Wholeness.
“May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I Thessalonians 5:23
Whole foods align with God’s design for our wholeness.
Making the transition to a whole foods lifestyle is really about making a mindset shift and a routine shift. I’ll explain. But first…
What is considered a “whole food”? A whole food is a food that is minimally processed, unrefined, and as close to its natural state as possible. Here are the top three characteristics of whole foods:
#1 – Whole foods retain their natural nutrients, fiber, beneficial compounds, and enzymes.
#2 – Whole foods are also free from artificial additives, preservatives, and refined ingredients.
#3 – Whole foods are not fortified, enriched or genetically modified.
When my kids were little we would have “Junk Food Week”. It was one week during the summer every year that they could pick out processed food. Usually on vacation, and yes, I would cringe, and make all kinds of grimacing faces as they put pop tarts, cereals, oatmeal pies, cheese its, pizza pockets, and more in our grocery cart.
Several things I remembered about Junk Food Week:
- Meals were a breeze – processed food we just microwaved, put it in the toaster oven or ate out of the package. Not much prep or clean up.
- My grocery bill was cheaper
- We all felt yucky after that week
Take away – Junk food is…
- Easy
- Cheap
- But, not satisfying
I get it. Processed food is easy. Processed food is (mostly) cheaper. The appeal is there.
But is it worth it? Is processed food worth the saved money, worth the saved time?
Processed foods are for man’s profits, not for God’s purposes and design.
The Problems with Ultra Processed Foods
What is ultra processed food? Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are industrially formulated food products that undergo extensive processing and contain ingredients not typically found in home kitchens. These foods often include artificial additives, preservatives, emulsifiers, colorings, flavor enhancers, and high levels of refined sugars, unhealthy fats, and sodium. They are designed for convenience, long shelf life, and hyper-palatability but generally lack essential nutrients and fiber.
Health Risks of Ultra-Processed Foods:
Regular consumption of UPFs has been linked to:
- Increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease
- Higher rates of inflammation and metabolic disorders
- Disruptions in gut microbiome health
- Greater likelihood of overeating due to engineered flavors and textures
Processed foods are man’s cheap counterfeit to God’s amazing design.
Generally speaking these are the foods found in the center aisles of our grocery stores. Shopping around the edges of the store is where (for the most part) we can find more whole foods.
Here are some examples…
- Processed meats (bologna, pepperoni, deli meats, hot dogs, etc)
- Processed oils (canola, safflower, corn, vegetable oils)
- Processed sweeteners (agave, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, sucralose, refined cane/beet sugar)
- Processed veggies & fruits (fruit roll ups, fruit snacks, fruit juices, vegetable chips, veggie juices, veggie burgers, chips)
- Processed grains (cereals, breads, muffins, mixes, cakes, pies, cookies)
- Processed dairy (conventional milk especially skim milk and milk products, ice creams, coffee creamers, powdered milk, condensed milk, evaporated milk)
Chronic Diseases: The prevalence of chronic lifestyle related conditions like obesity, diabetes, and hypertension has risen markedly. For instance, obesity rates among adults have increased from about 15% in the 1970s to over 42% in recent years.
Healthcare Expenditures: National health expenditures have escalated substantially. In 1970, healthcare spending accounted for about 6.9% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), whereas by 2020, it had risen to approximately 19.7% of GDP. This reflects both increased healthcare usage and rising costs of medical services.
Let’s get back to the mindset shift… and the routine shift…needed to make the transition to a whole foods lifestyle.
Remember, before making any change to your routine (action), consider your mindset (how you think) first. If you think whole foods are:
- Difficult
- Costly
- Time consuming
- Not worth it
- My family is going to hate it
Then any routine or action you take is not going to work. But shifting our mindset around food and eating healthy to:
- Whole foods are not hard.
- They are worth the cost.
- They are worth the effort.
- I can make a plan that works for my family
- We can get excited about this change!!
Three mindset shifts to make the whole food lifestyle transition:
Mindset Shift #1 – We are committed to saving money on other things. $ave on out to eat, $ave on entertainment, $ave on clothes, on toys, on vacations, etc., but be willing to spend on healthy food
Mindset Shift #2 – We are committed to prioritizing meals at home. Eating most of your meals at home can save money and health by avoiding trans fats processed oils, MSG, other food additives, high sodium, high sugar etc. By eating at home or most of your food comes from your home you can ensure freshness, quality and know exactly what is in your food.
Mindset Shift #3 – We are committed to spending for wellness rather than illness. This approach (proactive vs. reactive) will save time and money in so many ways over the course of your life. Pay for wellness, and you will be far less likely to have to pay for illness.
Having said that… there are also ways to save $ on whole foods:
Three routine shifts to make the whole food lifestyle transition:
- How you buy food:
- Order groceries online and pick up or have delivered
- Check into sourcing your food from local farm or farmer’s market or co-op
- Join a whole food buying club like Azure Standard or Thrive Market
- How you prep food: Set aside 2 hrs a week to prep ingredients
- How you make meals: Set aside 20 min each morning to assemble food for the day
Food Faith is all about helping you live aligned with God’s design.
Part of God’s design is wholeness.
Making the whole foods lifestyle a reality is a process unique to you and your family. What does it look like for you? Mindset and routine are often helpful to consider first, then let’s get really practical next week with whole food ingredient replacements to help make this transition even more doable!!