We are what we eat. Really.
So back to nutrition and away from the memory loss issues, before I forget what I want to say!
Eating well, before, during and after menopause can really make the present and rest of your life better. Even in basic nutrition classes in schools, we are all taught the building blocks of good nutrition. Protein, fiber, vitamins, and recently, antioxidants have been added to the mix. Organic may be better just because the pesticides and hormone additives that commercial growers put in their foods may be harmful down the road in our health.
But there are some things that we've always eaten since childhood that are really not that great for us during this time. I'll talk about a few of those today.
Refined foods. What, exactly, are these you ask? Well, these are "foods" that have basically been stripped of their nutritive value. The two biggest refined foods we know are sugar and white flour.
Two items which just so happen to be in almost every food product we buy!
When a foodstuff is refined, all the vitamins, minerals, fibers and any good- for- us- trace minerals have been stolen away, leaving us with a product that doesn't give us anything but empty wasted calories. In order for our bodies to digest and process refined food stuffs, we need to use our body's own stored vitamins and minerals. Sugar, like excess protein, makes you excrete calcium through your urine. Too much sugar ingested, more calcium is leeched. When this happens, our bodies are depleted even more of what keeps us healthy and balanced on the inside. White flour is just as bad as sugar and it is used in almost every baking item you can name. Substituting whole wheat flour doesn't do anything bad to the taste of products made with it.
Here's something I did not know and found fascinating when I discovered it: Bran shouldn't be added to your diet in the form of an external substitute. This fascinated me because practically every other commercial I see lately on tv is for metamucil or fiber additives. It seems that the advertising industry has jumped on the colon health bandwagon big time. But what I've read is that bran, when added to the diet in the form of laxatives, and fiber supplements, is actually a refined food. The recommendation is to ingest bran the way God and Mother Nature intended: as a natural grain present in foods such as whole wheat, oats, and some fruits and vegetables. Who knew??
I will readily admit that I have eaten my share of hot dogs, chicken nuggets, balogne and liverwurst. Know what all these things are, aside from tasty? Processed foods. Foods that have been processed from something else. Where, exactly, is the nugget on a chicken? Ever think of that? Where do hot dogs come from? I know they come from Oscar Meyer or Nathans, but what is really in a hot dog? Certainly not any part of a dog ( Heaven forbid!) But what is it made of? Do you really want to know? I don't, but what I will admit to knowing is what is put into those so called "foods." Processed foods are loaded with chemicals, preservatives and additives that we really don't need in our bodies. Food manufacturers add preservatives and chemicals to lengthen shelf like and to add artificial flavors to the food. Things that shouldn't naturally be broken down and processed by your body, tend to cause harm, building up in your system, and can do damage eventually. Eating "clean", where you eliminate as many additives and extra added non-naturally occurring items as possible in your food, has been shown to make your body work more efficiently and productively. Nature has provided us with a plethora of clean, natural and healthy foods to choose from. We don't need to continually try to grow a bigger, better and more juicy apple by putting stuff into the growing process. Mother Nature already did well by us. We just need to remember that.
I started talking about food and menopause because I wanted to educate about foods that may trigger hot flashes and lousy menopause symptoms. But after doing all this research I realized that the common sense approach to eating and nutrition I've learned can benefit anyone at any age, be they a menopausal mom or a single dad with three kids to care for.
The earlier we take care of our bodies, the happier, healthier and more productive we will be in the future. I want to be around to see my Grandkids and even great-grandkids. And I want to be able to be healthy enough to play with them and teach them. Learning how to eat better, more nutritious foods will help me with that endeavor and will also help keep those lousy hot flashes at bay!
Eating well, before, during and after menopause can really make the present and rest of your life better. Even in basic nutrition classes in schools, we are all taught the building blocks of good nutrition. Protein, fiber, vitamins, and recently, antioxidants have been added to the mix. Organic may be better just because the pesticides and hormone additives that commercial growers put in their foods may be harmful down the road in our health.
But there are some things that we've always eaten since childhood that are really not that great for us during this time. I'll talk about a few of those today.
Refined foods. What, exactly, are these you ask? Well, these are "foods" that have basically been stripped of their nutritive value. The two biggest refined foods we know are sugar and white flour.
Two items which just so happen to be in almost every food product we buy!
When a foodstuff is refined, all the vitamins, minerals, fibers and any good- for- us- trace minerals have been stolen away, leaving us with a product that doesn't give us anything but empty wasted calories. In order for our bodies to digest and process refined food stuffs, we need to use our body's own stored vitamins and minerals. Sugar, like excess protein, makes you excrete calcium through your urine. Too much sugar ingested, more calcium is leeched. When this happens, our bodies are depleted even more of what keeps us healthy and balanced on the inside. White flour is just as bad as sugar and it is used in almost every baking item you can name. Substituting whole wheat flour doesn't do anything bad to the taste of products made with it.
Here's something I did not know and found fascinating when I discovered it: Bran shouldn't be added to your diet in the form of an external substitute. This fascinated me because practically every other commercial I see lately on tv is for metamucil or fiber additives. It seems that the advertising industry has jumped on the colon health bandwagon big time. But what I've read is that bran, when added to the diet in the form of laxatives, and fiber supplements, is actually a refined food. The recommendation is to ingest bran the way God and Mother Nature intended: as a natural grain present in foods such as whole wheat, oats, and some fruits and vegetables. Who knew??
I will readily admit that I have eaten my share of hot dogs, chicken nuggets, balogne and liverwurst. Know what all these things are, aside from tasty? Processed foods. Foods that have been processed from something else. Where, exactly, is the nugget on a chicken? Ever think of that? Where do hot dogs come from? I know they come from Oscar Meyer or Nathans, but what is really in a hot dog? Certainly not any part of a dog ( Heaven forbid!) But what is it made of? Do you really want to know? I don't, but what I will admit to knowing is what is put into those so called "foods." Processed foods are loaded with chemicals, preservatives and additives that we really don't need in our bodies. Food manufacturers add preservatives and chemicals to lengthen shelf like and to add artificial flavors to the food. Things that shouldn't naturally be broken down and processed by your body, tend to cause harm, building up in your system, and can do damage eventually. Eating "clean", where you eliminate as many additives and extra added non-naturally occurring items as possible in your food, has been shown to make your body work more efficiently and productively. Nature has provided us with a plethora of clean, natural and healthy foods to choose from. We don't need to continually try to grow a bigger, better and more juicy apple by putting stuff into the growing process. Mother Nature already did well by us. We just need to remember that.
I started talking about food and menopause because I wanted to educate about foods that may trigger hot flashes and lousy menopause symptoms. But after doing all this research I realized that the common sense approach to eating and nutrition I've learned can benefit anyone at any age, be they a menopausal mom or a single dad with three kids to care for.
The earlier we take care of our bodies, the happier, healthier and more productive we will be in the future. I want to be around to see my Grandkids and even great-grandkids. And I want to be able to be healthy enough to play with them and teach them. Learning how to eat better, more nutritious foods will help me with that endeavor and will also help keep those lousy hot flashes at bay!
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