5 Ways to Super-Fuel Your Body

Many people don't realize that the food they eat not only "fuels" their body for energy, but actually "makes" and "remakes" their body as cells and cellular material are replaced every day. This is a key reason we must eat high quality food, since we will actually "become what we eat" over time.

But there are more reasons that it is critical for us to eat high quality, nutrient-dense foods each day!
5 Reasons to Super-Fuel Your Body

What you eat will determine:

1. The amount of energy you have based on the quality of the food or "fuel."

2. The composition of your blood, your immune system, and your ability to fight and prevent disease.

3. The balance of your hormonal and endocrine system, and the natural coordination of the functions of the body.

4. The physical make up of your brain, heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, muscles, bones.

5. Your psychological well-being based on having the right nutrients on hand to keep mental balance.

If you think about it, food supplies the raw materials we need for energy, physical strength, health, and psychological well-being--everything foundational that we need to be healthy and happy!
5 Ways to Super-Fuel your Body

Eat foods that:

1. Are nutrient-dense.

Nutrient density means the amount of nutrition per calorie of food. Spinach, broccoli, cantaloupe, and papaya have an abundance of nutrients, but little calories. A cheeseburger has a lot of calories, but a scarce amount of nutrition. It also has a lot of things that can be harmful.

**In general, fruits and vegetables have the most nutrient density of any foods.**

2. Have the enzymes intact.

Enzymes are protein molecules that help necessary reactions occur in the body. They can be destroyed by heat and food processing. Over 1300 have been identified. The body can create some enzymes, but the more we get naturally in our food, the less work our body needs to do. We can also supplement with enzymes if we need more.

3. Are raw.

Raw foods are more likely to have all the nutrition (including enzymes) that originally came in the food. Cooking, processing, and storing food generally reduces the nutritional value.Healthy Foods

4. Are whole.

By this I mean all the parts and pieces originally in the food are still there. Processing generally separates foods somehow. Since there are hundreds and even thousands of different nutrients in whole foods that are meant to work together, the more they become separated, the less effective they will be in fulfilling their role in our bodies.

5. Unprocessed.

Sometimes processing a food makes it more palatable, safer, or convenient for us. But we must remember that many times there is not much left in the way of nutrients in the end. So what is the benefit of eating the food? It's basically just calories without nutrients--which drains the body of its nutrient stores.

Super-fueling your body means selecting foods packed with the most vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and enzymes. If you make 30 food decisions each day, remember these 5 principles to help you make better choices!