by Caleb Rogers

Created on: May 02, 2008

Keeping your foods as healthy as possible is not such an easy task these days. For the health conscious individual, there are such obstacles as antibiotics, growth hormones, artificial coloring, preservatives, environmental toxins, and severe nutrient breakdown. That's a lot to overcome with today's limited supermarket choices.

In a time when the term "organic" has become little more than a marketing angle, how does one keep their food healthy? The simple answer is to eat as close to nature as possible. Any food that you buy should be purchased as close to it's natural state as possible. This will minimize environmental pollutants while maximizing nutritional value.

Buy most of your food from the fresh produce section. Face it, we need to be eating more vegetables. When shopping at a grocery store, spend a lot of time in the fresh produce section, grabbing vegetable after vegetable. Yes, there will be plenty of pesticides and some food-grade wax to deal with, but most of that can be washed off. Embedded preservatives found in boxed foods aren't so easy to eradicate.

Shop at a natural food store. Even though they are usually expensive, natural food stores cater to the health enthusiast. Fresh vegetables grown naturally, free range chicken eggs, and hormone free meats can be found in abundance at such a store. If there is no natural food store close, head to the nearest Farmer's Market to find locally grown foods.

Beyond that, the best option is to just do it yourself. Start a garden. Hunt wild game and catch wild fish. Get your food straight from nature and you have a much better chance of avoiding all the toxins that companies add to their foods to increase their profit margins. Food should be about food, not profit. Buy, grow, and hunt good, natural foods, and you'll be healthier for it.

One other, often overlooked, method of getting the most nutritional value out of your foods is simply to eat them raw. I don't particularly advocate eating raw meat, even though it can be safe under certain circumstances, but you should eat your vegetables raw. Only cook vegetables if you have to in order to create a particular culinary dish. If no fancy dish is required, simply eat your veggies raw. When raw, nutrient breakdown is minimal, so vitamins, minerals, and fiber find their way into your system in large quantities.

Keeping your food as healthy as possible is a daunting task. With fast food restaurants lining the streets, and toxins lining the grocery store shelves, one is hard-pressed to find healthy alternatives. Keep it simple, and keep your foods as close to nature as you can, and you'll be a healthier person.

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