Fountain of You, located in Melbourne, FL, offers our clients the absolute best in anti-aging and aesthetic services. We believe wholeheartedly that aging itself is unavoidable, however, how we age is up to us and the choices we make. You can experience the vitality and health of your younger years no matter your chronological age. Aging with grace and style is not something that only some chosen few can experience. This is something we can all achieve with the correct tools and a knowledge base from which we are able to make informed decisions. Here at Fountain of You, we know that the things you put into your body have an incredible impact on your health and wellness. The foods you ingest and the choices you make each day to live your best life have a powerful influence on how you feel mentally, physically, and emotionally. Today, we would like to chat with you about the types of foods you are consuming and suggest a lifestyle shift that could make all the difference in your life.
There is no doubt that the Standard American Diet is one packed full of processed foods and added sugars, all of which negatively affect health in a multitude of ways. According to a study published in BMJ Open journal, approximately 60% of caloric intake by the average American came from “ultra-processed” foods. Researchers defined “ultra-processed” as foods that have added ingredients such as sugars, colors, hydrogenated oils, flavors, additives, and other ingredients that would not be found in a traditional kitchen. Amongst other findings, the study showed that these processed foods were the key sources for added sugars in American diets. Countless studies and research from organizations like the World Health Organization, the American Heart Association, and the US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee have shown the link between sugar and type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, cancer, obesity, and risk for weight gain. These institutions all recommend cutting down on the amount of added sugars coming from processed foods. Considering how many processed food items are readily available, how can you make informed choices about the foods you are consuming?
Enter the Paleo Diet. Perhaps you have heard of this style of eating and living before. The Paleo Diet is more than a way of eating. It is a lifestyle that encompass eating as close to nature as possible. Paleo adheres to the notion that we should follow a diet rich in whole foods from nature avoiding processed foods. The rationale is simple: adhere to foods that our caveman ancestors consumed. The idea is that eating in line with the way our bodies have genetically adapted through time will allow us to function best. Our hunter/gatherer ancestors ate whole foods from the sky and the ground. They foraged for animals in the wild. There were no cattle lots and chicken farms. They ate what nature provided without processing foods to manipulate their tastes and textures.
We will be exploring the Paleo lifestyle over the next few blogs. With so much information available, it can be easy to be overwhelmed. We will breakdown what foods are considered “Paleo” and who the diet is for (everyone). Until then, we encourage you to begin to think about the foods you are putting into your body. Where did they come from? Are the processed? Did you have to open a package to consume them? These are all questions to spur you on as you begin to become more mindful about the life you are cultivating.
