Wellness includes healthy food choices, but it also goes beyond that. It supports body positivity, self love and embracing the health that’s uniquely your own.
Unfortunately, diet culture has found a sneaky new disguise in the form of wellness trends. These include clean eating, detoxes and cleanses, mass hysteria about gluten and elimination diets.
How do I know what to eat?
A healthy diet is a key component to wellness. When you are not eating healthily your mental, physical and emotional well being can suffer.
To keep your body in good condition it is important to eat a variety of foods that are low in fat, salt and sugar. This includes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meat and dairy. It is also a good idea to drink plenty of water.
Physical wellness is a healthy lifestyle that includes getting enough exercise, having a balanced diet, drinking sufficient amounts of water and abstaining from unhealthy habits such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and unprotected sex. It is also important to get adequate sleep and relaxation. Developing these habits will help you live a longer, healthier life. Wellness is a conscious, self-directed and evolving process of attaining optimal physical, mental, spiritual, financial, environmental and vocational health so that you are not just surviving but thriving!
What foods are bad for me?
A wellness program that encourages you to eat certain foods while restricting other foods, no matter how it’s dressed up, is a diet. And that’s not necessarily good for your health.
Diet culture has figured out a sneaky way to repackage itself as “wellness.” We see it everywhere on social media as trends that encourage waking up early to work out, always having a clean home and practicing spirituality. It’s also behind the mass hysteria about gluten, the obsession with detoxes and cleanses and elimination diets that may actually cause more harm than good.
It’s a wolf (diet culture) in sheep’s clothing that’s trying to get your money by pretending to care about self-love, body positivity and acceptance. Instead, it’s attempting to manipulate you into buying its fancy, overpriced adaptogenic gluten free refined sugar free granola that costs them pennies on the dollar to make. No thanks. Just give me my regular granola back!
What foods should I avoid?
Although it’s impossible to know exactly what everyone should avoid, experts can give you general guidelines for what not to eat. Avoid foods that are low in nutrition or that can actually pose a health risk. For example, don’t eat high-fat, processed meats such as bacon, ham, pepperoni, hot dogs and cold cuts. These are high in saturated fats, sodium and added preservatives like sodium nitrite.
Also limit your intake of foods that are heavily processed, such as doughnuts, cookies, cake, muffins, candies and flavored yogurt. Instead, choose whole-grain breads and cereals. Choose lean meats (like chicken breast and fish), nuts, eggs, beans, soy products and leafy vegetables. Also, try to get more fiber into your diet by eating fruits, vegetables and herbs.