It’s very common these days to eat a lot of the same foods. Even worse, the majority of these foods have been grown with poisonous chemicals and often processed to some degree, and therefore have less nutrition to provide. But our body needs a good variety of vitamins, enzymes, and co-factors in order to guard against disease and aging. The best way to keep your body healthy and young is to eat a variety of foods. As we like to say, Variety equals Vitality!
Before the industrial revolution, we ate primarily local, seasonal fruits and vegetables. Nearby farms would grow what could survive the season and everyone would buy what was available. Today, you can buy just about anything year-round. Produce is perfectly manufactured to look big and colorful, it’s preserved with chemicals to survive the long shipping process and to last longer on the shelves. Because of this new way processing and shipping foods, produce has become much less nutritious. Couple this all with the fact most of us buy and eat the same foods, we’re also getting much less variety than ever before. When our body is deprived of the valuable nutrition that we receive from eating a variety of foods, over time we can experience stress and fatigue, and become more susceptible to health illness and disease.
However, it’s not just about variety. Eating foods that are grown locally ensures that you’re eating foods that grew in your local environment, which research shows can improve your immune health. Plus, you’re also supporting smaller local farms that make it a priority to grow the most nutritious foods for you. Research shows that purchasing from local farms that grow organic produce is much more nutritious than the poisonous alternatives that industrialized farms provide. Overall, buying local, organic foods means avoiding unnecessary stress, and it’s stress that makes us age!!
Since industrialized agriculture has spread like a disease across counties abroad, it can be difficult to find smaller farms nowadays and therefore easier to just buy from chain markets and restaurants whose interests are more about money than your health. But as we mentioned, in order to support your health, and to ensure you’re giving yourself the best chance to stay young and vital, it is recommended that you enjoy a variety of organic produce grown seasonally from your local farmers. The best part is that more and more farms are springing up all over the country. If you’re interested in finding one closer to you, just search for local organic farms in your area, or visit Local Harvest for a rather extensive list of local farms, farmers markets, and sharing programs across America.