Think of yourself as an automobile. You have an engine and a chassis, also known as a body. Sportscasters often talk about players’ legs as “wheels.”
We have gas tanks—our stomachs—where we put our fuel.
If your car sits in the driveway for long periods, the fluids will dry up and the tires will lose air. It needs to be driven occasionally, just as you need regular exercise.
Your car needs regular check-ups—preventative maintenance—just as you do. Make sure all the parts are working optimally.
Now let’s talk about the fuel.
If you put watered-down, dirty, or poorly blended gasoline into your car’s engine, it won’t run right. It will knock, ping, shudder, and maybe even conk out.
It’s exactly the same with us.
The problem is that, while gasoline blends for automobiles have improved over the years, Americans are ingesting lower and lower quality fuel for their bodies.
(We’re also over-fueling, which has no corollary in our car.)
No wonder we all feel ill and depressed. We have ailments today that didn’t exist in the past. Immune conditions, like chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, were unheard of 100 years ago.
There are literally dozens of fast food chains in America that sell poison and should not exist. But we patronize them and put their junk fuel into our gas tanks.
There are thousands of “food” products on the market that are composed of molecules unknown to our bodies. They are the equivalent of gunk in our fuel. And we consume billions of pounds of them.
Think of what a donut is:
- Processed sugar
- Fried oils
- Trans fats
Pouring these ingredients into our own gas tanks is not much different than pouring them into our car’s gas tanks. We run slower. We have less energy. We feel worse. We perform worse. Our systems don’t work as well.
We’re gumming up the works.
Americans spend twice as much per capita on healthcare as any other country on Earth. And yet we’re less healthy.
One third of American adults are obese. One sixth of children are too. Obesity is not a natural state. We make ourselves that way with poor diets.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says a poor diet is associated with basically every disease and condition known to industrialized nations. Heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer—the list goes on and on. And it ends with premature death.
Okay, all that is the bad news. Now the good news.
This can all be fixed so simply. It can start right now.
All we have to do is pour the right amount of better fuel into our gas tanks. Research shows their effect on our engines will be nearly immediate.
Good fuel for humans is rich in fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes. Eat lean meats, eggs, beans, and nuts for protein.
Avoid processed, manufactured and refined products like cookies, candy, cakes, and fried foods. Go easy on the empty starches like white rice and white potatoes, and on the dairy products, particularly cheese, which is high in fat and low in nutrition.
People who have eliminated the bad fuel, and who stop over-fueling, have found they run smoother and have more pep. Their immune systems work better and so they’re sick less. They sleep better and lose weight.
Their overall health improves within a week or two.
All of us can live healthier lives just by improving what and how much we eat. And we can take the first steps today.