We’ve all heard the age-old adage: “You are what you eat.” – but what does that really mean? To put it simply, the food you consume literally becomes a part of you. What food we ingest gets broken down and utilized on a cellular level, and those broken-down nutrients become the building blocks of organic matter in the body. So, while eating a cookie might not turn you into a cookie, the cookie’s properties do get broken down and absorbed into the body’s blood, muscles, fat, and organs. What kind of foods do you want your body to be made up of?

While food is broken down and absorbed into the body, we also have other ways of consumption that shapes our mind. “You are what you eat” also applies to what we take in through all of our senses: what we hear, taste, smell, touch, and see. Our mind begins to absorb mental nutrients and forms ideas and thoughts around what we expose ourselves to. There are many different kinds of mental nutrients such as music, dialogue, entertainment, community, places, and news. Each of these forms of mental stimulation can be enriching or draining our mind. What kind of mental food do you want your mind to be made up of?

There really isn’t a right or wrong way to go about feeding your mind and body. The takeaway is to be aware there are always consequences to the choices we make. With eating unhealthy foods, we may experience the consequence of not feeling well afterwards. With allowing yourself to be in toxic environments, watching violence, and/or listening to negativity, or engaging in gossip, you may experience the consequence of feeling depressed, uneasy, and/or anxious. We, of course, have the most control over what foods we eat, and we have a significant amount of control over what we take in with our minds. It all starts with awareness, then comes exercising your choice. The self-control and discipline to be discerning with what we allow ourselves to consume, mentally and physically. We are ultimately in control!

Your mind and body will thank you for taking such good care of yourself. The rewards for being picky about what you absorb through your mind and body are immeasurable. Be sure to prepare for vibrant health, contentment, a sense of wellbeing, and inner peace. The only way we can spread the light, is by first expanding the light within. First, find out what and who you want to be, then partake accordingly. The results of what you have assimilated through your mind and body exude through what you become as a whole. So be the example and dine wisely!

https://www.inc.com/magazine/201307/adam-bluestein/the-best-foods-for-leaders-to-eathtml.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1021676.stm

https://www.mindful.org/beware-of-mental-junk-food-you-are-what-you-eat/

https://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/05/22/you-really-are-what-you-eat