Living Healthfully: Wisdom from the Ages

Every few years a new fad diet comes under the microscope and falls victim to research declaring it unhealthy or, even worse, detrimental to health.

With news reports, research and expert opinion all at our fingers tips feeding us often conflicting information, how's a gal to know what is actually benefical and what will create chaos on the inner harmony of the body?

Well, simple: go back to the basics.

I don't mean discount everything you've ever learned about biology and health {although, some of us may very well need to reprogram our heads regarding much of the "health" information we've been fed), but I do mean that we can look to what our ancestors used to eat in their traditional diets and mull over the types of movements in which they used to engage.

Here's some wisdom we should definitely take from our great grandparents' generation when it comes to living healthfully:

Eat Locally, In Season
When we focus our feasts around locally grown foods, we not only support our local economy, but we also increase the likelihood of consuming whole, unprocessed foods. Take a trip to your local farmer's market every week this fall and buy a variety of colorful foods that are freshly picked at the peak of the season. Most veggies can be sauteed over a low flame in olive oil or butter atop the stove, tossed into a homemade stew or soup or grilled to perfection.

Our weekly farmer's market bounty

Eating locally also connects your body to the land by introducing naturally occurring microbes that remain on the food to your body, including beneficial bacteria, viruses and yeasts. This is one reason why natural physicians recommend patients suffering from seasonal allergies consume locally gathered honey -- the consumption helps your body understand the lay of the land, thus giving your immune system a head's up. Read more about eating local and training your immune system in this New York Times article. Want reasons beyond that to eat local? Check out my CBS article.

And remember -- Curves Complete features TONS of recipes featuring local, seasonal vegetables and meats.

Eat Whole Foods
If you can't shop the farmer's market, simply shop the perimeter of the grocery store; skip the middle aisles that are loaded with processed foods that are simply nothing more than nutritionally void calories. Think about it this way: if it doesn't spoil, it doesn't cross your lips

Eat the Food Chain

Think about the concept of food chain -- you are what you eat. If an animal consumes grains when it isn't mean to consume them in bulk {like cows}, its digestive system won't function as well, and it's body won't receive essential nutrients. Chickens for example, feast on grains, yes; but they also feed on the little bugs and worms they find in the pasture. And those little buggers are teeming with important nutrients and minerals. Chickens fed a vegetarian diet and confined to indoors don't have access to those rich dietary staples, which means their eggs will also be less dense in nutrients.

Pasture raised meats, dairy and eggs are much more dense in nutrition, higher in good fats and richer in antioxidants. Read more about the difference between conventional versus pasture-raised meats, eggs and dairy here.


Remember: to lose weight, we CANNOT simply restrict calories! We have to provide our bodies with dense nutrients so as to allow fat cells to be converted into more useful cells! Curves Complete focuses on nourishing the body with an emphasis on real foods. Ask your Grayslake Curves coach to help you pick a menu that focuses on adding the most nutrient-dense foods to your plan. 

Simply Move
It's so important to move often and move well. Strength training and cardio is essential to building healthy muscles, including your biggest one -- the heart. Our ancestors used to get lots of bursts of cardio and strength training through their daily work and tasks.

Your Curves workout and Curves Circuit with Zumba workouts feature both anerobic and aerobic exerices that really aim to strengthen and condition your body. When added to an active lifestyle that's filled with walking and movement, the Curves workout helps to create strength in places that don't often see movement when we're at our day jobs!