What would you say if I told you good health was just a matter of performing some simple math. Yes it is true, just use subtraction and addition rules to help you gain better health. Today lets take a look at the subtraction rule and how removing things from your diet can help. Now I am not talking about removing calories in order to starve yourself with the hopes of getting healthy.
What I am talking about is removing unneeded additives from your food, i.e. artificial flavorings, colorings, preservatives, etc… One of the easiest ways to improve your health is to just remove chemicals from your food that your body does not need. Covering all the issues that these chemicals cause in the body is best left for another day. Just keep this fact in mind, food has the biggest impact on our bodies systems by providing the carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, fiber, etc., that our bodies need to function. You can easily see that quality, not quantity is the deciding factor in our health. How do you get quality food? You subtract! Ok, lets start!
Remember that old saying, “If you want something done right you have to do it yourself.” Yes I am saying if you want to improve your health you will have to leave pre-processed foods in the store. Pick one meal that you eat often. For our example lets pick something many people have eaten and still eat. Oatmeal. Oatmeal is one of the simplest meals. Just look at the difference between pre-processed instant oatmeal and homemade oatmeal.
Instant Oatmeal vs. Homemade Oatmeal
Instant Oatmeal Ingredients
WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, OAT FLOUR, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SALT, GUAR GUM, CARAMEL COLOR, REDUCED IRON, VITAMIN A PALMITATE.
The oats are pre-cooked, cut thinner and into smaller pieces than normal so they will cook in a minute or less. Look at all the additives in just basic instant oatmeal. Caramel coloring is added to make the food look good to eat after the over processing of the oats. Vitamins are added to try and put back some of what was lost in the processing and often these vitamins are synthetic. Typically synthetic vitamins are made from coal tar derivatives.
Homemade Oatmeal Ingredients
WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS
The oats are not pre-cooked so it takes about 10-15 minutes to cook. Vitamins and coloring are not added back to the oats since they were not removed. And guess what? This oatmeal tastes better than the instant and the cost is typically less, since you can buy whole oats in bulk at most stores. If you want flavors like offered in the instant oatmeal then just add your desired fruit, spices, and/or sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, etc.
Yes it is going to take a few more minutes to make the homemade oatmeal, but that is no big deal. You already know that you are going to have to eat everyday, so with some pre-planing you can stay on your game. The big benefit here is what your body does not have to deal with because of subtraction. It does not have to waste time and energy dealing with all the artificial colorings, artificial vitamins and preservatives. The energy saved can start to give your immune system what it needs to heal and build backup. Now you are seeing the law of addition come into play, by adding health to your body.
I would suggest you start by looking at your weekly food menus to find processed meals to change by subtracting then and adding homemade meals. Changes can be as simple as homemade oatmeal. Little changes all add up when taken as a whole.
Share in the comments some things you have done to change your menu and improve your health by using the law of subtraction.
About Jeff
We’ve made so many changes over the course of the last year… its hard to list some.
We started by throwing the microwave out the front door, cut all soda, store bought ice creams etc. and emptying the cupboard and fridge of all processed food.
We’re slowly learning about what we shouldn’t keep around, (eliminating store bought bread is a struggle… dad’s a truck driver for a bread co.) Learning about nutrition is a continual process, but it seems to be getting easier and more natural the longer we do it.
A few other changes…
* buying 2 dozen chickens… eating farm fresh eggs!
* buying organic locally grown produce
* switching from aspartame sugar substitutes… to honey and other natural sweeteners
We’ve also learned that not buying the 95% of what’s available in the stores has truly had benefits we couldn’t have hoped for. Doesn’t it feel so much better eating food the way God intended it?
Thanks for making our new way of eating fun with all these yummy recipes!
Kiki, Wow you are walking the walk. You have made some major changes and you did it right, taking your time over a year to do it. It is so great to hear about changes others are making in their eating habits. What is fun is seeing the changes in your body overtime. Every few months I do an assessment and find something else that has improved in my health.
Keep up the good work, our best to you and your family. Jeff and Shannon