Healthy Don't Get Shot by a Magic Bullet

I am continually amazed at the reaction of so many who run out and buy "the next best thing to make you skinny, heal your ills or get you ready when the mood is right." Hello, people—there is no magic bullet. 

The magic bullet is over there with the unicorn, the genie in the bottle and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The Magic Bullet Trend
Ever since companies started to make food more convenient, quick and easy, Americans have been moving away from preparing fresh foods. Sitting around the family table to enjoy a truly home-made healthy meal used to be the norm, until families began to fill their hours with activities (kids' sports, drama, music, etc). Now a quick visit to the fast-food drive-thru more often passes for the evening meal as taxi-driver-mom tosses nuggets of non-food with accompanying sugar-laden sauces into the back seat on the way to the next activity.

On top of that, the trend to vilify oils in our diet and add sugar to enhance favor has led to a sugar addiction that has super-sized our populace. Over one-third of US adults (17% of children) are obese and the numbers are growing.

So what does this have to do with avoiding the magic bullet? The magic bullet is doing what is easiest rather than choosing what is best for our health. The Easy Way is now the Magic Bullet of our culture.

Whenever a new THING surfaces in the news, everyone clamors to get some because it's easier. Something about green coffee to lose weight...? or have they moved on to another Easy Way of the month.

Easier Has Gotten US Sicker

Our easier life has come at a cost to our health.

We are not winning the war on cancer, despite how statistics are massaged to tell you otherwise. Don't look behind the curtain or you might see what's going on as numbers often protect the cancer machine, which makes billions for drug companies and their shareholders.

How can you have 1.6 million people being newly diagnosed with cancer and roughly one-third of that number dying from the disease and treatment, then claim we are winning. Huh?

People, there is no Easy Way in life. If you want to have money you have to work hard. Same goes for health—if you want to be healthy you have to work at it. It's worth it!  And really not that hard. Just requires attention and intention.

Pay Attention
We must get back to eating the food of the earth. That which God intended for us to eat. I'm not saying that everyone needs to give up meat. That is my choice—it may not be yours—read Why I Don't Eat Meat.

If you want to eat meat, at least pay attention and find out what you're getting in that meat. Do you really want to eat an animal that has been fattened in crowded disease-infested pens, given antibiotics and growth hormones, fed genetically modified grains that are pesticide-laden and not their natural food? Cows are meant to eat grasses not grain.

This is what we get when we turn our food system over to a factory mentality—large-scale food prep. It holds for most food at the grocery store. Creating packaged food-simile (i.e., looks like food, but doesn't provide nourishment) filled with chemicals (to get it to the shelves and keep it there without spoiling), sugar (to make it taste good) and artificial colors (to make it look good).

Nourishment: Substance necessary for growth and health.

Have you ever been to a gas station convenience store? It's frightening! It's filled with aisles of brightly colored junk that people buy and eat. There is no REAL food at a convenience store.

Be Intentional
To be intentional, ask yourself, "Is this something that will give my body good health?"

The up-trend in Farmers' Markets and the effort to offer locally grown foods at your nearby grocer is moving in the right direction for healthier eating. Think local when you shop. Local sources mean more nutrients in the food.

I buy the store-brand unfiltered olive oil grown and packaged in Corning, California, 130 miles from my home. I know it's fresh. Buying olive oil from Italy makes no sense. You have no idea how old it is and whether it was kept from heat. Heat will turn the oil bad and unhealthy.

Be intentional by learning to prepare healthy meals. Make them simple. All the recipes at Healthy Journey Cafe are simple. After all, I want to save time and make things convenient too.

If you're giving up on finding the Magic Bullet and changing to healthier eating, take baby steps in that direction. Don't overwhelm yourself. Remember pay attention and be intentional.

BTW eating healthier is "the next best thing to make you skinny, heal your ills or get you ready when the mood is right."

What new health trend have you tried lately?