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Listen, regardless of what you want to believe, what you ingest matters. What goes into your mouth affects how you think, how you feel, how you function, how you smell, even how you sleep. Although we have not been taught to think this way – food gives life or brings death.

Take a moment and think about how you felt after eating your last meal – did you feel tired, sluggish, and dreary or invigorated, energized, and mentally alert. Now think about what you ate, if it was heavily processed or fried, died and laid to the side then there is no way it can support or bring life to your body.

So we are clear let’s talk a little about processed food. “Food processing is any deliberate change in a food that occurs before it’s available for us to eat. It can be as simple as freezing or drying food to preserve nutrients and freshness, or as complex as formulating a frozen meal with the right balance of nutrients and ingredients” (foodinsight.org). When food is processed its nutritional make-up is altered and it is no longer a WHOLE source of viable nutrients. Processed foods are not limited to chips and ice cream but includes canned fruits and even frozen veggies. [I will say if I had to choose between canned or frozen green beans, I would choose fresh! No, but seriously, if I had to choose I would choose frozen because it is less processed and has minimal additives.]

Now, I know some of my readers will say ——- but Khadijah I had a salad filled with veggies. My response: GREAT! What else was on it? If it is covered with meat, cheese, and creamy dressings it minimizes the nutritional value. While having all those wonderful vegetables is a good thing, your body has to fight through processing the junk to extract what it can from those veggies. And keep in mind – your body is going to put in work just to process the meat and cheese, as our digestive system was not created to support breaking down flesh and fermented pus. Because your body has to work so hard to process these things, you become tired and sluggish.

Considering that we are living beings one of the best ways for us to nourish our bodies is to eat living foods. Incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables with every meal and minimizing [or eliminating] animal products are good starting points. Have you ever tried incorporating a Meatless Monday into your week? How did it work for you? Leave a comment below and let me know ?