Integral Health and Wellness
I am not a physician, an exercise physiologist, a nutritionist or an environmental engineer. However, I have read extensively on the importance of regular exercise, a proper diet, and an uncontaminated personal environment to achieve optimal physical health and wellness. When one considers the Body module of the Integrative Transformational Pathway it is important to remember that a regular exercise program will be supported and enhanced by giving that body healthful, vital nourishment, eliminating foods which detract from good health, and eliminating as many environmental contaminants as possible from one’s personal environment. Then one’s Body practices will become a synergistic contribution in the journey toward integral transformation.
I am not advocating any particular diet. There are more than enough books by experts that give suggestions and guidelines for all sorts of different diets, all of which would contribute to improved health and vitality. I am not suggesting that one make radical changes in one’s diet overnight because when one’s body is habituated to certain types of foods, abrupt changes in the intake of that food or those foods can cause a withdrawal reaction similar to that of a substance abuser quitting cold turkey. However, the suggestions I am making here are general guidelines that have served me and many others in cleaning up and optimizing my diet to maintain a healthy, energetic body.
- Eat organically grown or raised foods if possible
- Include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially leafy green vegetables. Eat fruits and vegetables raw or minimally cooked if possible. Be sure to wash fruits and vegetable thoroughly, especially if they are not organically grown, to rinse off chemicals sprayed on them while growing. KD Gold™ is the best fruit and vegetable wash there is.
- Include whole grains and whole grain products (brown rice, whole grain breads and pastas, potatoes with skins, etc.).
- Reduce/minimize or eliminate refined, “empty” carbohydrates (anything containing any of the “whites”: white sugar, white flour, white rice, etc.).
- Reduce/minimize or eliminate animal proteins. This includes meat, poultry and fish. If you eat animal proteins, choose finned fish over shellfish, seafood over land animals, and lean poultry over beef, pork, lamb, etc.
- Reduce/minimize or eliminate dairy products such as milk, cheese and eggs.
- Reduce/minimize or eliminate fatty foods and deep-fried foods. Use unsaturated oils like olive oil.
- Reduce/minimize or eliminate consumption of junk foods and fast foods.
- Reduce/minimize or eliminate consumption of tobacco, caffeine and alcohol products.
- Use vitamin/mineral supplementation as necessary per recommendations of health and nutrition experts and/or your own research.
Personal Ecology is also an essential component of an Integral lifestyle. Read about how you can clean up your personal environment with Natural Soap Formulas’ KD Gold™.