Eating Healthier Just Got Easier by Dr Damiana Corca

When it comes to food, today’s market offers products that are probably tastier than they have ever been. How can it be different? The food industry of today is a business above all, even when it comes to whole food stores industry.

We all know we should avoid soft drinks and drink more water, eat fewer doughnuts and more oats, and less deep-fried food and more baked meat. Do your taste buds and brain agree? Probably not. What can you do then? I know you want to be and feel healthier, take control of your life, look better and feel happier – yet, that isn’t always easy, to be sure.

What does a child do when you take a toy away from him? He will cry and protest until you distract him or give him something in exchange. Let’s apply this to our habits. What if instead of taking something away we simply replace it with a healthier choice? It’s not like taking chocolate away, but more like eating 75% cocoa chocolate. The taste will be a little different, but think of this: less sugar, less calories. Which is more, the slightly bitter taste will help you stop after eating a piece or two, not the whole box.

Let’s take another example: salad dressing. This is one of the easiest choices you can make in your life. Just replace it with oil and vinegar. Cuts calories more than you realize and it is definitely a healthier choice. Salad in itself has very little calories but add two tablespoonfuls of dressing and it competes with a pizza!

We cannot forget our daily dose of soft drinks. I’m not going to list here the many reasons soft drinks are not good for your body. I’ll sum it up as follows: sugar intake and water deprivation of your body. It is common knowledge that soft drinks contain unhealthy chemicals and are not even considered real food, but what I want you to bear in mind is that every time you drink soda you are lying to yourself. How’s that? Simply, by denying your body what it really asks for when you feel the need for a soda: quench thirst or satiate hunger. How you choose to respond? By giving empty calories that have no nutrient value and do not hydrate you? How about choosing healthier alternatives, like sipping tea or lemon water all day long, and when you really want something more like a soda, have a healthy organic drink that actually delivers some nutrients to your body.

How am I going about this you may ask? Change is hard, and I am so busy all day running between duties, that I am at a loss as how to make this a part of my lifestyle. No matter what your change is, be it one of the above examples or any other replacement, I want you to always keep in mind a few things.

Do not try to be a hero and throw all your food away. Take baby steps, replace unhealthy food and give your body some time to adjust before you move on. Doing it in small steps gives a much bigger chance of actually sticking to that habit.

If you have decided on a particular change that you want to make, then set a goal for you. For example, I am not going to have any soft drinks for a month. Just do that, don’t promise yourself you are not going to ever have another soda. Let that month be your goal and see how you feel and how does that change affect you. If you allow yourself this, you might be surprised at the end of the month and truly not desire another soda for your whole life. Do not forget to REPLACE IT though! Rid your refrigerator of soft drinks for that month and stuff it with healthier choices. Drink more water and tea in general but add a drink or two of juice.

There is nothing more rewarding than doing something for yourself and get healthier. When you allow these changes to happen in your life it is not only about yourself, changes will happen in your family and work environment. By helping yourself you help others. Something that affects the body always affects the spirit in one way or another and these changes leave their marks on your relationships.

Let’s grow together and make that change now! One thing can change your life by setting a different kind of patterns in your life.

My blog: www.elitehealthplex.blogspot.com

Damiana Corca, DOM, AP, Dipl. O.M., Dipl. C.H.

Doctor of Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture Physician

Board Certified in Oriental Medicine

Board Certified in Chinese Herbology

Western Family and Consultant Herbalist

Candidate, Board Certified Classical Homeopath