How far away from the source is your food?

The closer your food choices are to their original source, the more vitality they have for your overall health, wellbeing, and joy.

Lets face it, sweet foods are tasty; they can also make us feel cozy and help elevate a blue mood.

But what happens when our relationship with sugar becomes a bit too intimate?

The average person in America consumes 45.3 pounds of sugar each year, enough to fill a typical garden wheelbarrow.

It’s another New Year, when many people make new commitments about their eating, fitness and life detracting habits.

Often we strive for too much, setting goals that are set-ups for failure.

For the next several weeks, we will explore a simple, yet potent principle of holistic health that I call, The Holy Question.

Look at any food, food-product, or drink, and ask yourself:

* How far away from the "source" is this?

* Is there any life energy present here?

* Is this anywhere close to its original grown state?

* What type of processing did it go through?

With the holiday season ahead, more time off, and an abundance of holiday meals on the calendar, many of us tend to go overboard, and as a result, throw the body off balance.

You have probably heard about the word 'inflammation' before, but what does it really boil down to?

In our lives when we get injured, like a sprained ankle or broken arm, the body moves into a natural and healthy inflammation response that begins the healing process of the affected area.

One of the rotating diet trends in American culture is the attack on carbohydrates and the resulting ‘carbofobia’ that ensues.

Yet, not all carbohydrate foods are equal.

Simple carbs from refined white flour (muffins, white fluffy bread, danish) are very different than whole grains or complex carbs (brown rice, whole wheat flour, quinoa) that integrate into the blood stream more slowly and don’t create havoc in our blood sugar.

In this line of thinking, whole grain bread is not as big of a culprit as white bread.