A Balanced and Integrated Life of Holistic Health

Greetings from Santa Fe!

Earlier this morning, I sent the following thoughts to a couple of friends who I know are trying in this new year to make wiser, healthier choices regarding their eating habits. Attempting to live a balanced and integrated life of holistic health, I find that everyday I have a chance to make a fresh start with the rising of the sun. I thought maybe you would also like a bit of inspiration each morning, so for the next two months I would like to share this part of my journey with you as we're all in this life together.

Yesterday I received a little book I ordered and, upon quickly reading it, it has become my new Diet Bible. You may have heard about it with all the recent media blitz--Food Rules: An eater's manual, by Michael Pollan (author of The Omnivore's Dilemma). It's a quick, easy read with 64 rules. The simplicity of the book, with few words and lots of white space on the page, grabbed my attention and convinced me of its weighty significance for our current challenges regarding personal and social transformation. I have decided to share a rule-a-day with you, as we're all in this life together and we all desire A Balanced and Integrated Life of Holistic Health.

Here's the first rule:

Rule #1 - Eat food.

Seems easy enough for a first rule, huh? As I read this first rule I happily thought, "Yea! I get to eat!"

However, as Pollan writes, "These days this is easier said than done, especially when 17,000 new products show up in the supermarket each year, all vying for your food dollar. But most of these items don't deserve to be called food--I call them 'edible foodlike substances'. They're highly processed concoctions designed by food scientists, consisting mostly of ingredients derived from corn and soy that no normal person keeps in the pantry, and they contain chemical additives with which the human body has not been long acquainted. Today much of the challenge of eating well comes down to choosing real food and avoiding these industrial novelties."

In the documentary film Food, Inc., Pollan claims our local supermarkets boast an average of 47,000 products. So, trying to make a wise choice is not always simple and can often be overwhelming; but it begins with the choice to eat real food (e.g. If you find yourself at a fast food "restaurant", choose a salad instead of a hamburger or "chicken burger" or "fish burger"). Make mindful choices today and remember: each time you go to put some edible substance in your mouth, YOU have the choice. Eat real food.

Thanks for sharing the path with me,
Patti