We know intuitively that real food is better than take-out! Let me explain how by introducing you to Sheila. When I first saw Sheila, she looked 10 years older than her 40-something age. As a yoga instructor, with her own yoga studio, she taught four ninety minute classes per day, which meant very little time to eat properly. Sheila may have had the super-skinny body of a model, but her face told a different story – it was dry, heavily creased, and deeply wrinkled. She did not sleep well at night, always woke up tired, and worried constantly about money and her business. She spent most of her day irritable and cranky, despite the effects that the yoga was supposed to be having on her. Her skimpy eating habits consisted of grabbing protein shakes and bars and a quick sandwich in between classes. Her evening meal was a salad she picked up from the pizza place on the way home. She experienced gas and bloating every time she ate, had poor sleep and was tired most of the time. I told her the five reasons why cooking real food beats take-out!
I was pretty blunt with her and told her to concentrate on real food that was right for her metabolic type. She started with the recipe subscription program and after just three months, she looked 5 years younger and boasted a radiant and full face – not the shrunken prune of her previous life. She was sleeping through the night and her easy going and humorous personality shone through.
If you are stuck in the ‘eating out’ rut then following a diet based on real food that is right for your metabolic type may be one of the most important things you can do to maintain good health and a high quality of life. Let’s look at those 5 reasons to eat real food.
1. Real food gets the focus off dieting
Diets do not work. In fact, anything that causes deprivation is hard to stick with. A dieting mentality isn’t good over the long term – once we put our body into starvation mode, it will lower its metabolism accordingly. That’s the plateau you can experience after a few weeks of successful weight loss. Nutrition is about way more than just dieting. It is also about feeling good, having enough energy and being healthy. Focusing on real food instead of dieting can be a much healthier, more sustainable and enjoyable way to live. Instead of focusing too much on weight loss, by eating real meals for your metabolic type like the ones in our Recipe Subscription Program – weight loss will come as a natural side effect of eating right!
2. Real food is cheaper to cook than take out.
Ordering in all the time not only impacts your waistline…it impacts your bank account too. Let’s get back to Sheila, she was spending a fair amount on her protein shakes, her bars and sandwiches, and her evening meals. Factor in the double expresso’s and sweet creamy chai’s she was ordering to combat her fatigue and she was easily spending a small fortune each week. It’s said that real food is more expensive than processed food, and in some ways this is true. A 2013 analysis of 27 studies from 10 countries found that eating healthier food costs about $1.56 more than processed food per 2,000 calories. However, in the long run, this difference is minimal compared with the cost of managing chronic lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and obesity. For instance, a 2012 study found that people with diabetes spend 2.3 times more on medical supplies and health care than people who don’t have diabetes.
So real food is more expensive in the short-term, but way cheaper in the long run — because junk food costs you twice!
3. Real food Is good for your gut
Eating real food may be beneficial for your gut microbiome, the bacteria that live in your digestive tract. Some recent key findings are suggesting that our gut health has strong links to our immune system – in fact, 70-80 per cent of our immune tissue resides in our digestive system. “You definitely need a good gut microbiome to have a fully functioning immune response and be less prone to pathogen infection,” explains Dr Nicola Angel, sequencing facility manager and microbiome expert at the Australian Centre for Ecogenomics. Also key is the role gut microbes play in regulating the degree of inflammation in the human body, with inflammation linked to such diseases as Alzheimer’s, coronary artery disease, diabetes and cancer. Meanwhile, an incorrect balance or absence of certain bacteria has been linked to an inability to lose weight or maintain weight loss. And, when it comes to inflammatory foods – high sugar, salt and fat are at the top of the list; the main ingredients in your take-out!
Many real foods function as pre-biotics — food that your gut bacteria ferments such as medium chain fatty acids into products like ghee. In addition to promoting gut health, these fatty acids may improve blood sugar control. Know which foods are right for you so that you can enjoy tip-top gut health.
4. Real food has more nutrients.
You do not know how long your food has been sitting around when you order take-out. But we do know that fresh, real food is more nutrient dense. Food breaks down its nutrients as it ages so even though you are taking in food – you are not eating food that nourishes the body. Remember Sheila? Well, she was eating but was not nourishing her body and as such felt fatigued and worn-out. By eating the foods that are right for your metabolic type such as those in the Recipe Subscription Program – you know you will be eating real food that nourishes your body and mind. You will taste the delicious difference that real food, high in nutrients makes as you enjoy the meals from the recipes that have been designed for your metabolic constitution.
5. Real foods slow the aging process
Aging is a combination of time and environment. Environment doesn’t occur just outside the skin; it also refers to the environment you provide inside your body. What’s really aging skin? Is it possible there’s one root cause responsible behind skin aging, diseases and other challenges? Much of the available research says yes—pointing to inflammation as the common denominator. You may not find the fountain of youth when you eat real foods that are right for you – but you’ll get pretty close to it. Eating an anti inflammatory diet means following a diet, which has plenty of whole grains and fruits and vegetables (preferably organic) from every part of the color spectrum; monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, nuts and avocados; and sources of anti-oxidants. It’s comforting to know that the recipes in the recipe subscription program include all the foods that have anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, spices are suggested such as ginger or turmeric, which have natural anti-inflammatory effects. Want great skin? Its as easy as eating right!
Cooking healthy food doesn’t need to be complicated. My personalized Ayurveda meal plan makes it so simple. Sign up today for a free trial and see for yourself!
In health
