Awakening

Over the past couple years I have come to the realization that too many people don't honour their bodies or treat themselves well.  The problem lies within our culture.  We are raised to shop, cook and prepare foods in a very unhealthy manner.  Even within our school and hospital/health systems we are told to follow food guides that are too generalized and not healthy for everyone.  I have come to the realization that our bodies are way more important than anything else on this planet.  Without optimal health we cannot achieve half as many things on this planet.  Without a healthy frame of mind or optimal physical health we cannot take care of our planet the way we should.   Most people think "oh my!  I am gaining weight and I should be more healthy and go to the gym and work out really hard to get rid of that weight."  Unfortunately at that point there are many more bad habits involved than just not getting enough exercise.  The average Canadian will have multiple addictions by the time they are 20.  These addictions are not the usual ones you would think of when you think of the word addictions.  I am not talking about smoking, drinking or drugs (which are also very serious problems).  As dangerous as those addictions are I am talking about the ones less talked about and much more common addictions like Sugar, Salt, Caffein.  Sugar is one of the biggest ones, that's why so many people are becoming diabetic before they even reach the age of retirement.

I don't want to go on too much about addictions, farming and chemicals in our food and water or I could go on all day. I am not going to be the one to tell you what is good for you and what isn't. You need to learn that on your own because everyone is different and everyones body reacts to things differently.  There are too many people out there giving each other all kinds of wrong information. Thankfully more people in our society are slowly starting to become more aware and ask more questions about where our food comes from and how is it made or what is in the ingredients.  One of the main factors of my personal awakening was learning how to become a critical thinker.  You can learn so much if you start asking questions, reading labels, ask where your information is coming from, ask who sponsored the research. There are so many people who walk through life with a blindfold on, they do as they are told, they shop as uninformed consumers and they buy because of marketing from large popular corporations and not because of knowledge of the products.  Most people assume that if it's sold in a grocery store then it can't be bad for us because that just wouldn't be allowed. We need to change the way we shop in order to change the way we eat.

My advice is to go back to the basics. Buy food in it's most natural form, not processed and organic or at least locally grown if possible.  Try different ways of preparing your food.  Try new foods that you haven't tried before.  Spend more time researching about your food and food additives and preservatives.  Create a new recipe, eat it knowing that it's really good for you and share it with others.  Feeling healthy isn't just getting exercise, it's knowing that what you put in your body is truly good for you and that what you get out of it is the motivation and energy to get the exercise you need to stay physically fit.

So what does this all have to do with becoming a gluten free vegan you say?  Well it's simple, since I have been learning about how to become a gluten free vegan I have learned so much about why all these new food choices are healthier choices in general.  I just figured that it would be a crime not to share what I've learned so far.  This is why I have decided to start this blog.  I have been trying so many vegan/gluten free recipes and enjoying so many foods I haven't tried before that are vitamin rich and taste awesome that I had to share them.  I have been posting pictures and writing some recipes for my friends and now I want to start sharing with everyone. I look forward to uploading pictures and sharing recipes and ideas with you.

I will try to recommend a book for each blog entry I write.

Today's book is....

The China Study

http://www.thechinastudy.com