You have CHOICE

What did you choose for breakfast today?

Each day we make choices about the food we eat and what we drink.   We make choices that affect our sleep and stress levels.  These choices can support or deplete our energy.

We also make choices about whether to pay attendtion to physical symptoms or ignore them, hoping they will go away.

Some things we don't have choice about, such as the genes passed on to us by our parents.  However we can make a difference to our health and well-being by choices we make through life and potentially these choices can affect the health of our children.

If you eat food that is manufactured and contains a lot of sugar or artificial sweeteners, you probably already know that these choices are not going to support your health and vitality in th e long term.  However there are some foods you may not realise are sapping your energy and causing painful symptoms.

It can be difficult to make different choices, especially when there is so much confusing and often contradictory information in social media, on the news or from friends.  You will also have preferences and habits about your food choices that come from your family and culture.  Changing habits isn't easy and sometimes they are also driven by our body's needs or programming that we are not aware of.  If you are missing a particular nutrient in your diet you may experience cravings that cause you to reach for unhealthy food.  For example often when we feel hungry we are actually thirsty!  If you go on a low calorie diet your body will respond as if there is a famine and react accordingly, which can lead to weight gain once more food is available.

However you do have a choice about becoming more aware of the effect of your choices and habits and with this understanding possibly making different choices.  You also have choice about whether you allow cravings to dictate your health or, by making a little effort, changing what you eat and drink to achieve better energy.

You may already have made some choices that support your health: eating more vegetables, less sweet stuff, drinking less coffee or becoming vegetarian.  You may also have found that you still don't feel energetic or well.  This may be because the choices you have made are not the best for your personal health, or that you are unaware of something your body needs for good nutrition.   Many people, for example, are not aware of how much hidden sugar they are consuming, or how our bodies prefer stable blood sugar to a roller-coaster of highs and lows.

One of the most important choices we can make is to do sometihng different when our health is not good.  Asking our doctor for tests or seeking the support of a Nutrition Coach can be the first step on a road to improved well-being and more energy for doing what we love.

"I’d always looked how much sugar was in food but not actually looked if sugar was actually in the ingredients. Also never realised there was so much sugar in caramelised onion hummus!... I would recommend it. I would say if you are finding it hard to integrate the changes into your life get support from a nutrition coach "

The choices we make about out lifestyle also affect our well-being, such as how much rest we get...