Healthy Food, Healthy Mind

Considering my Grandmother grew up on a farm, and once owned a health food store, she has been the main influence in the foods I eat. Always careful of what food is stocked in our house, she makes sure we know what we are consuming, and is constantly changing the specific types of food. From low fat, to no sugar, she’s tried it all. And my family has rejected a good amount of it. Our family always has vanilla ice cream in our freezer, and with that, there is always a bottle of chocolate sauce in the fridge. She once switched the usual Hershey’s chocolate sauce to the low sugar type; it didn’t go over so well. None of us would eat it, and within three days, there was the usual bottle of chocolate sauce in the fridge next to the low sugar one which only my Grandmother ate. In this society, we enjoy things that taste good; a little too much, even. But the point of it all is to make sure we are in tune with what we are consuming, making sure we have the daily dosage of what we need, and at least attempting to keep unneeded foods and sugars especially, out of our diet.
I assumed this was simply my Grandmother’s “thing.” She grew up on a farm, and owned a health food store; it was pretty much expected she would be like this. However, my freshman year of High School is when her attitudes about food consumption really kicked in for me. My Grandfather ended up in the hospital due to various small things that eventually built up. Within about six months after that, he was declared a diabetic. In response, my Grandmother reacted in a way that was expected. She cut down and even eliminated a lot of the foods my Grandfather shouldn’t eat as a diabetic, while my mother and I were still in our usual habits of fast food, heavily processed foods and sugar.
It was a hit for me. None of my family had ever had any serious health issues until then, and seeing my Grandfather in the hospital, and afterward having to prick his finger every day startled me. For the longest time, I ignored this, thinking, “I’m young, have a fast metabolism, and shouldn’t worry about this yet.” However, after watching my mother go through menopause and seeing her body and energy change, and continuing to see my Grandfather’s health decline, I couldn’t ignore it for much longer. My Grandfather has been my Spiritual Mentor, while my Grandmother is more of a life counselor. My Grandfather’s mind may be keen and spirit pure, but my Grandmother is the one who has kept my Grandfather’s health from failing drastically. If it wasn’t for her, he would be in ten times worse condition than he is now. Between the two of them, and seeing how they have coincided I’ve begun to see how important it is to really consider what you eat and how you choose to live on this earth.
Most of what we eat is psychological and social; the taste, the look, how easy it is to get it, what others are eating around us. We are so preoccupied with everything else in our lives we don’t consider how much better off we would be if we would take the time to consider something as simple as “you are what you eat.” As my Grandfather says, “A mind is a terrible thing to lose,” but your body is what allows your mind to experience so much more. Keep your body healthy, and your mind has an even better chance to rise to its full potential.

McWilliams, James. A revolution in eating : how the quest for food shaped America. New York: Colombia University Press, 2005. Print.