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Cultivate Your Soul: 5 Hints for Growing Healthy

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Featured Author:

Michelle Pfennighaus

Michelle Pfennighaus is a holistic health counselor and registered yoga instructor based in Boston, MA. For many years she suffered from debilitating anxiety and digestive disorders until finally healing herself through changes in diet and lifestyle.

Michelle received training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and a 200 hour yoga teacher program. Currently, she works with clients all over the country to improve their health and happiness. She also offers cooking classes and workshops for groups.

To learn more about Michelle, visit her website FindYourBalanceHealth.com.

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More articles from this author:

• Teleseminar: Happy Holidays and How to Have 'Em
• 5 Tips for a Healthier Holiday Season
• Unemployment: The Healthiest Time of Your life!

No matter where you do your shopping, you’ve probably noticed all sorts of health related claims on food packaging. At a northeast supermarket chain called Stop & Shop they’ve even started an in-store program called Healthy Ideas to make shopping for your family, well…brainless.

But I tend to think if it were that easy we probably wouldn’t have a nationwide obesity epidemic. And heart disease wouldn’t be our #1 killer. Marketers know we want to be healthy. They spend a lot of time and money investigating our motives and lifestyle. But their sole objective is, of course, making a profit.

Before becoming involved in the health profession, I worked in advertising for 8 years. I can tell you that marketers do not have your best interests in mind when they label a product “All Natural” or “Heart Healthy.” For example, the term “All Natural” has no actual definition regulated by the FDA. Any product can make that claim – it means nothing. But it sure works on consumers looking for more “natural” foods.

Here’s what I say: Don’t believe anything you read on packaged items except the ingredient lists.

There are many loopholes in the rules about what can and can’t be said about a product. Some fancy headlines or graphics can make even the worst products sound quite healthy!

So, what should we be looking for? Try whole foods that are not heavily marketed. These are foods that don’t necessarily make the food industry a big profit but are the most natural, for sure. They are available at your local grocery store – but don’t rely on advertisements, labels or in-store promotions to necessarily help you find them.

Here are 5 tips for buying truly healthy, nourishing foods for you and your family.