insulin, the fat storage hormone, and tell your liver to store the excess sugar in your blood infat cells fat for later use. However, most of us do not burn off those fat cells because we are not living a lifestyle that permits us to do so.
     People living in the 21st Century are not burning calories like our ancestors only one hundred years ago did. Most of us are sedentary office workers or other that do not get enough exercise to use up all of those excess calories even if we go to a gym or workout at home. Case in point: you would have to spent 6 to 8 hours on a treadmill to burn off the empty calories in one 32 oz. soda.
     In addition, that sugary drink makes us crave more because it does not satisfy our need for REAL nutrition.There are none of the vitamins, minerals or phyrochemicals found in real food like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and berries. The things or bodies really need to survive and thrive.
     Every bite we take sends a message to our digestive tract telling it how to process what we send to it. Fast and highly processed foods bear little resemblance to what we should be eating ,i.e., whole foods that have been minimally processed and without pesticides, preservatives, and artificial ingredients added to make the color more enticing, improve shelf life, or cause an addiction.
     Did you know that sugar is ten times more addictive than cocaine? Yes, you read that right. laboratory tests on mice showed that given the choice between sugar and cocaine, the mice chose the sugar every time. It affects the pleasure centers of the brain in the same way in humans as it does in mice. Several well known doctors have even suggested that sugar should be a controlled substance. I hope this explains where your cravings for sweets originates. Now that you know, what are you going to do about it? You have a choice to make.
     Virtually every major malady causing the health crisis we all face including Alzeimer's,dementia, depression, diabetes, obesity,arthritis, cancer and heart disease can all be trace to a single cause: the toxic Standard American Diet.  You can either change your eating habits or face the painful consequences.