For this article I am going to speak to the first toxic dietary belief–”Dietary Fat is Bad and It Makes You Fat!”

Yes, it’s true that some synthetic fats will effect your body. Margarine and other spreads that claim to taste like butter, are just not healthy for your body because they are highly processed and often made from GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) corn. But EFA’s (Essential Fatty Acids), such as olive oil, coconut oil and fish oil are absolutely essential for your body. If someone could come along and vacuum out all the EFA’s in your brain, you would die instantly!

Did you know that your brain cells and other cells in your body are composed of fat and a body really needs adequate healthy fat in the diet to sustain those healthy cells and keep our minds efficient. The results of doing the ‘low fat’ thing to an extreme can lead to a subclinical fat deficiency. When that happens there will be an inability to lose weight, a poor absorption of supplements and can even lead to depression.

Years ago when the big news was “low fat” everything, it really did the American diet a disservice. More and more people began to eat anything that said “low fat’ without reading the labels and not discovering what had been added to the food, if you can call it food, to make it taste good. In many cases sugars and chemicals were added, which might have reduced the fat but it increased the calories and the toxins. Thus, with subclinical fat deficiency reducing our ability to lose weight, we then added extra calories which made us heavier.

It is far better to add a healthy fat to your salad and vegetables then to go the low fat dressing route–not only will you increase your chances of weight loss, but also your mind will be sharper and your skin will glow. So, go eat some healthy fat and reap the benefits!!!

When someone tells you not to eat ‘that food’ because it’s bad for you, often we feel that they are saying that “we are bad.” And, to make matters worse, when we eat from the ‘Bad List’, we often feel as if we need to punish ourselves by starving, over-exercising, pigging-out (since we’ve already eaten one potato chip, why not the whole bag?) or become depressed and feel less than.

So, how do we determine the value of food? It’s how we use the food that determines the value–such as when it is eaten, why it is eaten, under what circumstances, the quality of the food and if we eat too much. Anything can turn into poison if we eat too much even if it’s the healthiest food on the planet.

Nourishment takes precedence over nutrition. Some of the foods we consume might not have a great nutritional value, but they do something for the soul. An example–I love mashed potatoes with butter and when I eat them, I feel nourished and relaxed–they take me to a place of warmth and comfort. Therefore, when I eat them, I try not to overdo them, but really savor them by eating them slowly and tasting every single bite. This is nourishment and not really great nutrition, but that’s okay. When I’m in a relaxed state, my metabolism and digestion are at their optimum. I am not stressed out by thinking, “I shouldn’t be eating this, it’s bad for me!” For in a stressed state, our metabolism shuts down, our heart rate goes up, and our digestion doesn’t work properly.

So, I beg you– trash that ‘Good Food, Bad Food’ mentality and listen to your body. Our bodies are incredibly wise and will help us on our path to healthy eating. Remember, you are a human being and not a perfect machine, in fact, who would want to be a perfect machine? Enjoy and nourish yourself and intuitively feel what would satisfy not only your body, but also your soul. Don’t beat yourself up about eating mashed potatoes!

What to do?