Shopping 101

Today I'm letting you in on one of my most valuable secrets. Valuable, as it may be, it is one of the simplest things anyone can do to help themselves, their loved ones and the planet. What is this simple secret? Well, of course it's reading ingredient lists of every single thing that you buy. I am certainly qualified to inform you of the importance, as I have practiced this discipline rigidly, and with great enjoyment, for most of my life.

One of the greatest riches in life is health. What we eat, drink, inhale or put on our bodies has a direct relationship to our health. Once you learn to read ingredients lists and nutrition facts you'll begin to gain great insight on many levels. Your eyes will be opened to the many unnecessary and sometimes outright dangerous things we put into our bodies on a daily basis. You will begin to understand the difference between quality products and companies and those out for the sole purpose of taking your money. You'll begin to see the differences in kinds of fats, and ratios of carbohydrates to proteins and fats. You will increase your overall understanding and awareness of health and the environment. Once you start on this journey you'll be compelled to find out what all of those things that you don't recognize on the lists are. Once you open that door your life will begin to take on new meaning.

It would be great if reading the ingredients were enough, however you'll need to go at least a step further to get the most out of this information. The greatest advice I can give you on what to do with this valuable information is to start buying the products that have only whole food ingredients in the foods you buy, with marginal exception, and the cleanest, most pure and environmentally friendly ingredients in the products that go on to your body, or get used by you for any other purpose.

Whole foods have the highest value for all of your nutritional requirements. Refining and processing can reduce nutritional values as well as change the way your body responds to the foods. A good example is refined sugar versus sucanat. Sucanat is dehydrated cane juice, which is minimally processed. It contains nutrients like phosphorus, iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Refined white sugar contains none of these and may contain chemicals like phosphoric acid, sulfer dioxide, and formic acid. White sugar is also more taxing on your adrenals and pancreas.

If you decide to buy pomegranate juice, look for the kind that has on it's ingredient list, organic pomegranate juice. You'll see there are many that appear to be just pomegranate juice, however after reading the label you find out the first ingredient is apple juice, the second grape juice, and so on. The amounts of the ingredients are always listed from the first being the most to the last being the least. These are just a couple of examples. We could go on and on, but we won't. So, what do you do?

Pay attention to what's in your food and eliminate all of those unnecessary ingredients. Buy organic whenever you can. Use mostly whole foods, consisting of vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Buy the household cosmetic, and hygiene products that are non toxic. Spread the word!

References:

http://life.familyeducation.com
www.naturalorganiclifestyle.com