“The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison“, (Ann Wigmore).

We need food in our lives every day so it’s very important what we choose to eat. Sometimes there can be a real lack of understand in relation to the amount of work that local producers put into growing and producing the food that we use to make our daily meals. This can then lead to us all consuming cheaper, over-processed, substitute products that have much lower nutritional values.

Everything we eat shapes and builds us!

A few year’s ago I was fortunate to come across my local farmers market. From my regular visits over the year’s and spending valuable time speaking with the farmers, producers and stallholders there I can now safely say that I have a much better understanding of food.

I am now more aware that food fuels our behavior and health and I also realise the importance that it can bring to the daily events in our lives. We don’t just choose the food that we eat because of hunger. Personal taste, family preferences, cultural influences, emotional reasons, health concerns, our piers, the quantity of the offerings available, convenience and cost are also other factors in us choosing what we eat.

We are fortunate to live in a world of plenty, with an abundance of food to choose from. But with this abundance comes overeating, weight gain and health related problems. Recent healthcare trends show that we are now more than ever before more interested in diet and health, however the numbers of overweight and obese people actually tells a different story. So over the year’s I have learned more about what influences my food choices, to be able to better control and enjoy what I eat each day.

I must admit that I can get overwhelmed by the marketing messages which tell me to eat this and not eat that! Sometimes the advice can seem contradictory and confusing! So some of my top tips are:

Try to choose & eat as much unprocessed foods as possible

Enjoy local, seasonal produce

Colour your plate like the rainbow with lots of fruit and vegetables – it is also good to understand that imported fruit and vegetables are shipped in chemically modified atmospheres. So if you can source Irish alternatives or grow your own fruit and vegetables, you will enjoy this better quality of food.

Make your own best food choices each day.

Most of all… remember to enjoy your food the way nature intended it to be!

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