 The Go, Grow and Glow Foods Okay, let’s face it. Children, especially, love to drink sodas, they love to eat candies and chocolates (and in some cases, almost every day), and love to eat the same kind of food every day despite the insistence of parents to try out another type of food. But the insistence goes beyond that. And in this first chapter, we introduce the basic food groups that not only children, but adults as well, should find healthy and stimulating to liven up their bodies. Ever since we were in elementary or even preschool, we have all heard about the energy foods to keep us growing. Remember the go, glow and grow foods? These are all considered energy foods. Let us study them one by one and let us see if they give enough energy to sustain us throughout the day. If not, let us see how. The go foods are considered as the energy-giving foods. The go foods are basically the carbohydrates and the fats, which are essentially the chief sources of energy. Examples of this food group are the root crops, bread and bakery products, pasta, cooking oil, butter, rice, corn, margarine, and other fats and sugars. Some of these foods are actually rich in Vitamin A, such as root vegetables. Others are fortified with Iron or Iodine. In general, the go foods help children, and even adults, run, jump and play all day long, a much needed boost to their energy. Meanwhile, the grow foods are thought of as the body-building foods. These foods are rich in minerals and protein which are needed for growth and repair of body tissues and also take part in giving energy to the body. Examples of the grow foods are poultry, eggs, meat, fish, milk and milk products, organ meats, dried beans and nuts. These foods are also fortified with Vitamin A and iron which can easily be absorbed by the body. Aside from giving energy, the grow foods are important to maintain the physical appearance: it gives you shiny hair and sparkling eyes. The grow foods, also called the regulating foods, are important for growth, for healthy eyes, for high resistance to infection and for strong bones and teeth. Grow foods are rich in fiber (which is important for intestinal regularity), vitamins and minerals. Foods belonging to this group are the following: squash and, green leafy vegetables and other vegetables and foods which are rich in Vitamin C such as mango, guava and orange. For children, the grow foods can help you become strong and make you grow. These basic food groups are often represented as a pyramid. At the bottom of the chart are the go foods. In the middle of the chart are the grow foods and at the top of the chart are the glow foods. These foods basically work together to give the body much-needed energy and help us function as individuals in our daily lives. But of course, when you eat too much of any of these foods, then there is a bit of a problem. I am not just talking about the physical aspect of eating too much of everything. There is more at stake than that because once the physical aspects get affected, so will the emotional and mental factors. In short, it affects every part of the body, mind and even the soul. Energy slows down and there is no more room for excitement and exhilaration in your body. All that is left are the symptoms – dangerous symptoms that might leave you breathless, and even lead to illness. Symptoms of Eating One Type of Food Whether we like it or not, unhealthy eating contributes to more than drained physical energy – it doesn’t give you a lift of the spirit and keeps you down always. Too much or too little of everything is a sign of trouble. Unhealthy eating can lead to obesity, or sometimes, underweight. Usually, with obesity it leads to different illnesses, the most common of which is a heart attack. And if you thought that smoking tobacco or cigarettes or being with friends who smoke are the only things that can bring you lung cancer, think again. Unhealthy eating can also contribute to lung disease, especially when you are not eating fruits and vegetables – the grow foods. When you don't eat vegetables and fruits, your resistance goes down and your energy level is not at its peak. Some of the diseases which can occur for those who do not have a well-balanced diet and who don't do exercises are the following: diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, strokes and many kinds of cancer. Skinny people may also have the same illnesses as a result of unhealthy eating. It might not be as obvious as those who are quite obese, but the symptoms of unhealthy eating are still there. Special Energy Foods In this age of pharmaceuticals, where drug companies spend millions on new pills to take care of our ills, you might be surprised to learn that there are still people who swear by deceptively simple remedies that can be found in anyone’s kitchen cabinet. Some of these are: apple cider vinegar, baking soda, lemons, salt, honey, seeds and nuts. The next time someone tells you “I take a glass of water with apple cider vinegar every morning and I’ve never felt better”, don’t dismiss them as being just a bit cracked, or as very suggestible to what seems to you to be merely a placebo. (And by the way, what’s wrong with placebos, if they work, and according to many controlled experiments, they do work about thirty percent of the time.) Some of these foods work by establishing a better acid-alkaline balance in the body. When we eat too many acid-forming foods, our bodies end up being too acidic, and that spells low energy, at the least. Unfortunately, many of the foods we love are in the acid-forming category: sugars, pastries, and a lot of fast foods. They’re called convenience foods, but they’re not so convenient in the long run, because our bodies do not always find them convenient for furnishing energy. We know baking soda is alkaline, but it may come as a surprise that apple cider vinegar and citrus fruits, including lemons, have an alkalizing effect in the body. Most fruits and vegetables are in this category too. You may also be surprised to find salt on this list, since it is a favorite no-no in a lot of the literature on nutrition. Many of the convenience foods are overloaded with salt, so we can get too much of it, but we must not forget that salt is absolutely necessary to our bodies. It also can be used therapeutically, for example, to clear out the nasal passages, because it is a powerful germ-killer. Seeds and nuts are known for being very concentrated food sources. They contain everything that is needed to develop into a full-blown plant. Some people avoid them because of their high calorie content, and this is unfortunate. It’s all a matter of balance, and including them regularly in a balanced diet can really boost your energy levels. Also, they are so, well, convenient, that they are a much better choice for a snack food than, say, potato chips. In addition to the more well-known ones, such as walnuts, pecans and sesame seeds, do get acquainted with the sunflower seed. Good roasted, but even more nutritious raw, they can also be included in breads, cookies and other dishes. Another seed that is getting some well-deserved attention these days is linseeds. They are packed with omega-3 oils, and are an important addition to an energy-building diet. Once ground or pressed into oil they easily spoil, though, so it’s better to buy them whole and grind them as needed – an electric coffee grinder works perfectly for that. And all of the above foods (well, maybe not the baking soda) are really good-tasting. Even the apple cider vinegar can be quite pleasant to taste if you put two teaspoons of it in a glass of warm water and add a teaspoon of honey. Remedy to Staying Healthy It has been said over and over again that the key to having a healthy body is eating healthy foods and regular exercise. According to statistics, the leading contributors to physical death are an inadequate diet and physical inactivity. Statistics from to the US Department of Health and Human Services show that the leading contributors to a premature death, are a faulty diet and physical inactivity, with 310,000-580,000 dying yearly. These figures even show that these factors are 13 times more deadly than guns and 20 times more deadly than drugs. So, when faced with such scary numbers, what can you do? Simple. Just follow this advice – if you make sure you have a balanced diet and practice some kind of physical exercise, you will find a new burst of energy. In this way, you can more easily handle your problems, and focus more easily on the things that matter to you the most. As mentioned earlier, eating a well-balanced diet contributes greatly to having a physically fit body. A well-balanced diet means having a taste of everything, and not just focusing on one food group. In this way, you can easily counterattack the diseases that might come your way – whether you are obese or skinny. Along with having a well-balanced diet, exercise is also very important in giving your energy a boost. There have been studies that link exercise with having a fit mind, and being able to focus more on the things that you need to do in your career and in your personal relations. When you exercise, it doesn’t necessarily mean going to the gym. Walking and running around the neighborhood are already good forms of exercise. When you exercise regularly, you revive the energy that’s building up inside of you and you will be able to achieve the things that you want to do for each day. |
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