A holistic approach to nutrition acknowledges the interrelationship of body, mind and spirit. In holistic nutrition, we recognize that our food choices affect all aspects of our being. For instance, the regular consumption of refined and processed foods will deplete physical and mental energy and wreak havoc with the nervous system. Natural whole foods and properly chosen food supplements, on the other hand, nourish body cells and feed glandular and nerve tissue to ensure long-term mental and emotional wellness.
Good nutrition consists of more than just consuming healthy foods. The foods we eat must be absorbed and assimilated in the body. For that to happen, we must have a properly functioning digestive system. Many of the important nutrients from foods and supplements cannot not be fully utilized until the eliminative system is functioning at its optimal level and without adequate digestive secretions, the foods will not be properly broken down in the stomach and intestines. Only when proper digestion is restored can the nourishing and rejuvenating benefits of vitamins, minerals, and other health-building substances unfold their maximum potential.
Professionals in the field of Holistic Nutrition also understand that the thoughts and emotions we entertain in our minds and hearts exert a direct influence on the body. We can choose between positive, helpful thoughts, which nourish body, mind and spirit, with love and encouragement. Negative, destructive thoughts, on the other hand, disrupt body chemistry, thus literally creating a state of disease.
When we become aware of our habitual thought patterns and our emotional disposition, we can actively substitute positive, constructive thoughts and feelings, thus transforming ourselves for the better. Change your mind, change your heart - change your body!You can literally recreate yourself into the healthy, happy person you would like to be.
There is little doubt that our environment is polluted with toxins and harmful substances. One of the keys of anti-aging is to identify useful ways to detoxify our exposure to toxic surrounding elements including our air, water and food. The reason is simple - the more toxins you ingest, the worse you feel and the faster you age.
The concepts of internal cleansing and detoxification have been around for centuries. Detoxification of the body refers to the cleansing of the bowels, kidneys, lungs, the liver and the blood, as these are the organs involved in the detoxification of chemicals and toxins from the body.
Toxins
A toxin is defined as any compound that has a detrimental affect on cell function or structure.Toxins can damage the body in an insidious and cumulative way. Once the internal detoxification system becomes overloaded, toxic metabolites begin to accumulate. We also become progressively more sensitive to other chemicals, some of which are normally not toxic. It is this accumulation of toxins over a period of time than can wreak havoc on our normal metabolic processes thus causing numerous allergies and addictions.
Toxins include industrial chemicals and their polluted by-products, pesticides, additives in our foods, heavy metals, anesthetics, drug deposits, environmental hormones and secondary smoke. More than two million synthetic substances have been identified and 25,000 new toxins are added each year. About 30,000 are produced on a commercial scale. Unfortunately, only a tiny percentage is ever tested for toxicity.
Long-term exposure to toxins can result in metabolic and genetic alternations that can affect cell growth, behavior and immune response. This is because the molecular structures of toxins are carcinogenic as they interact with human DNA. The World Health Organization has implicated environmental toxic chemicals in over 60 to 80 per cent of all cancer cases.