Mothers...Gaining A New Perspective on Health Care
By Ann Aresco, ND T
his Mother’s Day, we should all be grateful to the women in our lives who ensure our daily health through simple yet critical actions, such as providing nutritious meals, ensuring
adequate hydration, and enforcing consistent sleep schedules. Since I’m both a mother and a Naturopathic Doctor (N.D.), these are values that I work to instill in my children, family, and patients every day. Mothers are the primary purchasers in most families, so their increasing awareness of issues such as GMOs (genetically modified foods), pesticides, processed foods, and chemical additives has a big impact on children and their health care. I use the term health care because the whole foods that we con- sume, along with the quality of our sleep and the number of hours that we exercise, are the most essential pillars of our overall health. We simply can’t operate or perform at our best, or prevent illness, without first achieving these naturopathic goals.
Nutrition Must Come First When I ask patients about their diets they often confess, “I don’t
have time to eat well.” This is especially concerning if the patient is a parent, since this lack of proper nutrition affects the entire family. Today’s parents are frazzled with full- and part-time jobs, parenting, homework, soccer, karate lessons, and ballet lessons. Something has to give, because it’s simply impossible to do it all. Often what gets pushed aside is nutritional food. Sure, schoolwork, exercise, and learning the piano are important. But in order to perform these functions, solid nutrition must come first. Children (and adults)
can’t learn well or run quickly if they don’t have sufficient fuel from whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and good sources of protein. These foods should be served to your children daily. A meal should not consist of mostly processed food. There are simple ways for busy people to work whole food into the daily menu. From crock-pot cooking to juicing, there are ways to make healthy food quickly; you just have to look into what will work for your family. Eating a lot of processed food doesn’t work for anyone’s family.
Are You Eating Food that Starves Your Body? Unfortunately, malnourishment is far more rampant in the U.S.
Center for Holistic Practices & Psychotherapy
“The Community Hub for Holistic Health and Well Being” Zumba with Amy 7- 8 pm every Wednesday.
Qigong with Cindy, Saturdays, 1:00-2:15pm thru March.
Yoga & Meditation class schedules including information on classes, events & spa services is available on our website.
963 Queen Street Suite C, Southington, CT 06489
www.centerforholisticpractices.com 860-276-5843
30 Natural Nutmeg May 2013
than many people realize, and it can interfere with proper develop- ment and growth. People often think that because they are eating something—anything, they’re not starving. But the reality is that if you only eat vacuum-sealed prepared food, then you are starving your body of what it truly needs to function. As a mom and N.D., I suggest that families take a look at the food that they consume—and at the food they throw away. A recent report on food in the U.S. stated that 30% to 50% of Americans’ food is thrown in the trash, most of which is fruits and vegetables. Think about all of your health care that is thrown in the garbage! Do we not put enough value on fresh food, so we don’t mind throwing it out? If this is the case, then we need to pay more for it. I would be willing to bet that people who buy organic, non-GMO food throw out a lot less than people who buy cheaper, processed food. The other obvious contributing factor is that fresh food spoils faster. Food that is rich in vitamins and minerals tends to degrade quickly, but is used more readily and efficiently by the human body. So while shelf-stable food may last a long time, it simply does not provide enough nutrition. Another challenge for mothers who are racing through their
days is to avoid giving in to children who fall prey to TV commer- cials that peddle sugary cereals, billboards that promote fast-food meals that come with toys, and colorful, cartoon-filled, junk-food packaging at the supermarket. The reason there are so many tempt- ing ad campaigns for unhealthy food is because marketers need to convince you, and SELL you, on the idea of purchasing their over- processed food. Organic farmers don’t need to convince you that their products are good for you.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44