Healthy foods are nutrient-rich foods that have the ability to heal and sustain our health. In turn we are better able to protect ourselves from illness and diseases that occur because of nutritional deficiencies in the foods that we eat. Today many, many foods are deficient in nutritional value. This is especially true of highly processed, additive and fat laden foods.

Simply put, the healthiest foods in the world are whole, unprocessed (or very minimally processed) foods. Healthy foods are free of chemicals and additives. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and nuts and seeds are healthy foods. [SunFood.com] Meats, dairy and dairy products that are naturally raised and processed are also healthy. Natural animal products contain no antibiotics or growth hormones.

In order for a food to be healthy it must be nutrient dense and a rich source of the essential nutrition our bodies require to retain good health. Overall, this includes hundreds of elements such as vitamins and minerals, fiber, essential fatty acids and complex carbohydrates. Whole foods [SunFood.com] contain these elements and a varied diet promotes better nutrition.

The two best ways to make sure you are eating the healthiest food possible are to buy food that is organically grown, [HouseofNutrition.com] or grow at least some of your own food. All naturally grown foods are better for your health, but those foods most common and most familiar to all of us are most nutritionally powerful as whole and unprocessed.

These are the foods that are the most affordable and the most familiar. Some of the most nutrition-packed foods are those we already eat. The question is whether we are eating these foods in their most nutritious state. Or, are we eating them as highly processed fatty junk food full of dangerous chemicals and additives that contain little or no nutritional value. It is our responsibility to make the correct and healthy food choices, [MotherNature.com] and our job to educate ourselves about what we eat.

A century ago all our food was organic, simply prepared and nutrient-rich. Today, many believe that even organic food [BotanicChoice.com] is somewhat lacking in nutrition because of the mineral depletion of the soil. That has resulted in the demand for, and the explosive growth of natural dietary food supplements. [VitaDigest.com] And we definitely agree. Nutritional supplements [WebVitamins.com] have the ability to “bridge the gap” between the nutrients you get from your food and the nutrition your body absolutely must have to maintain good health.

More nutritious whole foods, especially those that are organically grown, [HouseofNutrition.com] are somewhat higher in cost than conventionally grown foods. However, this cost and that of a quality multi-vitamin and mineral supplement [VitaminWorld.com] will always be far less than the cost of treating diseases that could have been prevented with the proper nutrition.

Free Range Cattle

Frank Wallis serves on the Steering Committee for the WyoAg Coalition, and he’s not a happy man. He recently wrote an article about government regulation of food as it applies to him and those like him. He raises natural grass fed beef, free range chickens and grows vegetables and fruits without chemicals and artificial fertilizers. He does not use antibiotics or growth stimulants on his livestock. He has a website where he markets to consumers who seek to purchase meat, eggs and produce from what he calls a “non-industrial, humane production system”. His goal is to produce superior and clean food, and the freedom to bring it to the marketplace without what he believes to be undue government interference.

This interference he talks about is his being required to drive a total of 665 miles ( two roundtrips) to South Dakota for USDA inspection and processing of his beef product for eventual sale at farmers markets. By contrast he can sell a live animal to a local customer who can have the local wild game processor kill the animal right on the ranch. Then the processor can haul the animal to town and cut it up for the customer. His question is “What makes the beef hauled to South Dakota safer than beef harvested at his ranch?” It’s certainly food for thought.

What I found most interesting in Frank’s article were his references to seemingly conficting points of view from those who are supposed to have our best interests at heart. Apparently Frank is free to sell his raw produce, but if he “processes” the apples into a pie, he is forbidden to sell the pie at the local farmer’s market. Yet, the same pie can be sold by a church, as in fundraiser.

Here’s another one. Frank writes, “You can go shoot a deer on a 70-degree day in November, drag it through the dirt and cactus for two hours, throw it on the hood of the pickup and drive in the hot sun to the local meat processor.” Then he states that one can give this meat to their neighbors and the local soup kitchen. But he cannot take his beef to the same butcher and sell it to the neighbor. He does not believe this is a matter of food safety at all.

Frank talks about how the mega food production system gets the food nicely packaged to the store shelf. He asks if it’s “safer” to eat chicken raised with sunshine, grasshoppers, good grass and clean water? Or should we be satisfied with chickens never seeing the light of day, living their entire lives in a space one-half foot square while being fed antibiotics to keep them from dying (and clipping their beaks as well). You be the judge.

And here’s a final thought from Frank, “The one-thousand people who die from salmonella each year are buying their meat via the government inspected mega-plants. No one is being harmed by backyard producers and small ranchers.” Can anyone say power and control? For more information go to www.WyoAgCoalition.org.