5. Choose Your Food Wisely
All animals on earth know how to eat. However, most humans
have lost their instinctive ability to make wise food choices and
instead look elsewhere for advice. Unfortunately, we are inundated
with messages about how and what to eat — mostly from unreliable
sources.
Food is the foundation of everything you do. Without the right
fuel for the aerobic system, fat-burning will be limited. Without the
thousands of nutrients from food, the immune system can’t stop the
process of disease. And without the necessary balance of macronutri-
ents, the brain can’t continue to thrive.
In order to achieve optimal human performance, wise decisions
about the foods you eat are essential. The best foods help the body
produce nearly unlimited energy, increase fat-burning and lead to a
healthy life. In addition, the body is constantly making new cells,
and, in fact, always replacing itself, so you’re really making a new
body all the time. The building blocks for this new body come from
the foods you eat. So, in a very real sense, you really are what you eat.
Just as each of us has a different set of fingerprints, the specific
requirements for carbohydrates, fats and proteins, along with the
right amounts of vitamins, minerals and fiber, can vary from person
to person. To build and maintain optimal health you must supply
your body with the right mix of fuels and nutrients that matches your
individual needs. This is much easier than you think, and what you’ll
learn in this book.
Unfortunately, many people obtain information about food and
nutrition, and other key lifestyle issues as well, through newspapers,
magazines, radio and TV. With few exceptions, this information is
usually misguided — packaged and processed junk food disguised as
healthy is continuously pushed on the public. While these sources