Why Do We Eat?

why do we eat

I know – pretty strange question. But seriously…. think about it….

Well you might say, “Well duh smart one, we HAVE to eat. We’ll DIE if we don’t.” Or STARVE. Or something.

Or you might say we need to eat to fuel our bodies, for energy.
Our moms always told us to eat so we can grow up to be big and strong.
And there’s a lot of people who eat just out of pure boredom.
Sometimes just the smell of a certain food makes us hungry.
I know watching TV usually kicks in my “I gotta snack on something” instinct.

But I think the main reason that people eat – and this is profound I know – is because they just get hungry!

Bear with me – there’s a point to all of this I promise….

And what do 99% of us do when we get hungry?

WE FILL OUR BELLIES!

Whenever my 2yr old grandson starts acting up I can always count on my wife swooping him off to the kitchen – “I bet you’re hungry! Let’s fill that little tummy!” And that’s exactly what we all do. We fill our tummies.

The problem is we usually fill them with crap.

And what we SHOULD be doing is remembering WHY we eat in the first place.

Nutrition

We eat to take in nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. And those things folks, well they come from food. Real food. Whole foods.

And I’m not talking about protein, fat, or carbs here either. Yes those are macronutrients that our bodies need, but that’s not the whole story when it comes to nutrition.

That cheeseburger in the photo has protein, fat, and carbs – is it nutritious? We have hundreds of rows of processed food-like creations in our grocery stores that “fill our bellies” and are full of protein, fat, and carbs. Do you really think those twinkles are nutritious? Or those doughnuts, or that bag of Doritos? What about that giant bowl of cereal – is says it’s nutritious right on the box…. is it? Even though it has more sugar in it that a can of Coke?

No, sadly, 99% of these products have absolutely no nutrition whatsoever. While they may have SOME Protein, Fat, and Carbs, and maybe even a few added Vitamins – they’re usually nothing more than storage containers for Salt, Oil, and Sugar.

And THAT is not nutrition.

But unfortunately that is the first thing everyone thinks of when we say “gotta get some food’… either going to the grocery store for processed food stuff or worse – fast food. Hey – it’s food. Anything to ‘fill those tummies” – right?

The Good Stuff

No, I’m talking about REAL nutrition, the kind our bodies actually need to stay healthy, support our immune system, fight off disease, and grow strong.

Vitamins, Minerals, Antioxidants, Fiber, Natural Sugars, Natural Essential Fats, Phytonutrients.

You know – the GOOD stuff.