Connection Kuel Category Expert: Kay Newton
Superfoods: I am sure health gurus from around the world will now groan. I am standing in a health food shop, surrounded by products. My skin feels clammy and my stomach sick, what is happening to me?
In these surroundings should I not be feeling the calm and wonderful energies of healthy foods? This is not a menopausal hot flush, or a midlife crisis, this is something more disturbing! What am I really connecting to?
I leave in a panic; my intuition tells me it is wrong to buy Superfoods. Now with time to reflect and to do a little research, here are my 5 Reasons Not To Buy Superfoods.
1. Superfoods & My Negative Footprint Upon The Earth:
“By buying Maca, I help to destroy the local way of life.”
As I hold a packet of Maca powder I connect to the information. It says on the packet: “A magnificent mix of fibre, minerals and carbohydrates. Maca is a small Peruvian root vegetable. The indigenous population of the Andes have cultivated and enjoyed it for centuries”.
My questions: “What has happened in order for me to consume this?” “How will this packet affect the indigenous tribes?”
As I read the packet further it says they donate a proportion of the sales to charitable causes, yet fails to define where. A small amount of research and I came across this article (read HERE). I bet David ‘Avocado’ Wolfe isn’t telling you about what is really happening out there. China is illegally smuggling maca out of Peru. The impact this is having upon the local community is devastating.
By buying Maca, I help to destroy the local way of life. The product itself is packaged in plastic (non-sustainable). It is then shipped halfway around the world which has a huge impact on the carbon footprint.
I am not sure what plants are similar to maca, yet there must be some local plant I can substitute. (Mallorcan carob powder looks just the same!)
2. My Back Garden:
Nine years ago my father was diagnosed with leukemia. He was given a few months to live. I went back home to care for him. One sunny day he asked me to go into the garden and remove all the dandelions from the lawn. He wanted to get rid of the weeds. I found myself in tears. This was not the way I wished to spend my last hours with him. Yet it was one of his final wishes, so I did it.
A few weeks after he died, I saw in an article that Dandelions are thought to cure cancer, how ironic! Yet it has made me connect more to the plants in my back garden.
How many more plants are in the backyard that I could be using? We have lost knowledge of the potential of local plants. As a society we are all so stuck up the pharmaceuticals’ arse! We reach for a white tablet. Instead, we could make a backyard herbal infusion or dry a garden root and grind it into a powder.
3. I Am Still Buying Into ‘Exaggerated Consumption!’
“I have fallen into the consumption trap.”
Magazines, TV, radio, Facebook timeline – make me believe that Chia seeds or coconut oil are my midlife saviour.
I have fallen into the consumption trap. In the past I have eagerly run out and filled my shopping basket to the brim. The entrepreneur behind the pretty packaged ‘healthy organic product’ will laugh all the way to the bank. I buy stuff I don’t really need. (Well, I certainly didn’t need it last week!)
Whether it is an iPhone upgrade or superfood upgrade, it is all the same. I am being persuaded to buy, buy, and buy. Unless I say no.
4. Do I Really Need To Be Told What To Eat?
So I may rant and rave about the non-food made in factories. How real food has to be organic. Superfoods at the top of the chain and yet…
Why is it that I am unable to connect to my own body? What makes me think that someone else knows better. Do I really need to eat vegan or add more avocados to my daily diet? I have stopped listening to my body. Whether it’s a super large McMenu or Manuka honey it doesn’t matter. If it is not what your body needs right now, it is wrong. It is time to connect to intuitive eating.
5. I Am Not A Sheep, We Are Not Sheep:
“I have been guilty in the past, too.”
Isn’t it about time we all stopped behaving like sheep? We read something on Facebook and believe it without question. That is a worry. It is time to connect to ourselves again.
Our western education system has transformed us into people without our own views. If someone in authority (or someone we deem to be an authority) says this is how it is, we never question. What makes us think someone else knows better than we do?
I have been guilty in the past, too. Whatever you believe, if you look far enough you will find a study to refute it. You have to connect to your intuition.
What makes us stop from questioning the ‘fact’ that kale shipped from another country is good for us. We just blend into a smoothie every morning. It will have no nutritional value. Freshly picked nettles from the highway would be better.
Rant Over:
Those are my 5 reasons not to buy superfoods – you may not agree.Yet, if I do reincarnate and come back as a sheep, I will be a black one! I would love to know your thoughts.
About the Author:
Kay is the founder of Midlife Strategies, an award-winning International Speaker, and enthusiastic author. She is an acknowledged expert guiding women to find their mojo, through the Midlife Squeeze.
Kay’s books include:
- ‘The Art of Midlife Stress Busting – Seven Steps to Declutter Your Mind Without Pills or Potions’
- ‘How to Clean Your Home Organically – De-Stress Your Surroundings’
- ‘Tips and Tricks For Stress-Free Downsizing – A Step by Step Guide to Moving On’
- Co-author of the six Kindle books in the ‘Quick Fix For’ series, and a contributing author to ‘Hot Women Rock’ and ‘A Journey of Riches’.
Today, Kay lives a simple life next to a beach in Mallorca, Spain. You can find Kay here: www.KayNewton.com.
