We Are What We Eat!

Like all things we need to sustain life, food has a way of literally shaping who we are. Our clothing can often define our life style, and the neighborhood we live in will often tell the tale of our fortune or misfortunes, but food crosses all these social barriers and affects everyone equally, rich or poor. No one escapes the repercussions of a poor diet.

One of the many glimpses of the bright side of life, often shared between those who face adversity, includes the saying, “Well, at least you have your health.” This is an acknowledgement that our ability to rebound from any tragedy life throws at us hinges largely on our physical condition.

Any health problem that inhibits our ability to enjoy life to its fullest is considered to be a serious drain on our resiliency, at times even affecting our will to live. Until we start to be more cognitive of the impact our diet has on this resiliency, our loss of overall vitality is blamed on a host of other mental and emotion issues.

At times it seems like a steady diet of stress gets more attention as to its effect on our health, rather than what we are eating. Another is being emotionally starved for love and affection, and its effect on our overall health. To make matters worse, it seems we lose all desire to eat a balanced diet whenever, we are suffering from these other “dietary imbalances.”

So, it appears to be true that we are what we eat, until we finally come to our senses and realize that we are simply compounding our problems by damaging our health. Food was never mean to be used as a sedative for mental overload or a balm for a broken heart. It is not a medication, but it can be addictive when it is used as one.

If we search for the truth in all of our dietary choices, what is notably missing most of the time is the decision to eat foods that promote health, in quantities that prevent obesity. These balanced proportions are designed to build stamina and a resiliency that helps us better cope with the steady diet of adversity that life is always adding to our plates.

I must say it was easy to write this all down, and profess some wisdom when it comes to eating a balanced diet and avoiding the dangers of overeating because we may be under mental and emotional stress. But, in truth, most overeating and dietary imbalances are caused by one major problem. The foods we really like to eat taste good, so we eat more than we should.

There are times when I look in the mirror and see a slight resemblance to a beach ball, and I’m sure that if I could resist that second helping I could regain some of my youthful appearance. Now I will surely pay the price for my foolish decision to forsake my health for another piece of pie if I don’t mend my ways.

There is a solution to this problem. It’s not an easy solution, but it does become more palatable when we give it a try and discover that the phrase “Well, at least you have your health.” is critical to longevity. If we eat what we need to maintain our health first, then we discover that we can get by with a much small portion of what we love to eat as a reward for our good behavior.

We are what we eat. We need to eat healthy. It is much easier to cope with life when you feel healthy.