Real Food Basics: Be Ready When Someone Asks You These Questions

Do you need to brush up on these real food basics?

My friend Anna is in high school and emailed recently:

I was wondering if I would be able to ask you a few questions? I am writing a persuasive essay in my English class about healthy vs. unhealthy food and thought you would be a good person to interview for it.

So this post is sort of like the “way-back machine”.  For many of my readers, you know this stuff.  However, it may have been a while since you were asked these questions, so it's good to freshen up for those moments when you're put on the spot and someone new to real food wants some answers…

Read my replies, which rolled off my fingers fairly quickly (as they should after all these years!), and then let me know in the comments what I missed?

1. Why are processed foods bad for you?

Processed foods are terrible because most of us can't even pronounce all the ingredients listed on the label, so we don't know what we're putting into our bodies. You can be sure, however, that there are an unknown amount of chemicals that make many people sick, and no one knows the long term effects for the rest of us. Also, these foods are void of nutrition. Foods made in your own kitchen with quality ingredients will not only not harm you, they are also loaded with nutrition, and taste better, too!

2. What are the benefits of healthy eating?

The benefits of healthy eating for the average person means such things as sleeping well, waking up rested, having energy to do what we need to every day, and feeling positive about life. Those who are sick will start to feel better very quickly once they ditch the junk and eat real food. Traditional foods made in your own kitchen with ingredients you trust (as in, you know where they came from) are very healing, and it's sad how many people out there are sick or depressed and they don't even know the power of real food.  (Have you seen these 20 tips for dealing with anxiety and depression naturally?)

3. For people wanting to make a change in their eating habits, what are a few simple things they could do to change?

Start reading labels and avoid anything that you can't pronounce. Eat more whole foods without an ingredient label. Avoid mystery meat (meat that you don't know where it came from) and find a local farmer you trust who raises his animals in traditional ways, as in: not crammed in a huge building with hundreds of other animals, fed junk just to fatten them, which fattens the people who eat it too, and who never go outside and graze the way God meant for them to.  (No local source for safe meat?  You can get healthy meat online here.)

4. When eating out, what are things to be aware of to make a choice towards a healthy meal?

Unless you're eating in higher-end restaurants who serve whole foods and quality ingredients, eating out should be a rare occurrence. Most restaurants just don't have good options. They usually only have mystery meat on the menu, they fry in heart-killer oils (read more about healthy fats here), and everything else is loaded with unknown scary chemicals. Instead of fast food, find some meals that everyone likes at home that are really fast and easy to make. I have a whole list on my site and I believe everyone should have a list they can refer to on the nights they're too busy to cook.  (Here's my favorite fast-foods-at-home list.

5. Even though it costs more to eat healthy, are the results worth it?

It depends on if feeling good is worth it. If having the energy and happy outlook to enjoy life are worth it. If living longer and living well are worth it. Everyone has to decide for themselves, but Joel Salatin has a couple of great quotes that I share often:  “Pay now or pay later.” And, “Have you priced cancer lately?”  (Read more about affording real food, it really is possible!)

Your turn!  What would you add to this?!

• A Note to Myself Ten Years Ago
• Joel Salatin and the Perfect Farm Bill: Eliminate the US-DUH {Also: How Much Crunchy Liberals and Conservative Christians Have in Common}
• More from Joel Salatin, the real food rock star
• My real food conversion story
• Life Changes – Five Ways They’re All the Same
• 20 Nutrition Facts that Should be Common Sense

Stories of Healing:

• Help for Auto-Immune Disease
• Help for Fibromyalgia  (“I was crying so hard the bed was shaking. So much so that it started to make me sea sick and I had to move to the floor. That was about the time when my husband came home after working his second job. He had to work two jobs to support us because of all the medical bills. Seeing the pain in my husband’s eyes, seeing myself through his eyes, even though I didn’t think it was possible, I felt even worse. Would this nightmare ever end?”)
• Help for Allergies and Food Allergies
• More stories of Real Food/Natural Remedies and Recoveries

photo, Creative Commons, 2.0