Essentials of Healthy Eating

Proper nutrition ranks number one in the prevention and treatment of disease.  Most people are not only unaware of proper nutrition, but they are misinformed by the food industry's propaganda that leads to poor eating habits and addictions.  The following primer is a brief introduction to the nutritional guidelines that will help you regain the state of balance proper to the human organism.  More information is available through additional reading.  We continue to stress the importance of these changes--the foods (energy) you put into your body determine the quality of your physical and mental well-being.

The study of human nutrition is dedicated to determining which nutrients man requires for proper growth, development and well-being.  The scientific study of nutrition is a relatively new field -- begun approximately 70 years ago -- that draws heavily on the fundamentals of chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, physiology, medicine, pathology, physics and cellular biology.  By its nature, nutrition is an area that relies on the technological advances of these disciplines in order to demonstrate progress.

Determining which nutrients an individual needs is very difficult and complex, as marked differences exist from person-to-person.  In the future, researchers with advanced technology will identify the roles of various nutrients in the biochemical processes of the body.  Due to current limitations in technology, no one knows “exactly” what the body needs.

Proper nutrition is important because it provides fuel and lubrication for the body.  Although you would never put heating oil in your gasoline tank (unless you had a diesel engine), many people constantly put the wrong “fuel” into their bodies by consuming devitalized, de-mineralized, over-processed, over-salted and over-sugared “foods.”  The body has an “Inner Intelligence” that can compensate for improper care to some extent, but if excessively abused, the body begins to degenerate more rapidly than desired.

In order to delve into the study of nutrition, it is necessary to first consider the body's requirements on the most basic level.  The fundamental requirements of the human body can be consolidated into eight basic categories.  In order of importance they are: air, water, carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and fiber.