Have you been feeling a little under the weather lately but you can’t quite pinpoint exactly what this mystery ailment is? Maybe you feel like never have enough energy, or you have weird aches, pains, and food cravings that seem to come and go? Or perhaps you feel like you’re lacking the mental clarity that you once had? If any of these things sound familiar to you and if you can relate in any way, then consider this; maybe you’re just sad, not in terms of depression, but as in consuming the Standard American Diet, also known as SAD.
If you’re familiar with the premise of the saying, “You are what you eat,” then you can understand how consuming a diet that’s high in sodium, artery clogging saturated fat, toxic chemical preservatives, cancer causing artificial ingredients, and hormone disrupting additives? Whew, that was a lot. More importantly, all of these components do a lot to your mind and body in terms of taking a heavy toll on your overall health and well being. Consuming the SAD on a regular, long term basis can lead to a series of serious, possibly fatal, health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and possibly cancer.
And in addition to physical chronic conditions and disease, eating the SAD can also contribute to mental illness, such as anxiety, depression, and a sense of mental fogginess. That’s because what takes a toll on the body, will also take a toll on the mind. So if you’re eating foods that are raising your blood pressure and decreasing the flow of blood in your arteries, then you can expect to experience some corresponding mental and even emotional symptoms.
Luckily, you can reduce and maybe even eliminate your risk of developing these conditions by taking a few simple measures, such as incorporating more exercise or physical activity and diet. Sure, there are prescription medications that can be taken in order to regulate these conditions and manage them, but these are not without their own risk in terms of serious side effects. It’s much easier, and often much more effective, to simply eat better and move around more.
The reason why even the word “diet” is a turn off for a lot of people is because they associate it with bad tasting, bland, and strange foods. This is far from the case however. A diet rich in whole, organic, and nutrient rich plant based foods can be rich, indulgent, flavorful, and deeply satisfying. Plant based diets are especially rich in variety, meaning there’s always room to explore more flavor combinations, you’ll never get bored! So not only can a plant based diet improve your healthy, but it can also completely change your relationship with food! What a win win situation!
So what should you eat? Superfoods, and the plant kingdom provides a variety of them. Superfoods are rich in free radical destroying antioxidants, essential vitamins and minerals, and even essential fatty acids in some cases. Examples of superfoods include acai, blueberry, green tea, certain nuts, coconut oil, and organic micro greens. Micro green varieties, including micro herbs and some varieties of edible flowers, are harvested in their early stages when they’re the richest in nutrients.
So what exactly is in organic micro greens that make them so gosh darn good for you? Check out exactly why small can be mighty, especially when it comes to organic micro greens!
Brimming with beta carotene
Everyone has heard that eating carrots is good for your eyes because they’re high in beta carotene, but organic micro greens packed with even more beta carotene than carrots. Beta carotene is kind of compound known as a cartenoid that can help stave off diseases of the eye and may even prevent the development of Type 2 diabetes. These small but mighty greens are also packed with lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which are powerful cartenoids that can protect eyes from harmful UV rays while helping to prevent cataracts and macular degeneration.
Source of vitamin K
Like calcium, vitamin K is great for bone health. Vitamin K is also great for gum health.
Lots of vitamin C
Citrus isn’t the only source of vitamin C. Microgreens have enough more!