And how Health is never about just one thing.
While headlines like, "10 foods that will save your life" are catchy, easy to click and we want them to be all we need. If all we needed was more almonds or avocados, wouldn't life be swell? Unfortunately it's not that simple. While I will not argue with the indefinite benefits of super foods such as kale, seaweed, chia seeds, ginger, turmeric, etc. Our attempts to isolate these key foods and praise them as our saviors leaves a huge gap in how we can improve our nutrition and overall health.
In Chinese Medicine much of what is nutritious and beneficial to your health is based on your constitution. Each of us has a given constitution, some people are born hearty, and some more fragile. Within that there are certain foods that play to our constitution's strengths and some that will likely lead to various types of illness. While there are plenty of super foods that we can all add that help us, learning to know your body, your tastes and cravings is a much more effective way to look for longevity.
With many schools of thought and different ways of eating, it is also not too complicated. Here ar the best things you can do when choosing your food.
-shop at your farmers market (seasonal produce has immense health benefits to help keep you healthy through the season. Additionally, the less time between harvest and eating, the better! Grocery stores often have produce that has been picked and shipped, letting nutrients fall off slowly)
-cook at home (this doesn't have to be complicated or expensive! My easiest at home meal is greens with sausage and a grain. It takes 20 minutes and is healthy, affordable and has far less sodium than eating out)
-cook & eat warm foods (raw is ok once in awhile, but in general your digestion loves you to pre-digest aka cook your food! This helps longevity because your body isn't working so hard each and every meal)
If this seems more complicated than drinking that Kale smoothie today, get started on one small part today. Start to shop seasonally. Then add on the cooking in a few months. We are biodiverse creatures and need more than one food or food group to keep us going! Believe me, health and wellness will be all yours.